Madeline in London

Everything about this copy is great except the size. This book only measures 5.5x7.5 inches. The illustrations aren’t nearly as captivating for children at this size, in my opinion.

"Madeline in London" (1961) was the last of the six "Madeline" tales written by Ludwig Bemelmans (1898 -- 1962). Born in Austria, Bemelmans became an American citizen in 1918. He wrote many books for children and adults and was also an artist. But Bemelmans will always be best remembered for "Madeline", with her spunk, audacity, and mischief. I have been enjoying revisiting the Madeline stories with my four-year old granddaughter. This book moves from Madeline's accustomed surroundings in "the old house in Paris covered with vines" to London and back again. The book features Pepito, the son of the Spanish Ambassador who lives next to the "old house". Pepito is also a character in "Madeline and the Bad Hat" and in "Madeline and the Gypsies." When the Spanish Ambassador is reassigned to London, Pepito becomes wan and lonely. Thus the Spanish Ambassador invites Miss Clavel and her twelve charges, particularly Madeline to hop across the English chanel for a visit to celebrate Pepito's birthday. Our thirteen wanderers arrive in London without a suitable birthday present, and they take it upon themselves to give Pepito a horse. The mischief begins. The horse takes off for a jaunt through London carrying Pepito and Madeline on his back. After a merry chase, the trio is recovered. The unfortunate horse does little to endear himself to the family as he enters the Ambassador's garden and devours the vegetables and flowers. Madame Ambassador has had enough. At the end of the visit, as Madeline, Miss Clavel and the eleven other girls return home to Paris, they take with them a 14th traveller. The illustrations are in Bemelmans's freestyle, yellow, black and white with some full-color drawings as well. Scenes of London and its palaces and Big Ben intermingle with drawings of the errant horse, the Spanish Ambassador's residence, Madeline and her comnpanions, and, of course" the old vine-covered house. This book doesn't seem to be quite as well-known as the other volumes in the Madeline series. But it will delight young, budding readers and the adults who care for them. Robin Friedman

My 2.5 year old and 5 year old love Madeline. All stories. They enjoy the rhyming in the words and images. Highly recommend the adventures and stories of Madeline.

For this fifth book in the Madeline series, Ludwig Bemelmans decides to do several things a bit differently. As always we begin with the old house in Paris that was covered in vines, but this time the twelve little girls in two straight lines each do their own illustration to help set up this tale. As we know, next door in another old house that stood next door lives Pepito, the son of the Spanish Ambassador, who is sent to England. The little girls all cried: "Boo-hoo--We'd like to go to London too." Given that the title of this book is "Madeline in London," that seems likely to happen. In London, Pepito stops eating and grow fit, and his mama figures out it must be because her son misses Madeline and the girls. So the Spanish Ambassador invites them to the embassy and Miss Clavel and the girls pack and catch the next jet. There they find a birthday present for Pepito, and then take a tour of London town, from Trafalgar Square and Buckingham Palace to Drury Lane, London Bridge, and the White Tower. In London there is no need for Miss Clavel to wake up in the middle of the night or run fast and faster to some new disaster. That is because this time the disaster has to do with Pepito's present and Miss Clavel is not responsible for it (that is, until the end of the story). Young readers who liked "Madeline's Rescue" because of Miss Genevieve will be inclined to like "Madeline in London" because it also deals with pets. I was a bit disappointed that there are not as many wonderful full-color illustrations of the sights of London as we usually find in the Madeline stories set in Paris. Those illustrations are often the best part of Bemelmans' stories, as he goes beyond the simple yellow painted pages to more complex pictures. "Madeline in London" was originally published in 1961 and it turns out to be the last time Bemelmans did his signature yellow pages, as the sixth and final story, "Madeline's Christmas," will be entirely in color.

As with all the Madeline books, this one is simply wonderful and an absolute joy to read! It is an absolutely delightful story, and I highly recommend it to anyone who loves good books.