Ludwig Bemelmans (1898-1962) is the author of a series of books whose main character is a little French girl named Madeline. All the stories are told in rhymes.
Each story begins: "In an old house in Paris, that was covered with vines, lived twelve little girls in two straight lines... the smallest one was Madeline."
The girls are cared for by a nun, Miss Clavel. Other characters include Pepito, son of the Spanish Ambassador, who lives next door; Lord Cucuface, owner of the house; and Genevieve, a dog who rescues Madeline from drowning in the second book.
Bemelmans published six Madeline stories in his lifetime, and a seventh was discovered and published posthumously:
- Madeline, 1939: Madeline gets her appendix out.
- Madeline's Rescue, 1953: Madeline rescues a dog; Or is it the other way around? Winner of the Caldecott Award for 1954.
- Madeline and the Bad Hat, 1956: The "bad hat" Pepito, is the Spanish ambassador's bambino.
- Madeline and the Gypsies, 1959: Madeline and Pepito have an adventure at a gypsy circus.
- Madeline in London, 1961: Pepito moves to London, and Madeline and the girls go to visit him.
- Madeline's Christmas, 1985: Everyone in the house has a cold, except Madeline. (First published in McCall's in 1956).
- Madeline in America and Other Holiday Tales, 1999: Madeline inherits a fortune from her rich American great-grandpapa.
Adaptations
- The first book, Madeline, was made into an award-winning 1952 short animated cartoon directed by Robert Cannon .
- A live action movie based on several of the books appeared in 1998, directed by Daisy von Scherler Mayer and starring Hatty Jones as Madeline, Frances McDormand as Miss Clavel, and Nigel Hawthorne as Lord Covington/"Cucuface".
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