Madeline In America And Other Holiday Tales

Madeline In America And Other Holiday Tales

Amazon.com ReviewMadeline, in all her incarnations over six decades, has remained first and foremost one of "twelve little girls in two straight lines" in an old house in Paris. Now, with news that will astound her many fans, not to mention Madeline herself, she and her 11 cohorts find themselves on their way to Texas, U.S.A. Madeline a wealthy cowgirl? Why not! She handles her marvelous windfall with her usual aplomb, donning denim and boots to hop aboard a horse for a tour of her newly inherited gold mines, stampeding cattle herds, and gushing oil fields. At the end of the day, Miss Clavel prepares to tuck 12 little girls into bed--but wait... there are only 11! Where's Madeline?Traditionalists need not fear that wealth will corrupt their favorite little orphan. Some surprises are still in store, even for Madeline.While sorting through his grandfather's files, artist and writer John Bemelmans Marciano discovered the manuscript and pencil sketches for this last of the much-loved Madeline series. With great respect, Marciano completed the project with full-color paintings, and added two more of Bemelmans's holiday classics--"The Count and the Cobbler" and "Sunshine"--to create a collection no Bemelmans and Madeline devotee can do without. (Click to see a sample spread. Copyright 1999 by Barbara Bemelmans, Madeline Bemelmans, and John Bemelmans Marciano. Used by permission of Scholastic Inc.) (Ages 4 to 8--or all ages, of course) --Emilie CoulterFeaturing a brand new story, two delightful holiday tales, family reminiscences, and artwork selected from the family archives, the first new Madeline book in fifteen years brings to life the beloved red-headed heroine as she embarks on an amazing adventure in America. 125,000 first printing.From Publishers WeeklyAlas, this seems like ersatz MadelineAbut try telling that to the hordes of Madeline fans who will clamor for it. As a note explains, during the 1950s Bemelmans drafted a Madeline adventure set in Texas at Christmas and featuring the department store owned by his friend Stanley Marcus; a version was passed out to Neiman-Marcus customers, and Bemelmans abandoned the project. Here his grandson supplies his own color illustrations for the discarded text; the quantum difference between Bemelman's offhand genius and the product here is revealed with a simple comparison of sketches drawn by Bemelmans, reproduced on the back of the jacket, with the extrapolations inside. The text, clearly a work in progress, splices together a story line from Madeline and the Gypsies with a cowboy motif and a big promotion for "the world's greatest store"; the heroine, inheriting a Texas-size fortune, seems unlike the "real" Madeline ("And there'll be no more school, that is the best part./ For who is rich is already smart," opines this impostor). Two other Bemelmans tales with Christmas settings are also included, with art similarly refurbished by Marciano. Ages 5-8. (Oct.)Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.From School Library JournalPreSchool-Grade 2-A collection of three stories, only one of which includes Madeline. In "Madeline in America," from Ludwig Bemelmans's manuscript and pencil sketches, the young orphan goes to Texas to check out her inheritance from her great-grandpapa. After a few western adventures, the will is read; upon learning that her wealth will come to her on her 21st birthday, she returns to Paris with Miss Clavel. "The Count and the Cobbler" tells of a poor shoemaker whose youngest son inadvertently enables the man to afford shoes for his family. "Sunshine," set in New York City, tells of a grouchy old landlord and his problems with his tenant, a music teacher. The latter two stories are both "taken from the author's archives." Although the illustrations are quite typically Bemelmans and have that well-known charm, the rhyming and rhythm of the text are forced and the stories fall flat. This oversized volume will no doubt be purch