Tuesday 9 September 2014

Happy Birthday Madeline!


In an old house in Paris that was covered in vines
Lived twelve little girls in two straight lines.



The first page of Madeline's Rescue.

So begins Ludwig Bemelman's tale of Madeline, a spirited red-headed little Parisian girl.  The first book in the series was published in 1939.  On September 5, Madeline turned 75. 

The book that began it all.


At our little school, Madeline's stories are perennial favourites. There are a handful of books that we simply must have additional copies of should anything happen to one of them.  The Madeline books are among those. 



To celebrate Madeline's birthday, we read the original book and talked about her.  We had a lovely snack of croissants and chocolate milk.  Very French!  We had hoped to have hot chocolate but the day was far too warm.




Why does Madeline continue to be so appealing to both boys and girls so many years later?  She is small, yet she is fearless!  When reading the books, the children are amazed that Madeline is not afraid of very much, not even the tiger in the zoo!

To the tiger in the zoo Madeline just said "Pooh pooh."

Thank you Madeline for continuing to show us that even if we are small, we can still be brave.


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