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Madeline's Christmas
- By Ludwig Bemelmans
- Genre: Holiday
Common Sense Media says
Madeline is her spunky self in Christmas tale.
Parents say
Kids say
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that in this Madeline adventure, the Parisian boarding school mates go home for the holidays with the help of a magician.
What's the story?
One day, a carpet merchant comes to the door of the old Parisian house where Madeline lives and goes to school. He has 12 carpets to sell, and Madeline buys them all for herself and and her schoolmates. He returns and works his magic to help the girls get home to their parents for Christmas.
Is it any good?
Madeline is her usual spunky self in this Christmastime tale. The rhyming is brisk and strong, despite a borrowed verse from "The Night Before Christmas" that breaks the rhythm in the beginning.
The hocus-pocus is fun for kids, but one wonders why the children weren't already scheduled to go home for the holidays without the help of a magician. Because the book was originally published as a special insert in McCall's magazine, some of the illustrations have a quick, more focused appearance than Ludwig Bemelmans' usually broad landscapes. However, one panoramic painting shows a fabulous magic-carpet ride over Paris rooftops. Madeline's fans will enjoy this story.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about kindness. How does Madeline help her classmates and Miss Clavel? How does she help the carpet merchant the first time he appears, and the second time? How does the merchant repay her kindness?
There are several books in the original Madeline series. How does this one compare to the others?
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AGE
The Sell-out Sequel
Madeline's Christmas appears to have been a quick and desperate attempt by Bemelmans to cash in on the Madeline franchise. The rhymes are tired, the illustrations are poor and often hard to decipher, and the story line is bizarre. It concludes with Miss Clavel breaking the "spell" that allowed the children a chance to see their parents on Christmas Eve. This book is a big disappointment with a cruel twist, making it one of the worst children's "sell-out sequels" I've ever read.
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| Topics: | magic and fantasy |
| Author: | Ludwig Bemelmans |
| Illustrator: | Ludwig Bemelmans |
| Book type: | Fiction |
| Genre: | Holiday |
| Publisher: | Penguin Group |
| Publication date: | October 1, 1985 |
| Number of pages: | 32 |
| Paperback price: | $6.99 |
| Publisher's recommended age(s): | 4 - 7 |
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