A review by kamckim
Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans

4.0

Tried this out on my girls today because I've never been quite sure of this book's appeal. Both of them (5 & 4) loved it. They wanted to know why Madeline was crying, why she had to stay in the hospital, why all the other little girls started to cry. Perhaps I lacked empathy at a young age. I always felt sorry for Miss Clavel. I also admired the symmetry of two straight lines, and it bugs me when Madeline is absent. It unsettles the order of things. Maybe that is what children sense but can't say. This book helps them feel that sense of displacement is a real emotion. That might have something to do with its lasting appeal. Or perhaps it's clever merchandising.