A review by dandelionfluff
Madeline and the Gypsies by Ludwig Bemelmans

3.0

The Roma people are usually stereotyped and misunderstood, so I was a bit wary of this classic picture book. The story is entertaining and the illustrations are whimsical to be sure, but it doesn't have the same feel as previous works. I'm not sure that I would use this in a classroom or hand this to a child without trying to have them understand that "gypsies" aren't like this at all, and that the story's an attempt to be fun. But then, by giving this to a child, I'd still be condoning the portrayal of these people, right?

Tough choices and opinions on this one.