What do you think?
Rate this book
Madeline #4
Madeline in London
“ In an old house in Paris
that was covered with vines
lived twelve little girls
in two straight lines
the smallest one was Madeline. ”
Nothing frightens Madeline—not tigers, not even mice. With its endearing, courageous heroine, cheerful humor, and wonderful, whimsical drawings of Paris, the Madeline stories are true classics that continue to charm readers even after 75 years!
Pepito has moved to England. To help celebrate his birthday, Miss Clavel and the girls pay him a visit. When his mother won't let Pepito keep one of his birthday presents--a horse--Madeline is more than willing to help out.
Ludwig Bemelmans (1898-1962) was the author of the beloved Madeline books, including Madeline , a Caldecott Honor Book, and Madeline's Rescue , winner of the Caldecott Medal.
that was covered with vines
lived twelve little girls
in two straight lines
the smallest one was Madeline. ”
Nothing frightens Madeline—not tigers, not even mice. With its endearing, courageous heroine, cheerful humor, and wonderful, whimsical drawings of Paris, the Madeline stories are true classics that continue to charm readers even after 75 years!
Pepito has moved to England. To help celebrate his birthday, Miss Clavel and the girls pay him a visit. When his mother won't let Pepito keep one of his birthday presents--a horse--Madeline is more than willing to help out.
Ludwig Bemelmans (1898-1962) was the author of the beloved Madeline books, including Madeline , a Caldecott Honor Book, and Madeline's Rescue , winner of the Caldecott Medal.
64 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1961
About the author
Ludwig Bemelmans
162 books417 followersLudwig Bemelmans was an Austrian author, an internationally known gourmand, and a writer and illustrator of children's books. He is most noted today for his Madeline books, six of which were published from 1939-1961. A seventh was discovered after his death and published posthumously in 1999.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 151 reviews
November 19, 2017
We love this book, we haven't read it for years. An absolute favourite of my daughter when small, still really enjoyable now.
Madeline and her school go to London to visit Pepito who has been pining for his friends. They decide to buy him a gift and as they can't afford a young horse they buy a retired horse who brushes up like new.
The horses antics really made my daughter laugh and we love the way he is taken home to the house covered in vines and incorporated into their bedtime routine.
We love the hunour and use of colour.
Madeline and her school go to London to visit Pepito who has been pining for his friends. They decide to buy him a gift and as they can't afford a young horse they buy a retired horse who brushes up like new.
The horses antics really made my daughter laugh and we love the way he is taken home to the house covered in vines and incorporated into their bedtime routine.
We love the hunour and use of colour.
December 23, 2021
From The Days Of Reading To My Granddaughter
"Madeline in London" (1961) was the last of the six "Madeline" tales written by Ludwig Bemelmans (1898 -- 1962). Born in Austria, Bemelmans became an American citizen in 1918. He wrote many books for children and adults and was also an artist. But Bemelmans will always be best remembered for "Madeline", with her spunk, audacity, and mischief. I have been enjoying revisiting the Madeline stories with my four-year old granddaughter.
This book moves from Madeline's accustomed surroundings in "the old house in Paris covered with vines" to London and back again. The book features Pepito, the son of the Spanish Ambassador who lives next to the "old house". Pepito is also a character in "Madeline and the Bad Hat" and in "Madeline and the Gypsies." When the Spanish Ambassador is reassigned to London, Pepito becomes wan and lonely. Thus the Spanish Ambassador invites Miss Clavel and her twelve charges, particularly Madeline to hop across the English channel for a visit to celebrate Pepito's birthday.
Our thirteen wanderers arrive in London without a suitable birthday present, and they take it upon themselves to give Pepito a horse. The mischief begins. The horse takes off for a jaunt through London carrying Pepito and Madeline on his back. After a merry chase, the trio is recovered. The unfortunate horse does little to endear himself to the family as he enters the Ambassador's garden and devours the vegetables and flowers. Madame Ambassador has had enough. At the end of the visit, as Madeline, Miss Clavel and the eleven other girls return home to Paris, they take with them a 14th traveler.
The illustrations are in Bemelmans's freestyle, yellow, black and white with some full-color drawings as well. Scenes of London and its palaces and Big Ben intermingle with drawings of the errant horse, the Spanish Ambassador's residence, Madeline and her companions, and, of course, the old vine-covered house.
This book doesn't seem to be quite as well-known as the other volumes in the Madeline series. But it will delight young, budding readers and the adults who care for them.
Robin Friedman
"Madeline in London" (1961) was the last of the six "Madeline" tales written by Ludwig Bemelmans (1898 -- 1962). Born in Austria, Bemelmans became an American citizen in 1918. He wrote many books for children and adults and was also an artist. But Bemelmans will always be best remembered for "Madeline", with her spunk, audacity, and mischief. I have been enjoying revisiting the Madeline stories with my four-year old granddaughter.
This book moves from Madeline's accustomed surroundings in "the old house in Paris covered with vines" to London and back again. The book features Pepito, the son of the Spanish Ambassador who lives next to the "old house". Pepito is also a character in "Madeline and the Bad Hat" and in "Madeline and the Gypsies." When the Spanish Ambassador is reassigned to London, Pepito becomes wan and lonely. Thus the Spanish Ambassador invites Miss Clavel and her twelve charges, particularly Madeline to hop across the English channel for a visit to celebrate Pepito's birthday.
Our thirteen wanderers arrive in London without a suitable birthday present, and they take it upon themselves to give Pepito a horse. The mischief begins. The horse takes off for a jaunt through London carrying Pepito and Madeline on his back. After a merry chase, the trio is recovered. The unfortunate horse does little to endear himself to the family as he enters the Ambassador's garden and devours the vegetables and flowers. Madame Ambassador has had enough. At the end of the visit, as Madeline, Miss Clavel and the eleven other girls return home to Paris, they take with them a 14th traveler.
The illustrations are in Bemelmans's freestyle, yellow, black and white with some full-color drawings as well. Scenes of London and its palaces and Big Ben intermingle with drawings of the errant horse, the Spanish Ambassador's residence, Madeline and her companions, and, of course, the old vine-covered house.
This book doesn't seem to be quite as well-known as the other volumes in the Madeline series. But it will delight young, budding readers and the adults who care for them.
Robin Friedman
September 24, 2013
Rhythm is a comforting thing in picture books. At a stage when the reader is pre-literate, or developing their literacy, and the book is being delivered in the norm by another, literate, individual, the aural nature of language comes to prominence. Or, to be less wordy, rhythm and rhyme are deliciously divine.
We hear words before we understand them at this stage. We may not even know that they are words, that CAT means CAT and not DOG and that HELLO is not a name, but we do know that they are there. We know what they are. We know the shape, the feel of them - how a nursery rhyme has a badumbadumbadum rhythm to it and how a song has bits where we feel happy and bits where we feel sad and how when mummy is angry, we see it in her even when we don't understand it. It's through this - this bathing - in language that we acquire it.
And picture books, those mad clever things, help that process immensely.
The book that I've chosen as an example for this post is the divine Madeline in London by Ludwig Bemelmans. Just pause for a moment over that sentence and look at it. Look at the way divine and Madeline roll into each other; the fat wide embrace of divine and the way it propels you towards Madeline and then dissipates into formality and rigidity with the flat vowels of London and then the precise, closed nature of Bemelmans. The way we have three, maybe four, very distinct sounds and feels in a title of the book.
Just as a guide, when I refer to specific moments in the story, I'll use a / to illustrate the line breaks. So when you see something like The Cat / Sat / On the Mat, it actually appears like this:
The Cat
Sat
On the Mat
Firstly, perhaps, I should clarify my choice of book. Why Madeline? Well, perhaps, because of openers like this: In an old house in Paris / that was covered with vines / lived twelve little girls in two straight lines. / They left the house / at half past nine / The smallest one was Madeline."
Now pause and go back to that sentence. See how it propelled you, how it pulled you into it and how, in a very swift very sure manner, you've already been given the world. You know our heroine is Madeline, and that she's the smallest (youngest?), and that she lives in a school (?). But more than that you've been given warmth, and safety. This narration is sure and it is strong and it is very rarely wrong. You, as the reader, are pulled straight into the story and through the performing of it, you become the narrator. It is a story that pushes itself towards being narrated because it is so vividly aural. You hear it, so clearly.
Structurally it's superb. Each picture, coloured in an evocative mixture of pale watercolours (?) and inks is accompanied by a tiny moment of text all of its very own. It is, for want of a better phrase, superbly French at parts. The impressionistic backdrops of the London street (But in London there's a place to get / A retired horse to keep as a pet) mesh with the Lowry-esque nature of Madeline and her contemporaries marching past a line of boys, the girls steadfastly face forward and the boys, all of them, all look at the twelve little girls in two straight lines.
Or the way the girls themselves became a thread throughout the story, continuing on their path through a tumultuous pile of British iconography, walking past castles and flags and royalty. It becomes a game of spot the girls and letting their reactions lead you and pull you in. And somehow they're always eye-catching; blunt in their vivid matching dresses and their saturated, thick colours. Once you know what the girls look like, you know, even when they change dresses and positions. The indivduals may remain indistinct but the girls are always, but always the girls.
You see that's the other thing about books like this. They give you confidence as a reader; the ability to know that the language will go badumbadumbadum and then revel in the moment when it does because you knew it was coming. . There's a power there, a subtle reward mechanism in the story. It's saying that once you master this, once you comprehend the way this works and what to expect from it, you'll get it again and again. And they give you comfort and security; this is not a tricksy book. It will not turn on you and wrongfoot you because it wants to be read. It practically demands it.
So, what to make of books like this? Revel in them. There's a glory to the rhythmic picture book, a bonding between reader and - readee? - in that the words sing and they bring everyone close to them. There's music here and it's music to be exploited. Sing this, dance this, clap this. Wave your hands as you catch the rhyme between them and then taste it and laugh at the illustrations and wallow in this glorious book.
Because Madeline in London? It's a proper good 'un.
(See, that rhyming thing? It's a skill that not everyone can do. So when you do meet it, when you find it and perform it to your children in a cod-Serge Gainsbourg / Je Ne Regrette Rien accent, make sure you enjoy it for it is the greatest of things.)
We hear words before we understand them at this stage. We may not even know that they are words, that CAT means CAT and not DOG and that HELLO is not a name, but we do know that they are there. We know what they are. We know the shape, the feel of them - how a nursery rhyme has a badumbadumbadum rhythm to it and how a song has bits where we feel happy and bits where we feel sad and how when mummy is angry, we see it in her even when we don't understand it. It's through this - this bathing - in language that we acquire it.
And picture books, those mad clever things, help that process immensely.
The book that I've chosen as an example for this post is the divine Madeline in London by Ludwig Bemelmans. Just pause for a moment over that sentence and look at it. Look at the way divine and Madeline roll into each other; the fat wide embrace of divine and the way it propels you towards Madeline and then dissipates into formality and rigidity with the flat vowels of London and then the precise, closed nature of Bemelmans. The way we have three, maybe four, very distinct sounds and feels in a title of the book.
Just as a guide, when I refer to specific moments in the story, I'll use a / to illustrate the line breaks. So when you see something like The Cat / Sat / On the Mat, it actually appears like this:
The Cat
Sat
On the Mat
Firstly, perhaps, I should clarify my choice of book. Why Madeline? Well, perhaps, because of openers like this: In an old house in Paris / that was covered with vines / lived twelve little girls in two straight lines. / They left the house / at half past nine / The smallest one was Madeline."
Now pause and go back to that sentence. See how it propelled you, how it pulled you into it and how, in a very swift very sure manner, you've already been given the world. You know our heroine is Madeline, and that she's the smallest (youngest?), and that she lives in a school (?). But more than that you've been given warmth, and safety. This narration is sure and it is strong and it is very rarely wrong. You, as the reader, are pulled straight into the story and through the performing of it, you become the narrator. It is a story that pushes itself towards being narrated because it is so vividly aural. You hear it, so clearly.
Structurally it's superb. Each picture, coloured in an evocative mixture of pale watercolours (?) and inks is accompanied by a tiny moment of text all of its very own. It is, for want of a better phrase, superbly French at parts. The impressionistic backdrops of the London street (But in London there's a place to get / A retired horse to keep as a pet) mesh with the Lowry-esque nature of Madeline and her contemporaries marching past a line of boys, the girls steadfastly face forward and the boys, all of them, all look at the twelve little girls in two straight lines.
Or the way the girls themselves became a thread throughout the story, continuing on their path through a tumultuous pile of British iconography, walking past castles and flags and royalty. It becomes a game of spot the girls and letting their reactions lead you and pull you in. And somehow they're always eye-catching; blunt in their vivid matching dresses and their saturated, thick colours. Once you know what the girls look like, you know, even when they change dresses and positions. The indivduals may remain indistinct but the girls are always, but always the girls.
You see that's the other thing about books like this. They give you confidence as a reader; the ability to know that the language will go badumbadumbadum and then revel in the moment when it does because you knew it was coming. . There's a power there, a subtle reward mechanism in the story. It's saying that once you master this, once you comprehend the way this works and what to expect from it, you'll get it again and again. And they give you comfort and security; this is not a tricksy book. It will not turn on you and wrongfoot you because it wants to be read. It practically demands it.
So, what to make of books like this? Revel in them. There's a glory to the rhythmic picture book, a bonding between reader and - readee? - in that the words sing and they bring everyone close to them. There's music here and it's music to be exploited. Sing this, dance this, clap this. Wave your hands as you catch the rhyme between them and then taste it and laugh at the illustrations and wallow in this glorious book.
Because Madeline in London? It's a proper good 'un.
(See, that rhyming thing? It's a skill that not everyone can do. So when you do meet it, when you find it and perform it to your children in a cod-Serge Gainsbourg / Je Ne Regrette Rien accent, make sure you enjoy it for it is the greatest of things.)
November 9, 2017
My French friends have always told me what fond memories Madeline books have for them. I can see why after reading this book - funny and warm - very enjoyable.
May 18, 2016
To check out my reviews: http://dancinginth3dark.blogspot.com
This series could have been three books with interesting plots and lessons but in the end I felt as though the author ran out of ideas and put incoherent storylines that either are not believable or raise questions as to why the plot don't make sense. When it comes to the books versus other forms of media, I have to admit that Madeline is better as a television series than book.
Pepito is leaving Paris because his father as the Spanish Ambassador needs to relocate to London and every one is heart broken. It's natural for a child to be upset about leaving because essentially they are saying goodbye to the city they grew up and odds are they are never going to see their friends again and they know that sad but honest truth.
Pepito takes it to another level and basically suffers from anorexia. He doesn't eat for days and withering away so instead of sending your child to the hospital or taking him to a doctor or psychologist you just decide oh let's call his friends and let them fly to London to cheer him up.
Regardless of wealth, it what mind does that make it acceptable to let your child almost on the brink of death and not seek help? I know fiction is suppose to be unbelievable at times but I have this belief that if you are writing a fictional story in a realistic setting then you need to stay true to reality because no parent would act this way in real life. Plus what does that teach your children? If they don't eat and suffer health consequences they will either get their way or bring their friends to your new home? I don't think so...
Anyway, Madeline and the gang arrive to London and think of a gift to buy him which is a horse because who has plenty of cash in store to buy a horse as a gift and everything is perfect until the guards ring the bell and the horse goes off running with Madeline and Pepito. The horse is a retired royal guard for the Queen and that trumpet sound is a trigger for the horse so off they go all over London.
In the end Pepito couldn't keep the horse and it now resides with Madeline and the other girls. I was disappointed with this book and thought Ludwig Bemelmans could do better!
This series could have been three books with interesting plots and lessons but in the end I felt as though the author ran out of ideas and put incoherent storylines that either are not believable or raise questions as to why the plot don't make sense. When it comes to the books versus other forms of media, I have to admit that Madeline is better as a television series than book.
Pepito is leaving Paris because his father as the Spanish Ambassador needs to relocate to London and every one is heart broken. It's natural for a child to be upset about leaving because essentially they are saying goodbye to the city they grew up and odds are they are never going to see their friends again and they know that sad but honest truth.
Pepito takes it to another level and basically suffers from anorexia. He doesn't eat for days and withering away so instead of sending your child to the hospital or taking him to a doctor or psychologist you just decide oh let's call his friends and let them fly to London to cheer him up.
Regardless of wealth, it what mind does that make it acceptable to let your child almost on the brink of death and not seek help? I know fiction is suppose to be unbelievable at times but I have this belief that if you are writing a fictional story in a realistic setting then you need to stay true to reality because no parent would act this way in real life. Plus what does that teach your children? If they don't eat and suffer health consequences they will either get their way or bring their friends to your new home? I don't think so...
Anyway, Madeline and the gang arrive to London and think of a gift to buy him which is a horse because who has plenty of cash in store to buy a horse as a gift and everything is perfect until the guards ring the bell and the horse goes off running with Madeline and Pepito. The horse is a retired royal guard for the Queen and that trumpet sound is a trigger for the horse so off they go all over London.
In the end Pepito couldn't keep the horse and it now resides with Madeline and the other girls. I was disappointed with this book and thought Ludwig Bemelmans could do better!
November 19, 2018
Madeline and her classmates, together with their teacher Miss Clavel, leave their vine-covered Parisian boarding school and journey to London, where they meet up once again with Pepito, the Spanish Ambassador's son who was first introduced in
Madeline and the Bad Hat
. Hoping to cheer him up, they have come to celebrate Pepito's birthday, pooling their money in order to buy him a horse. When this new equine companion takes off with Pepito and Madeline astride, Miss Clavell and the girls set out to find them, and all enjoy a tour of London. But can the horse, who subsequently eats most of the garden, be kept? If Madeline & Co. have anything to say about it, he can!
Originally published in 1961, this fourth Madeline book from Austrian-American children's author and artist Ludwig Bemelmans was not an improvement on its predecessors, which I found moderately interesting, but not particularly appealing. I continue to be mostly indifferent, both to Bemelmans' artwork - I don't hate it, but I can't say I enjoy it either - and to his stories, which, despite some promising themes - the girls' adopt a dog in Madeline's Rescue !; Pepito becomes a vegetarian, in Madeline and the Bad Hat ! - never seem to deliver. I also continue to find the text itself in these books rather clunky and awkward. So many people love this character and her adventures, that I can't help but wonder whether one's age when first encountering her is the deciding factor... perhaps I just missed my window of opportunity?
Originally published in 1961, this fourth Madeline book from Austrian-American children's author and artist Ludwig Bemelmans was not an improvement on its predecessors, which I found moderately interesting, but not particularly appealing. I continue to be mostly indifferent, both to Bemelmans' artwork - I don't hate it, but I can't say I enjoy it either - and to his stories, which, despite some promising themes - the girls' adopt a dog in Madeline's Rescue !; Pepito becomes a vegetarian, in Madeline and the Bad Hat ! - never seem to deliver. I also continue to find the text itself in these books rather clunky and awkward. So many people love this character and her adventures, that I can't help but wonder whether one's age when first encountering her is the deciding factor... perhaps I just missed my window of opportunity?
March 11, 2022
A fun and fanciful field trip to London. Boarding school girls hop a plane to London to visit the Spanish Embassy - as you do. They adopt a free horse as a gift for the Ambassador’s son - as you do. The horse runs away to join the Queen’s Life Guards for the changing of the guard -as you do. They have to take the horse home on their plane to sleep in the front hall - as you do.
A bit too preposterous for the 9 year olds I read it with to be able to suspend their disbelief, but enjoyable for the absurdity.
My copy of “Madeline” has an appendix that lists the names of the real sites around Paris that are illustrated in the story. I wish this book had the same information for the London sites. I can identity Trafalgar Square, Tower Bridge, Tower of London, and Buckingham Palace, but there are a few illustrations that are too nondescript for me (who’s only visited once) to name.
Mother Tongue notes: The mention of the Spanish Ambassador and Embassy provided a good opening for discussion for students who may have visited embassies as dual citizens, or expatriates.
There are pages with just 1 line of text, and pages with several lines. Helpful formatting in a group of readers with mixed abilities.
A bit too preposterous for the 9 year olds I read it with to be able to suspend their disbelief, but enjoyable for the absurdity.
My copy of “Madeline” has an appendix that lists the names of the real sites around Paris that are illustrated in the story. I wish this book had the same information for the London sites. I can identity Trafalgar Square, Tower Bridge, Tower of London, and Buckingham Palace, but there are a few illustrations that are too nondescript for me (who’s only visited once) to name.
Mother Tongue notes: The mention of the Spanish Ambassador and Embassy provided a good opening for discussion for students who may have visited embassies as dual citizens, or expatriates.
There are pages with just 1 line of text, and pages with several lines. Helpful formatting in a group of readers with mixed abilities.
January 24, 2016
Madeline is one of those characters that is timeless. Also, the illustrations. Why did people stop making illustrations this lively?
June 18, 2016
Enchanting illustrations and lively story, featuring one of the most beguiling characters in all of children's literature, who travels to London to help her ailing friend, Pepito.
December 14, 2020
3/5
This was the funniest Madeline book so far to be honest. London is fun!
I can’t believe they got the horse on the plane and just moved him... that easily haha. I did feel sorry for Pepito, he finally made friends (after a rocky start) and then he had to leave them behind :(. They also took the horse away..
This was the funniest Madeline book so far to be honest. London is fun!
I can’t believe they got the horse on the plane and just moved him... that easily haha. I did feel sorry for Pepito, he finally made friends (after a rocky start) and then he had to leave them behind :(. They also took the horse away..
September 15, 2019
Tiny redhead convinces nun to put a horse on a plane. A bit far-fetched.
January 27, 2021
I mean, Madeline is iconic what can I say?
May 12, 2021
The story meanders every which way. What even.
August 20, 2023
Children's Picture Books
Madeline goes to London!
Madeline goes to London!
July 22, 2024
Picked up in the library because I wanted to read it 🥹
Four stars because one picture clearly had fourteen little girls in two straight lines
Four stars because one picture clearly had fourteen little girls in two straight lines
July 22, 2024
I wish I knew what the plot of this one was supposed to be. It’s worse than reading Eloise.
August 17, 2024
I loved Madeline as a kid! This one was so sweet and precious! I especially enjoyed the newly published edition!
November 30, 2018
This was a cute story but I prefer the original Madeline story.
November 3, 2017
Grade range: 2-5
Genre: Contemporary Realistic
This is such a fun adventure. Madeline always gets into some of the craziest antics. I think children of any age could get into and love Madeline. I have always loved Madeline, and this book is no different. This book could especially be interested to students who like horses, because Madeline goes on an adventure with a horse.
Genre: Contemporary Realistic
This is such a fun adventure. Madeline always gets into some of the craziest antics. I think children of any age could get into and love Madeline. I have always loved Madeline, and this book is no different. This book could especially be interested to students who like horses, because Madeline goes on an adventure with a horse.
October 9, 2017
This is a classic book that I read many times as a child. It teaches the true meaning of friendship and forming relationships. Lending a helping hand can go a long way!
February 3, 2013
Mommy's review from 11/07/11 -
Julia and I are trying to make up for lost time with the Madeline books. This one had some parts I liked least out of all of the books (the way the horse was traded around like an inanimate object, the reference to glue) and some parts I loved best (the way the horse wasn't just thrown away, the way the horse was welcomed into the home).
I think all of the Madeline books we've read have been followed along with listening to the audio story and I wouldn't have it any other way. While they're certainly not hard to read the narrator knows what she's doing - and she's doing it well.
The illustrations are the same. They've never really impressed me as great but I've always found them okay. I find that they're growing on me but perhaps that's due to the Madeline books being the only books I've seen this type of illustration.
Julia really likes them - and has liked them all - and I love the beginnings and how each one starts out the same. It's a hoot listening to Julia recite the first page along with the narrator.
I've said this before but I so wish I had thought to seek these books out when Julia was younger. If the day comes where I'm an Oma I'll certainly make sure these are on hand from day one!
Julia and I are trying to make up for lost time with the Madeline books. This one had some parts I liked least out of all of the books (the way the horse was traded around like an inanimate object, the reference to glue) and some parts I loved best (the way the horse wasn't just thrown away, the way the horse was welcomed into the home).
I think all of the Madeline books we've read have been followed along with listening to the audio story and I wouldn't have it any other way. While they're certainly not hard to read the narrator knows what she's doing - and she's doing it well.
The illustrations are the same. They've never really impressed me as great but I've always found them okay. I find that they're growing on me but perhaps that's due to the Madeline books being the only books I've seen this type of illustration.
Julia really likes them - and has liked them all - and I love the beginnings and how each one starts out the same. It's a hoot listening to Julia recite the first page along with the narrator.
I've said this before but I so wish I had thought to seek these books out when Julia was younger. If the day comes where I'm an Oma I'll certainly make sure these are on hand from day one!
March 12, 2017
Every night before he has to go to bed, my nephew and I read at least one physical book (sometimes two) and a digital story or two. My mother found these books at her local thrift store and sent them to us to see if he would like to read them.
He LOVES the Madeline series and asks to read one of the six my mother found for us.
I love that each book starts out the same way, with the same rhyming that flows smoothly and tells a great story within its few pages. In this book, the girls' next door neighbor, an ambassador, moves his family to London, leaving behind the 12 girls and their cats (I found this odd; leaving the cats, I mean.
Pepito, the Ambassador's son, goes into a depression and loses more weight than he should have. The parents realize that it's because Madeline and the other girls, along with their beloved Miss Clavel, are so far away. They come to see him and buy him a horse, who causes much chaos in the Ambassador's home.
I look forward to more of Madeline and her 11 orphan "sisters" antics in future books!
He LOVES the Madeline series and asks to read one of the six my mother found for us.
I love that each book starts out the same way, with the same rhyming that flows smoothly and tells a great story within its few pages. In this book, the girls' next door neighbor, an ambassador, moves his family to London, leaving behind the 12 girls and their cats (I found this odd; leaving the cats, I mean.
Pepito, the Ambassador's son, goes into a depression and loses more weight than he should have. The parents realize that it's because Madeline and the other girls, along with their beloved Miss Clavel, are so far away. They come to see him and buy him a horse, who causes much chaos in the Ambassador's home.
I look forward to more of Madeline and her 11 orphan "sisters" antics in future books!
March 8, 2017
I looked at a list on books from the 1900's, and found this Madeline in London book. I put it on hold at our library with some other books. The book I got was a brand new copy. I have seen this story as a movie. I love the Madeline books. We have a discussion group, who have made a challenge to read 10 books from this hundred year period, with books from different ten year periods. This book came out in 1961.
The first page of this book has small drawings of the girls, the the traditional start: In an old house in Paris that was covered in vines, etc. Then the bad hat character is introduced. He and his family move to London, and Pepito misses the little girls so much, that he stops eating and gets sick. He and the little girls had been fighting in Paris, but the little girls missed him as well. Pepito's parents invite the girls to London, and pay there way there. Then their adventures in London begin. This is a fun book.
The first page of this book has small drawings of the girls, the the traditional start: In an old house in Paris that was covered in vines, etc. Then the bad hat character is introduced. He and his family move to London, and Pepito misses the little girls so much, that he stops eating and gets sick. He and the little girls had been fighting in Paris, but the little girls missed him as well. Pepito's parents invite the girls to London, and pay there way there. Then their adventures in London begin. This is a fun book.
April 19, 2012
Madeline in London is a wonderful book that tells of Miss Clavel and her girls (including Madeline)and there visit to London. They are going in order to see their royal friend Pepito. For Pepitos birthday the girls bring him a horse as a presnt. Unfortunately, the horse becomes ill. They all decide that it would be best to take the horse back to Paris in order for him to be well-taken care of. This book is truly a children's classic. The plot is fun and creative, and the illustrations are terrific. The illustrator uses a mixture of colors throughout the book. Some pages include a large variety of colors, while others mostly include shades of yellow. It is a very unique style. I would reccomend this book for grades 1-3.
December 15, 2008
I love this book! I had no idea that its main character would be a horse. I love how the children save the old horse not once but twice. This is a fun book that explores London and some of its customs. It can also be used for teaching lessons about rhyming. I would have my students pick another city to rhyme about and make characters. I plan to have this book in my reading corner and use it when I am covering world geography and writing.
October 16, 2015
Madeline in London is just one of the books in the Madeline series. It follows Madeline and the rest of the boarding school girls to the London embassy for young Pepito's birthday. He gets the horse that he wanted, but it ends up causing mischief so it goes home with Madeline. These stories can be a fun way to introduce rhyme in the classroom. The students can also learn about cities in other countries, such as London and Paris.
June 9, 2008
The art in this book is more sophisticate, clear, and vivid than in the prior editions I reviewed. But for the increase in artistic ability there has been a corresponding decrease in literary value. The book is longer and the rhymes seem more forced than usual. I wonder if this book is a classic out of sentimentality more than merit. Why do the Madeline stories endure?
Read
February 7, 2011Madeline in London is one of many stories in a series. These books are so much fun to read because of the adventures that Madeline goes on with her friends. They are always learning new things and experiencing new things as well. It is a book that many children can relate to and make personal connections.
April 18, 2012
Madeline and her housemates make a trip to London to visit their friend, Pepito, for his birthday. They buy him a horse who eats up an entire garden. When Pepito's mother tells him the horse cannot stay, Madeline decides to bring him home with them. I really like the way the people are drawn in this book. The pictures are very beautiful and complement this rhyming book all throughout.
July 30, 2015
My kids are all for renting a horse now. But that's probably because in the book they seem to keep him, not rent him. A fun, random adventure for the twelve little girls in two straight lines. I had to scold myself for being so American, however. I couldn't believe how quick the trip seemed until I remembered that I had a flight from America in my head rather than a flight from France.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 151 reviews