MADELINE
M
is for:
MADELINE
by Ludwig Bemelmans
MADELINE is another book from my
childhood.
First line: “In an old house in Paris that was covered with vines lived twelve
little girls in twelve straight lines.”
End line: “And she (Miss Clavel) turned
out the light and closed the door and that’s all there is there isn’t anymore.”
Madeline tugs at my heart. She brightened the
world of everyone around her. When she was absent from them, there was a hole.
Madeline was fearless--not scared of mice. ME EITHER! She stood her ground
with a caged tiger and said “Pooh, pooh.” ME TOO! Not really, but one time at the zoo, a black
panther eyed my newborn son, from his enclosure and licked his lips. I didn’t say “Pooh, pooh”, but I did say to the cat, “No!” And I removed my baby from the big cat area.
So, I've pondered this question for years. And yes I could Google it. Does
Madeline live at a boarding school or does she live in an orphanage? Either is fine with
me because (the child) Teresa felt like the girls had a safe environment.
To the adult Teresa this matters.
Comments
I think she lives at a boarding school...from the one where she has to go to the hospital in the middle of the night (another fave of my daughter's).
Stephen Tremp
A to Z Cohost
M is for Movies
Mother hissed low not to attract the tigers' attention. "You get up here this minute. Don't make me hurt those tigers!"
And such was my belief in the fearsomeness of my mother, I scampered back up the slope so as to save my beloved tigers! :-)
There was also a semi-animated version of Madeline on...disney channel, or maybe it was PBS. My kid liked to watch it and it was one I liked too. win-win.
Sia McKye Over Coffee