Module Two: Madeline's Rescue by Ludwig Bemelmans

Bibliography

Bemelmans, L. (1953). Madeline's rescue. New York, NY: The Viking Press.

Summary

Published more than a decade after the original Madeline, this sequel follows the adventures of Madeline, her friends, and Miss Clavel as they romp through Paris. One day, Madeline wanders from the group and falls into the Seine, almost drowning, and is rescued by a dog.  Ever grateful, the girls and Miss Clavel bring the dog, whom they name Genevieve, home with them. Soon, Genevieve becomes adjusted to life with the girls, and all is well until a group of trustees arrives for an annual inspection of the house. The trustees throw Genevieve out on the street, and the girls roam the streets in search of their friend, to no avail. Finally, however, the dog returns -- with a bit a surprise -- and the girls rejoice.

 

My Impressions

Although I am familiar with the Madeline books, I had never read them until now.  This is a whimsical story about a strong-willed girl, and I thoroughly enjoyed following Madeline and her friends through the streets of Paris. Bemelmans' detailed illustrations provide a lively glimpse of the city and also convey a full range of emotions -- from the panic over Madeline's near drowning, to the girls' sorrow at losing Genevieve, to the humor of their fights over where the dog would sleep at night. I love the idea of such a stubborn, opinionated young female character, especially given the publication date of the book (1953) and its predecessor (1939). This is a wonderful, energetic story, and I highly recommend it.

Review  

Time
"'In an old house in Paris That was covered with vines Lived twelve little girls in two straight lines.'As well-read moppets know, the smallest and bravest of the twelve little girls was Madeline. Ludwig Bemelmans' 1939 picture-and-verse classic told how Madeline came triumphantly through one of the most delightful appendectomies in literature. It also made his heroine's name a household word with a host of youngsters and their elders, who, having to read the thing aloud night after night, found grown-up delight in Bemelmans' warmly colored fantasies of Paris.

The good news for the lollipop trade: Madeline is back, with her eleven straight-living little boarding-school friends and the noble Schoolmistress Clavel, in a rousing sequel. In Madeline's Rescue, Bemelmans takes up where he left off when he noted earlier of Madeline: "And nobody knew so well / How to frighten Miss Clavel." One of the frightening things Madeline liked to do was walking on bridge railings. This time she falls into the Seine, and "Poor Madeline would now be dead / But for a dog / That kept its head."

The dog who pulls Madeline out of the Seine is happily named Genevieve, and Genevieve comes to live in Miss Clavel's vine-covered school. She gets lost, and Artist Bemelmans goes on a gaily painted search for her through Montmartre, the Tuileries, Saint Germain des Prés, and other Parisian quarters where colors abound. Genevieve is duly restored to hearthside, and there, in a less-abiding imagination, the story would have to end. But Bemelmans knows his moppets, deftly sets up a new problem: each little girl naturally wants Genevieve all for her own. There is trouble and scrapping aplenty, until Genevieve herself solves the problem to everybody's thorough satisfaction."

 

Use in the Library

This could be tied into a geography lesson for early elementary school students. Madeline's Rescue, along with other picture books taking place in foreign countries, could be used to show children various countries around the world and provide cultural information about them. A globe could be used to give a physical demonstration of these locations, as well as to illustrate specific details about the books, such as the Seine river in Paris.

This could also be used as part of an early language lesson to introduce French to children. Librarians could take specific objects, places, and people from the story and translate them into French. For example, a female dog is 'une chienne'. This could be a springboard into other words in French or additional languages.


For the Lollipop Trade. (1953). [Review of the book Madeline's Rescue]. Time, 61(18), 110.

Image from http://householdwords.wordpress.com/2011/02/21/the-read-balloon-madeline-and-madelines-rescue/