Madlenka
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| Madlenka | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Peeking out through a die-cut window on the jacket, Madlenka invites the reader to enter her world. And what a world it is! On the surface, it looks like an ordinary city block, but as we meet Madlenka's neighbors -- the French baker, the Indian news vendor, the Italian ice-cream man, the Latin American grocer, a retired opera singer from Germany, an African American school friend, and the Asian shopkeeper -- and look through die-cut windows to the images and memories they have carried from old country to new, we can see that Madlenka's block is as richly varied as its inhabitants. And why is Madlenka going around the block, jumping for joy? Her tooth is loose, and she wants everyone to know!
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"In the universe, on a planet, on a continent, in a country, in a city, on a block, in a house, in a window, in the rain, a little girl named Madlenka finds out her tooth wiggles." To further illustrate where exactly this girl fits into the universe, Peter Sís's endpapers depict a tiny blue planet Earth with a red dot, then a bigger Earth and a bigger red dot, then an aerial view of the south part of Manhattan Island, then city blocks, then lo! a small Madlenka in an apartment window. And, since she has a loose tooth that wiggles, she simply must tell everyone.
As she traipses around New York, she sees the whole world in the way a child might peer into a sugar egg at a colorful three-dimensional diorama within. At Mr. Gaston's patisserie, he tells her about Paris as he bakes croissants and madeleines. Readers peer through a die-cut square in his bakery window to glimpse the Eiffel Tower. Turn the page, and an exciting blue landmark map of Paris unfolds. (Is that a tiny petit prince we see as well?) At Mr. Singh's newspaper stand, our window on the world takes us to winged elephants and onion domes and the many-armed gods of India. Mr. Ciao from Italy ("Buon giorno, Maddalena") makes visions of the Leaning Tower of Pisa and cats on gondolas and the Coliseum dance through our heads. Throughout Sís's enchanting, moody illustrations dances blonde-haired, lavender-clad, yellow-booted Madlenka with her yellow umbrella--reminding us of what is really important. "Madlenka! Where have you been?" "Well... I went around the world. And I lost my tooth!" Fans of Sís's gorgeous work in Caldecott Honor Books Tibet: Through the Red Box and Starry Messenger: Galileo Galilei will find an equally stunning, but more accessible book in Madlenka. Children will discover enough fascinating details to stand up to hours of fierce page perusal, and adults will, as ever, marvel at Sís's breathtaking artistry. (Ages 4 to 8) --Karin Snelson |
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| Reader Reviews Below Sorted by Newest First | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 03-27-06 | 4 | 2\2 |
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My pre-school aged daughters were big fans of the Madlenka shorts on Sesame Street, so I bought them this book which they love equally as much. It's a story about a little girl living in New York City who takes a trip around her city block to tell her neighbors and friends about her loose tooth. Being the big city, there is a multi-ethnic mix of people like the baker who is French, the Indian newspaper vendor and the Latino grocer, etc. With each neighbor Madlenka encounters we all get a glimpse into their countries of origin through their stories and more importantly Peter Sis's impressive illustrations. Through die-cut views through windows that open up into larger, beautiful scenes. My daughters like the way the words in the story curl around the pages and the cute blonde Madlenka in her lavender boots with whom they can identify. It's really a treat for me to show my suburban kids that there is an exciting international life going on in the city and to be able to introduce them to different cultures. The whole idea that this great big world can be broken down into a small city block with so much diversity is fabulous - especially when it's in a book sized just right for bedtime read.
(Review Data Last Updated: 2008-07-04 22:07:36 EST)
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| 03-26-06 | 4 | 2\2 |
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My pre-school aged daughters were big fans of the Madlenka shorts on Sesame Street, so I bought them this book which they love equally as much. It's a story about a little girl living in New York City who takes a trip around her city block to tell her neighbors and friends about her loose tooth. Being the big city, there is a multi-ethnic mix of people like the baker who is French, the Indian newspaper vendor and the Latino grocer, etc. With each neighbor Madlenka encounters we all get a glimpse into their countries of origin through their stories and more importantly Peter Sis's impressive illustrations. Through die-cut views through windows that open up into larger, beautiful scenes. My daughters like the way the words in the story curl around the pages and the cute blonde Madlenka in her lavender boots with whom they can identify. It's really a treat for me to show my suburban kids that there is an exciting international life going on in the city and to be able to introduce them to different cultures. The whole idea that this great big world can be broken down into a small city block with so much diversity is fabulous - especially when it's in a book sized just right for bedtime read.
(Review Data Last Updated: 2007-04-11 10:57:34 EST)
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| 10-19-01 | 4 | 5\6 |
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Two of kids' most exciting themes -- loose teeth and international travel! -- are delightfully captured in this sophisticated book by Peter Sis. Madlenka's tooth sends her on a journey through her multi-cultural neighbourhood, visiting shopkeeper friends from Asia, France, Latin America, and beyond.
Though the thrill of the loose tooth seems to disappear into the background somewhat through all her marvellous adventures, it comes back with a bang in the terrific "surprise" ending. This book perplexed my kids (5 and 6) somewhat initially; they were expecting a story about the tooth. But they enjoyed the easy-going, "world beat" plot tremendously nevertheless, particularly the detailed illustrations of the shopkeepers' home cultures, delightfully woven around the facing pages. I'd highly recommended this book for urban families or anyone who wants their kids to know we're not alone on this big crowded planet. (Review Data Last Updated: 2007-07-10 07:22:47 EST)
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| 10-18-01 | 4 | 2\2 |
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Whether it be for children or adults, Madlenka has sent us a message that everyone has something to offer. Everyone will fall in love with little Madlenka who looks at the world through innocent eyes. Although the story is centered around a child who has a loose tooth, the real story is about the richness of all the people in her neighborhood. As Madlenka journeys through her neighborhood, the reader journeys from Italy to Latin America. Peter Sis' illustrations are marvelous in that they add background information that the text does not provide. Although the illustrations have almost too much information embedded in them, the story still falls into place. In addition, Peter Sis does a remarkable job of illustrating a child's world from a spot on the planet to a spot in a city to Madlenka standing in her neighborhood. Excluding the text within the illustrations, the vocabulary and text size are appropriate for the intended age level. When deciding whether to share this book with children, the decision should be simple if you are considerate of what they have to offer.
(Review Data Last Updated: 2007-07-10 07:22:47 EST)
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| 07-23-01 | 4 | 7\8 |
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Since opinions abound here on Amazon, I shall give my own on this item that I purchased directly through Amazon due to the rave reviews.
A six year old boy whom I know well, calls Madlenka "The Blue Book" since the illistrations seem to hover around the blue/grey spectrum, and that is what stands out in his head... not the story so much as the monotone of the illustrations. The absolute excitement of a loose tooth is not lost on children, and Madlenka's travels are indeed fanciful and fun. This is an interesting and insightful book that will most likely appeal more to the adults who read it than to the children who are lucky enough to have adults who read to them. (Review Data Last Updated: 2007-07-10 07:22:47 EST)
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| 06-03-01 | 5 | 13\14 |
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To read many of the reviews, you might think this was a lengthy volume of work, in order for it to "take us around the world". It does it's job in as few words as possible, and can be read easily to young children or savored. A child in my preschool class recently shared this book and I am now ordering it as a "must have" for my classroom. Particularly required if you live in or near New York City.
(Review Data Last Updated: 2007-07-10 07:22:47 EST)
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