Mad About Madeline: The Complete Tales

Rating:
Summary: Our first choice EVERY night!
Review: Our two little girls, three and two years old, LOVE Madeline. Daddy reads them one story each night -- they always get to pick which. For Christmas they got two new books which are still almost unread, since every night they want Madeline! The stories are exciting, but gentle and sweet; they are moral but not preachy. And the poetry is wonderful! Also the stories are not too long for a tired parent's voice at bedtime. But with only two little ones of my own, I wonder how DOES Miss Clavel keep TWELVE little girls in two straight lines?

Rating:
Summary: Wish I'd Known
Review: Run, don't walk, away from this book. I regret purchasing it for my daughter, and it is now on it's way back to Amazon. I was shocked to read that Madeline's neighbor uses the gift of a tool set to build a guillotine in his backyard that he uses for chopping the heads off of chickens. Are we really so desensitized to violence in this culture that this is considered acceptable? I can't believe that this book is considered a classic. What a poor choice for any child!

Rating:
Summary: Bigger is still sometimes better
Review: Though MAD ABOUT MADELINE weighs almost as much as our little girl did on her second birthday -- the day she was given this book -- there was no detering Emily from reading it. Comfortably situating herself on her tummy with the book propped up on a pillow, Emily did not stop turning the pages until she had reached the end, and uttered, "Uh-oh." Discovering the beauty of an appendix scar in one book, to the thrill of walking the tightrope in another, and feeling the sadness at the loss of Genevieve in yet another, our daughter was mesmerized with Madeline. Madeline is good, but not without being curious and even sometimes mischievous. She is clever and determined, but never at the expense of proper reverence. She is a wonderful character whose personality endears her to both children and adults alike. Madeline is a must -- she inspires and she entertains -- and you can't help but be "Mad About Madeline!"