About the Author

Ludwig Bemelmans (1896-1963) was born in the Austrian Tirol, coming to the United States in 1914. Although best known for his children's books, he also wrote fiction and non-fiction for adults, on subjects he knew best: hotels, traveling, and Hollywood. He was a frequent contributor to magazines, including The New Yorker, Town and Country, and Holiday. Bemelmans was also a painter, whose art was displayed in exhibitions around the world.

Reviews

Madeline joined the company of story immortals in 1939, when Bemelmans introduced the lion-hearted French child to the world. The original and five sequels excited critical raves, awards and an international readership. Now the sixth saga, reprinted from a McCall's magazine feature, will be offered as a book. On Christmas Eve, the old house in Paris, covered with vines, is also swarming with germs. Miss Clavel and her charges, except Madeline, are downed by the flu. So the littlest of the 12 girls nurses the ailing ones but a mysterious caller arrives with the promise of turning a sad Yuletide into an adventure. Madeline buys 12 rugs from the turbaned visitor and tucks them around the chilly invalids until she discovers that the covers are more than comforting. They are magic. They take Madeline and her friends on a wonderful flight, bringing back the joys of the season. (38)

That old house in Paris that is covered with vines' still holds the irrepressible Madeline, who here manages to keep things going when everyone is sick abed Christmas Eve....The pictures are vintage Bemelmans -- brisk, energetic, and strikingly composed. Booklist