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Ludwig Bemelmans (1898-1962) was an painter,
illustrator, and the author of a series of books
(which he also illustrated) whose main character
is a little France|French girl named Madeline. All
the stories are told in rhymes.

Each story begins: "In an old house in Paris, that
was covered with vines, lived twelve little girls
in two straight lines... the smallest one was
Madeline."

The girls are cared for by a nun, Miss Clavel.
Other characters include Pepito, son of the
Spain|Spanish Ambassador, who lives next door;
Lord Cucuface, owner of the house; and Genevieve,
a dog who rescues Madeline from drowning in the
second book.

Bemelmans published six Madeline stories in his
lifetime, and a seventh was discovered and
published posthumously:

#Madeline (book)|Madeline, 1939: Madeline gets her
appendix out.
#Madeline's Rescue, 1953: Madeline rescues a dog;
Or is it the other way around? Winner of the
Caldecott Award for 1954.
#Madeline and the Bad Hat, 1956: The "bad hat"
Pepito, is the Spanish ambassador's bambino.
#Madeline and the Gypsies, 1959: Madeline and
Pepito have an adventure at a gypsy circus.
#Madeline in London, 1961: Pepito moves to London,
and Madeline and the girls go to visit him.
#Madeline's Christmas, 1985: Everyone in the house
has a cold, except Madeline. (First published in
McCall's in 1956).
#Madeline in America and Other Holiday Tales,
1999: Madeline inherits a fortune from her rich
United States|American great-grandpapa.

==Adaptations==

*The first book, Madeline,  was made into an
award-winning 1952 short subject|short
Animation|animated cartoon directed by Robert
Cannon for United Productions of America|UPA, also
titled "Madeline (1952 film)|Madeline".

*Between 1990 and 1995 an animated Madeline
(television series)|Madeline series was made for
television, with narration in appropriately
rhyming style read by Christopher Plummer.

* A live action Madeline (1998 film)|Madeline film
based on several of the books appeared in 1998,
directed by Daisy von Scherler Mayer and starring
Hatty Jones as Madeline, Frances McDormand as Miss
Clavel, and Nigel Hawthorne as Lord
Covington/"Cucuface".
   
==External Link==   
*http://www.smithsonianmag.si.edu/smithsonian/issu
es98/jul98/bemelman.html The Man Who Dreamed Up
Madeline 
*http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044865/ IMDB: 1952
cartoon
*http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115257/ IMDB: 1990
series
*http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0123987/ IMDB: 1998
movie