madeline in america and other holiday tales

A collection of three holiday tales started by Ludwig Bemelmans and finished by his grandson John Bemelmans Marciano when he found the manuscripts and sketches for them amongst his grandfather's work.

In Madeline in America and Other Holiday Tales, a big surprise about Madeline is revealed, we tag along with her and her eleven classmates on a trip to Texas and…we finally learn her last name.  The Count and the Cobbler is about a cobbler who's so poor that he can't afford to make shoes for his own (numerous) children, until his youngest, a brilliant baby, intervenes.  Sunshine tells the tale of a music teacher whose grouchy landlord attempts to evict her on Christmas Eve.  It might have something to do with the fact that she conducts music classes in her apartment.  Also included is a piece on Christmas memories from the Bemelmans family.  Madeline in America and Other Holiday Tales is out of print and is a little hard to find, but there are still a few copies floating around out there if anyone's interested in a cozy addition to their December reads.

children's picturebooks: the art of visual storytelling


In Children's Picturebooks: The Art of Visual Storytelling, Martin Salisbury and Morag Styles take us into the world of the picture book, discussing its history, art, visual literacy, how children respond to picture books, the interplay between word and image, various types of printing processes and the publishing industry.  It features quite a collection of picture book covers, page spreads and rough sketches.  Much more than a reference—and a thoroughly researched one at that—Children’s Picturebooks is immersive, insightful and inspiring.  If you’ve fallen in love with #kidlit, this book is requisite reading and deserves a place on your shelves.

Written by Martin Salisbury, Morag Styles with cover art by Beatrice Alemagna.  Published by Laurence King.

a child's christmas in wales

“One Christmas was so much like another, in those years around the sea-town corner now and out of all sound except the distant speaking of the voices I sometimes hear a moment before sleep, that I can never remember whether it snowed for six days and six nights when I was twelve or whether it snowed for twelve days and twelve nights when I was six.”

Reading A Child’s Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas this week.  This edition was illustrated by Chris Raschka and published by Candlewick Press.