“In an old house in Paris that was covered with vines lived twelve little girls in two straight lines …”
So begins each of the Madeline stories by children’s author/illustrator Ludwig Bemelmans, who died in 1962. So begins Madeline and the Old House in Paris (Viking), written and illustrated by John Bemelmans Marciano, grandson of Ludwig and inheritor of his grandfather’s style of storytelling and artwork. In this latest Madeline story, she’s in the company of a ghost — the centuries-old ghost of an astronomer upset by the loss of his telescope. Pepito, Madeline’s friend, is on hand. So too: Miss Clavel and Lord Cucuface.
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The Booksellers at Laurelwood welcomes John Bemelmans Marciano for a signing on Sunday, October 20th, at 2 p.m. But he’ll be discussing and signing another title as well — one that he wrote but did not illustrate (that would be artist Sophie Blackall): The 9 Lives of Alexander Baddenfield (Viking), a story for older young readers about a (badd?) boy, that boy’s cat, that cat’s nine lives, and some pretty dark doings.
Both books come timed for Halloween, and a line ticket is required for the signing. Buy Madeline and the Old House in Paris or The 9 Lives of Alexander Baddenfield (or both) and that ticket is yours for free.
