cover image Madeline

Madeline

Ludwig Bemelmans. Viking Books, $17.99 (0pp) ISBN 978-0-670-81667-5

As with last year's pop-up version of Beatrix Potter's Two Bad Mice, this book seems born to the form. A spread showing ""the old house in Paris'' has lift-open windows so that the ``twelve little girls in two straight lines'' can be viewed; Madeline leans forward to ``pooh-pooh'' the zoo tiger and teeters on the wall ``to frighten Miss Clavel.'' When Miss Clavel turns on her light, readers can pull the tab and banish the darkness. And Madeline's hospital stay, with movable doll carriage and a tossable ball, looks enviable indeed. With all the bustling in these pages and tabs to tug, the book will immerse both old fans and new readers in the joys of knowing Madeline. Ages 3-8. (September)