Madeleine's World: A Child's Journey from Birth to Age Three

This tell-all, no-holds-barred biography of a three-year-old girl details virtually every movement and utterance the child made in her father's presence until she was three. Madeleine appears to be a sweet child that any parent would be thrilled to have, but aside from her own parents, it is difficult to guess the audience for this book. Hall (The Saskiad) speculates at great length on the meaning of Madeleine's unintelligible utterances, but offers no clinical basis for his analysis. And for all his close attention and detail, he at times fails to provide context and background. For example, he frequently refers to giving his daughter her pacifier without saying what he thinks about such an item. On the other hand, he goes on at length about bowel and toilet issues. Intelligence and sensitivity inform this account, but a different approach would have made the material more interesting. (Nov.)