Madlenka by Peter Sís

Madlenka by Czech-born American illustrator Peter Sís is a beautiful book I came across a while ago. I wasn't familiar with the author but the very fine and delicate illustrations captured me, and the book has already become a favourite among us. The story is quite simple - the little girl Madlenka lives in New York ("In the universe, on a planet, on a continent, in a country, in a city, on a block, in a house...", as the story begins). One day she discovers she has a rocking tooth. Madlenka wants to tell all her friends about it and runs down the stairways out on the street. Her walk around the block brings us all around the world - we meet Monsieur Gaston from the French patisserie, Mr. Singh from the kiosk, Signor Ciao from the Italian ice cream van, Eduardo from the Latin American greengrocer etc...Every place we visit has a little cut out window we can enter and get a peek into other worlds. There are so many fine little details in the book and I regret my photos didn't turn out better - but I hope they do give you an impression anyway.

Madlenka Soccer Star - do see the little book trailer!