LUDWIG BEMELMANS

Ludwig Bemelmans (1898-1962) never meant to become a writer, but thank goodness he did. Otherwise, there would be no Madeline! The free-spirited heroine of the storybook series in which each book begins, "In an old house in Paris, that was covered with vines, lived twelve little girls in two straight lines... the smallest one was Madeline” is inspired by his daughter and named after his wife. In addition to 15 children’s books, including Madeline’s Rescue, which won the Caldecott Award in 1954, Bemelmans also wrote books for adults, worked on Broadway and in Hollywood, illustrated covers for The New Yorker, and still had time to pursue his first passion: painting. In fact, you can check out some of his paintings at the Metropolitan Museum in New York and the Museé National d'Art of Paris.