Madame Pamplemousse and Her Incredible Edibles
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
More About the Author
Product Description
Review
`I love this book . . . it's gripping and packed with adventures'
--Guardian
--Guardian
Review
'Think Amelie scripted by Heston Blumenthal' Financial Times 'Enchanting debut witty, warm-hearted and as delectable as one of the dishes it describes, this is as much a hymn to the culinary arts as to the magic of kindness, and is recommended for 6-9s' Amanda Craig, The Times 'A sophisticated book for sophisticated readers. Warmly recommended' The School Librarian 'Weird and wonderful concoctions, sweet and sour characters, and line drawing decoration by Sue Hellard are a recipe for success in this deliciously original little novel' Literacy Time Plus Ages 7 to 9
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
British author Rupert Kingfisher paid his first visit to Paris on a family vacation. We gather this trip took place during his youth as he describes his stay there as time when he had two life changing experiences - he discovered a shop filled with cartoon books and he first tasted anchovies. We also assume that he loved Paris as that seems evident in his descriptions of the city found in this delightfully imaginative tale.
Madeleine is the heroine of our story. She's a sweet young girl who is practically indentured by her parents to her mean, greedy Uncle Lard who owns a restaurant in Paris, the Squealing Pig. Although Madeleine has told her parents of his cruelty they do not believe her and trot off on safari or on a cruise around the world, leaving her to toil for Uncle Lard.
She is only allowed to wash dishes and scrub cookware even though she is a wonderful chef. The food in Uncle Lard's restaurant is abominable, even though he believes it to be grand. He's a fat dictator who orders his staff to smile all of the time, which is difficult to do when each and every one is usually cowering in fear.
One day the Head Chef discovers they are out of pate, which he desperately needs lest he be slaughtered or boiled alive. Eager to leave the kitchen Madeleine volunteers to go and buy some. She decides to take a different route on that day through "narrow lanes and winding alleys." Along the way she sees a long white cat, and believes it to be the same one she has seen "perched on the wall above the dust bins" while she is washing dishes at night. She follows the cat and is led to a shop Then, the most amazing thing happened - she saw the cat stand up on its hind legs, and go inside.
This is a far from ordinary shop run by Madame Pamplemousse who is clothed in black from head to toe and has the unsettling habit of appearing suddenly and then just as suddenly vanishing. When Madeleine tells her she is looking for pate, Madame Pamplemousse gives her a small bottle containing something dark green. The bottle label reads "Pate of North Atlantic Sea Serpent with Green Peppercorn Mustard."
What could that possibly taste like? How would people respond after eating it?
In some ways Kingfisher's story reminds me of "Chocolat," as the emphasis is very much on edibles and their unique effect on people. And, very much like "Chocolat," the characters in Kingfisher's story cry out to be adapted for a big screen. Each of them is unique and so deftly described that they are vivid in the reader's mind's eye. I can see Camembert the cat who each evening shares a bottle of Rose-Petal Wine with Madame Pamplemousse, and the beaked nose Monsieur Langoustine, the city's eminent food critic.
Illustrations, which appear on most pages are little gems in black and white, each amplifying the narrative and further illuminating the characters.
This title is recommended for 9 - 12 years olds - I'm a good bit older and it intrigued me from start to finish. There's something for everyone in Madame Pamplemousse and Her Incredible Edibles.
- Gail Cooke
Madeleine is the heroine of our story. She's a sweet young girl who is practically indentured by her parents to her mean, greedy Uncle Lard who owns a restaurant in Paris, the Squealing Pig. Although Madeleine has told her parents of his cruelty they do not believe her and trot off on safari or on a cruise around the world, leaving her to toil for Uncle Lard.
She is only allowed to wash dishes and scrub cookware even though she is a wonderful chef. The food in Uncle Lard's restaurant is abominable, even though he believes it to be grand. He's a fat dictator who orders his staff to smile all of the time, which is difficult to do when each and every one is usually cowering in fear.
One day the Head Chef discovers they are out of pate, which he desperately needs lest he be slaughtered or boiled alive. Eager to leave the kitchen Madeleine volunteers to go and buy some. She decides to take a different route on that day through "narrow lanes and winding alleys." Along the way she sees a long white cat, and believes it to be the same one she has seen "perched on the wall above the dust bins" while she is washing dishes at night. She follows the cat and is led to a shop Then, the most amazing thing happened - she saw the cat stand up on its hind legs, and go inside.
This is a far from ordinary shop run by Madame Pamplemousse who is clothed in black from head to toe and has the unsettling habit of appearing suddenly and then just as suddenly vanishing. When Madeleine tells her she is looking for pate, Madame Pamplemousse gives her a small bottle containing something dark green. The bottle label reads "Pate of North Atlantic Sea Serpent with Green Peppercorn Mustard."
What could that possibly taste like? How would people respond after eating it?
In some ways Kingfisher's story reminds me of "Chocolat," as the emphasis is very much on edibles and their unique effect on people. And, very much like "Chocolat," the characters in Kingfisher's story cry out to be adapted for a big screen. Each of them is unique and so deftly described that they are vivid in the reader's mind's eye. I can see Camembert the cat who each evening shares a bottle of Rose-Petal Wine with Madame Pamplemousse, and the beaked nose Monsieur Langoustine, the city's eminent food critic.
Illustrations, which appear on most pages are little gems in black and white, each amplifying the narrative and further illuminating the characters.
This title is recommended for 9 - 12 years olds - I'm a good bit older and it intrigued me from start to finish. There's something for everyone in Madame Pamplemousse and Her Incredible Edibles.
- Gail Cooke
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I had been looking for some literature to inspire my 7 year old daughter after she had finished the entire box set of Roald Dahl. This book really hit the spot! Set in Paris, and featuring a young girl called Madeleine, this story is totally enchanting. The characters come alive off the page and it was easy to build up the suspense whilst I read this novel to her. She has gone on the read the sequel and we will be buying the third in the set for Christmas. I SO recommend this if you are looking for something with a bit of flavour!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Awesome collection of childrens books- don't be put off by the cover boys will lve it too.
12 Feb 2011
Format:Paperback
As a childrens Librarian in a surrey school I was asked to read this book as part of a few selected for a book award, its fantastic, lots of our children went on to read it, hence my purchase of the next in series, don't be put off by the boring cover its a marvelous story for girls and boys alike. I couldn't put it down and I'm over 40!!
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
The Wonderful Madame Pamplemousse
Hooray for the wonderful Madame Pamplemousse or should I say Rupert Kingfisher. We bought the first book in this series for our 6 year old daughter and she was hooked. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Jill
Fantastic book
My daughter and I loved this book, she is 7 and a pretty good reader. This was slightly more complicated for self reading than Ivy and Bean but still fine for her. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Emlaw
A delightful book
'Mme Pamplemousse' gives girls something a bit more thoughtful and imaginative to read. The story is charming and gentle, with a slightly surreal air, a satisfying ending and some... Read more
Published 11 months ago by johanna
Highly enjoyable read!
An intriguing comic adventure with memorable characters in a metropolitan setting of Parisian restaurants, delicatessens and cobbled streets, able to delight imaginative children... Read more
Published 19 months ago by P. Tornbohm
Wonderful - shame about the cover
We are a family of foodie francophiles and the combination of weird and wonderful foods, a hint of magic, wicked uncle, Paris and a gutsy little heroine hit all the right buttons... Read more
Published on 27 Feb 2010 by G. Raffle
An ideal book for a gift; a wonderfully original story
This is very imaginative and original and made me (listening to it) want to hear more! This particular edition has a very attractive cover and it is an ideal gift for girls aged... Read more
Published on 13 Nov 2009 by Discerning
Deliciously lovely!
I am sure this delightful book will captivate all who read it. I am doing my best to make sure that as many people read it as possible as my current order will take my total up to... Read more
Published on 12 Nov 2008 by J. Wilkinson
KInd ans Witty - Children and Adults will both enjoy
this really enchanting book. The great thing is that the characters work on different levels. My granddaughter loved it - especially the disdainful cat, Camembert, but I loved... Read more
Published on 20 Sep 2008 by Prudence Patts
I loved this, really loved this, very very much
Just cannot wait until this author's next book. For some inexplicable reason it made me cry, it was so gorgeously written that it reminded me of how amazing it felt when first... Read more
Published on 9 Sep 2008 by A. Prudente-Poulton
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Children's Books > Fiction > Animals
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
