By: centraljersey.com
A beloved family tradition continues with the newest "Madeline" book as it tells the tale of the lonely First Daughter who gets a visit from 11 girls from France just in time for the annual Easter egg roll at the White House.
And a March 5 book signing in town will be a homecoming for author John Bemelmans Marciano, who is a Hun School graduate.
Mr. Marciano, who graduated in 1988, is looking forward to his return.
"We wanted to do the signing because my wife is a set designer for theater and she is doing a production of ‘Crimes of the Heart’ at McCarter Theatre."
"I grew up with The Princeton Packet and hanging out on Palmer Square."
Mr. Marciano said he is looking forward to having pizza and ice cream with his daughter.
"It will be totally fun to see all the old haunts, just driving on Great Road will be a trip," he said.
The book is a tribute to Ludwig Bemelmans, the original author of the "Madeline" series. Mr. Marciano, his grandson, has written and illustrated five books, including this new volume.
"Madeline at the White House," tells the story of Candle and her 11 new friends and the fun they have at a White House sleepover and Easter party the next day.
Candle and Madeline go on a nighttime adventure on a magical tide of cherry blossoms, the sure sign of spring in Washington, D.C.
"I love cherry trees and that is when Washington is the prettiest," he said. "I took my daughter to the Easter egg roll last year, I hope we get to go to it again."
"The idea for sending Madeline to the White House was my grandfather’s and grew out of his friendship with First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy," said Mr. Marciano, who grew up on a horse Farm in Three Bridges in Hunterdon County. "In a series of letters from late 1961 and early 1962, my grandfather sounded out the First Lady on ideas for the book, which he proposed calling ‘Madeline visits Caroline,’ with text from Mrs. Kennedy herself. My grandfather died before the book was finished."
"It came down to Washington because my grandfather had been talking to the First Lady about the book, and I didn’t want to use a real person, so I wanted to fictionalize it. But it was definitely my grandfather’s idea, but I had to come up with the plot," he said. "I did research the Kennedy White House and there was a White House kindergarten set up when Caroline was 5 years old with kids in the neighborhood and how lonely it must be to live inside this bubble."
There are modern themes in the book with Candle having two working parents.
"So, a lot of people will be able to relate when their parents are gone," he said. "Everyone can relate to being lonely and how that feels." The inside covers contain a tribute to Mr. Bemelmans. It is a watercolor of Madeline and her 10 French classmates at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery, which is where the elder author is buried, having served in World War I.
Even one of the characters – Madeline’s stowaway magician rabbit – is inspired by his grandfather.
"My grandfather loved to draw rabbits and he drew the best rabbits." Getting into the minds of Candle and Madeline was easy, as Mr. Bemelmans has a 2-year-old daughter and a young niece in the family.
"I’m smack dab in the middle of all the princess stuff," he said, so imagining the sleepover was easy.
He will be reading the story and signing books at Jazams on Palmer Square East at noon on Saturday, March 5.

