We celebrated Milly's fifth birthday with a Madeline party at home. I think even Ludwig Bemelmans (who never actually wrote a book about Madeline's birthday) would have been pleased. Milly was! Miss Clavel (that would be me) made twelve little girls-worth of Madeline coats and hats for Milly and the party guests; we did a dramatic reading of Madeline's Rescue featuring a special guest appearance by Lord Cucuface (Milly's dad); and we hunted high and low for Madeline's dog Genevieve, who turned out to be a dog pinata (retrofitted with pullstrings to avoid the appearance of animal cruelty). Then we ate cake.

All of this was surprisingly simple to put together, I swear. It did take some thought and time (and the writing of a bit of / bad Bemelmans-esque rhyme); but if your child has a birthday coming up, I would definitely encourage you to plan the party around the book. And if your child's favorite book is Madeline, call me.

Joyeux anniversaire, Milly!