Pre-Owned Madison Finds a Line Hardcover

Publishers Weekly,Charming visuals buoy up an erratic rhyming narrative starring a spirited girl. With her trendy name, fetching wardrobe and sophisticated musical tastes (she can croon the "Basin Street Blues" and dance the salsa), young Madison is a stylish heroine. She also shows her plucky stuff as she "sets herself on a mission" to find out where a mysterious line in her backyard leads. Stepping through a curtain of bed sheets with her cat Caspar in tow, she pursues the line through its various incarnations (rope, zig-zag, steps, slope). It's an adventure that requires her to battle storms on the high seas, scale a mountain and even walk a tightrope: "Oh... that's all right," Madison says when confronted with a line "flying straight across/ a mile-high slice of air!" Her determination remains indefatigable: "I've walked a rope before./ Though this one might be harder,/ since it isn't on the floor." Warner's (The Magic Sewing Machine) verse scans unevenly and often uses words in confusing contexts (e.g., "At this terrible moment,/ awash in the foment,/ their umbrella obligingly bobbed into sight"). But her artwork, featuring Madison in an array of costumes against inviting backdrops, aptly captures the imagination of both a child and artist in flight. Ages 4-8. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved