Madlenka

Madlenka by Peter Sís
2000

     Madlenka lives in an apartment in New York City.  One day her tooth begins to wiggle and she has to go outside to tell everyone.  In a city like New York, Madlenka gets to share the news with her friends for around the world: the french baker, the newspaper seller from India, the gelato maker from Italy, the storyteller from Germany, the grocer from Latin America, her friend Cleopatra from Egypt, and the store owner from Asia.  Madlenka tells us about each of her friends, where they come from and what makes their homelands especial.  They all share her joy.  When she finally makes it home again her parents are worried "Madlenka! Where have you been? Well...I went around the world. And I lost a tooth!"
     Madlenka is beautifully illustrated.  Each page captures the world and culture of each of Madlenka's neighbors.  At the end of the book, there is a world map pinpointing the places the characters came from. It's a New York book, a song to this wonderful city.