THE 9 LIVES OF ALEXANDER BADDENFIELD

Most people die only once- but not Alexander!

Alexander Baddenfield is a truly horrible boy, descended from a long line of cheating, lying scoundrels. But he doesn’t lack curiosity or courage. And so, one day Alexander decides on an experiment. He’ll have eight lives transplanted from his cat, which will allow him to try various ways of dying: he’ll fly like Icarus, test the third rail to see if it really electrocutes you, join in a bull fight with a particularly angry bull. Alexander dies over and over, until suddenly he has only one life left—just like everyone else.

Sophie Blackall’s deliciously macabre drawings have a Goreyesque feeling that is a perfect complement to John Marciano’s witty text.

John Bemelmans Marciano is the grandson of Ludwig Bemelmans, prolific author and creator of the Madeline books. He is the author/illustrator of two previous books about Madeline: Madeline Says Merci and Madeline and the Cats of Rome. He is also the author of an adult book, Anonyponymous (Bloomsbury, 2009). His wife, Andromache, is a set designer. They have one daughter, Galatea. Sophie Blackall is the illustrator of many books for children, including the popular Ivy and Bean books, Ruby’s Wish, and Big Red Lollypop.