Kitchen Madonna Hardcover – November 1, 2009

Rumer Godden (1907-1998) has an enormous canon that ranges from children's fiction to adult literature to non-fiction to poetry. Very likely her best known work is BLACK NARCISSUS, which formed the basis for the celebrated 1947 film starring Deborah Kerr, but my own favorite of her works is the 1967 THE KITCHEN MADONNA, technically a children's book, factually a book to entrance all ages.The story concerns a Protestant English family living in London. Both parents are employed, and their children Gregory and Janet are often left in the care of a paid housekeeper. These tend to come and go, and Gregory dislikes all of them--until Marta arrives. A war refugee from the Ukraine, she is completely unlike their previous caretakers: she does not like to play games, she does not like to gossip with the other servants in the apartment building, and she is always very serious. But she seems unhappy in the household, and when the children press her she tells them it is because there is "no good place" in the kitchen, which is her special domain. It takes some probing, but the children finally realize that Marta, a devout Catholic, wants an icon in the kitchen but does not know how to go about acquiring such a thing.Although the story is told primarily from the point of view of daughter Janet, the story itself is about how the extremely self-contained, very shy, and somewhat selfish Gregory begins to research icons and determines to make a "kitchen madonna" for Marta. The research takes them to jewelers and churchs and the construction becomes quite involved. All of it demands personal sacrifice of time, money, and even treasured possessions, and through the process Gregory learns how to give of himself and to show kindness to another person. The story is both delicate and delicately told, and Godden's prose has a precision that is rare in children's literature. It is quite beautiful, a welcome addition to any library--child or adult.GFT, Amazon Reviewer

A favorite as a kid so I'm passing it along to mine.

So glad to add to my collection.

A sweet story about kindness, creativity, moving our boundaries, embracing goodness. We’re all in this together.

Excellent, wholesome, engaging story about two children's desire to create a Madonna icon for a "good place" in their kitchen for their Ukrainian house maid/nanny. Several characters become better people when they are drawn into this experience. This book is easy for a fluent reader, yet also a really nice bedtime read-aloud for the whole family, even the little ones. Good choice for a young ladies book club, too. With so much garbage on the book store shelves these days, this older text is well-worth it! Enjoy!

I loved this book years ago and bought a used copy of my own recently, the spell of it was that strong. I re-read it yesterday and it still moved me to tears. It is a kindly book, as one reviewer so aptly says, but also a story about a young person becoming immersed, joyfully possessed, and finally transformed by the process of creating something beautiful to make someone else happy. Everyone wins, but not in an icky sticky way.

"Nothing less than the whole is good enough for God." That sums up this book and "In This House of Brede". Only after reading both of them dozens of times, did I realize that "The Kitchen Madonna" could be considered "Brede for Kids".They're both about learning to give, love and give some more. Both are stellar pieces of art woven together as only Rumer Godden can. I can't recommend either of them both more highly than that.

My 3rd grader and 5th grader enjoyed it, and so did the kids' book club. Sweet story.