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Maurice Sendak with his German shepherd, Herman in 2005.
Photograph by Mariana Cook. |
In my ongoing quest to catch up on
New Yorkers, I recently came across
an article about one of my
favorite children’s book authors; Maurice Sendak. Mr. Sendak is best known for
his classic
Where the Wild Things Are
but I thought I’d share three of my favorite
slightly less famous Sendak treasures as a belated tribute.
I bought Outside Over
There from a used bookstore in Raleigh, NC when I was in college. I didn’t
have children but I immediately adored it. The story is whimsical
and sweet and full of family love and devotion. Not to mention beautiful. Although
I couldn’t know at the time, my future little family would fall in love with it
as completely as I did.
When I gave In the
Night Kitchen to my younger brother as a Christmas gift almost fifteen
years ago, my mom was pretty dubious because of the little naked boy running
through the story. But even then, I thought it was so charming and special. I love the image of the boy floating through the kitchen at night. It is so dreamlike and visually striking at the same time that I still regret not
keeping that book for myself.
This one is a cheat because it is four teeny books in one
set: The Nutshell Library consists of Pierre:
A Cautionary Tale, One Was Johnny: A
Counting Book, Alligators All Around:
An Alphabet, and Chicken Soup with
Rice: A Book of Months. I found this when I was a new mother and although
my daughter couldn’t read (or even roll over), it seemed perfect for our family. I love how
Mr. Sendak merged his quirky and distinctive sense of humor with traditional
children’s subjects (alphabets, counting) and created something original and
hilarious.
I never wrote to Maurice Sendak to express my appreciation
for his work and I think I’ll always wish that I had. But luckily, I still have
his books and I can continue to enjoy them with my kids on an almost daily
basis. This, I suppose, is the best way to show my admiration anyway. I hope
you’ve read all these before but if not, now you’ve got an easy, beautiful weekend
project all set up for you, courtesy of Swings and Arrows.
Happy Weekend!
-Alissa
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