Thank You, Mr. Sendak

Maurice Sendak died this morning.  He was 83.  When our children were little, Sendak books were some of their favorites.  Almost everyone is familiar with Where the Wild Things Are, but I like some of his lesser known books even better.

Part of our Maurice Sendak collection.

As I mentioned in my recent post about pancakes, In the Night Kitchen was a particular favorite at our house.  Other favorites were Chicken Soup with Rice, Hector Protector, Pierre, and Kenny's Window.  Sadly, I think the kids may have forgotten Kenny's Window, as I recently said, "An only goat is a lonely goat," to our daughter and she didn't remember where it was from.  True, it's only one line from a 55-or-so-page book, but for some reason, it always resonated with me. That is the wonderful thing about Sendak's books.  While he was known as a children's author, his books are fun for adults to read, too.  A streak of dark humor runs through them.  Maybe they are not appropriate for all children, but our children enjoyed them, and I find them wonderfully entertaining.

Take Pierre, for example.  Little Pierre, who always says "I don't care."  Poor Pierre is eaten by a lion.

Arriving home
at six o'clock,
his parents had a dreadful shock!
They found the lion
sick in bed
and cried,
"Pierre is surely dead!"

Of course, everything turns out all right for Pierre, just as it does for Ida and her baby sister in Outside Over There when the baby is snatched by goblins.  While Ida is brave, she is also "foolish," and makes a "serious mistake."  The characters in Sendak's books aren't always wise or even good, they are more like normal children, who say "no" and sometimes misbehave, but things work out in the end.

Ida in "Mama's yellow rain cloak" going off to save her sister.

That's an important lesson, even for adults.  We don't have to be perfect, we will make mistakes, but that's okay.  So thank you, Maurice Sendak, for all the books you wrote and all the joy you gave to children and adults.  We'll soldier on, but we won't forget you or your spunky characters.

Hector Protector