He will not illustrate to order, increasingly depending on himself as the writer, and, when he illustrates the texts of others, choosing only those that seem real to him. Sendak’s work, on the other hand, is unmistakably identifiable as his. Many of these books, homogenized and characterless, look and read as if they had been put together by a computer. The illustrations are usually decorative rather than imaginative, and any fantasy that may be encountered either corresponds to the fulfillment of adult wishes or is carefully curbed lest it frighten the child.
Far too many contemporary picture books for the young are still populated by children who eat everything on their plates, go dutifully to bed at the proper hour, and learn all sorts of useful facts or moral lessons by the time the book comes to an end. Sendak has trouble believing in his commercial success largely because his creations are so much at variance with the sort of thing that usually sells well in his field. In addition to the “Little Bear” series, the “Nutshell Library,” and “Where the Wild Things Are,” there have been “ A Hole Is to Dig,” written by Ruth Krauss, “ The Bat-Poet” and “ The Animal Family,” both written by the late Randall Jarrell, “Lullabies and Night Songs,” with music by Alec Wilder, and “ Hector Protector.” More than fifty other children’s books contain illustrations by Sendak, and more than half a dozen have texts by him many of them sell well enough to keep Sendak surprised by his affluence. As a writer, as an illustrator, and as both, Sendak has been associated with a number of successful children’s books of the past decade. My son’s familiarity with Maurice Sendak’s creations is shared by a sizable and constantly growing number of American children under eight. Some reviewers of children’s books have asserted that the wild things are frightening, but Nicholas finds them quite funny. He is a wild thing-an inhabitant of “ Where the Wild Things Are,” a book written and illustrated by Maurice Sendak. The Pierre whom Nicholas had been emulating is the hero of a book called “Pierre,” which is part of the four-volume “ Nutshell Library,” written and illustrated by Maurice Sendak Pierre, even after he is swallowed by a famished lion, will say only “I don’t care.” On top of a chest of drawers next to Nicholas’s bed is a large picture of a dancing creature with horns, sharp teeth, yellow eyes, and a scaly body.
Wild things series#
Mother Bear is a large, comfortable source of reassurance in “ Little Bear,” a series of four books written by Else Holmelund Minarik and illustrated by Maurice Sendak. In a much softer voice, he replied, “Yes, Mother Bear.” As he rubbed his knee, my wife asked, “Are you hurt?” The next jump was the most ambitious yet, and Nicholas fell off the bed.
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