SENDAK

BUMBLE ARDIE

Maurice Sendak has a new book out. I commend him for keeping at it. I haven't had a chance to look over the book for a good judgement YET but as perhaps some of you may have figured out, I won't give you my full judgement of a book anyway... because you know... I'm an author... and that would be bad.

Anyway, this is his new book:


And this is a short film from the old Bumble Ardie:
(thanks to Sheila for the heads up)


I will say this about his work. His art has gotten a little sloppier. Or a lot?

And here's a cool stop motion animation from Sesame Street.

I remember this when I was little. I remember feeling uneasy about it. Isn't that weird? I didn't like its hairdo or the eyelashes or the song it sang. But at the same time I thought it was interesting to look at and I like when it croaked.

SOME WORDS FROM SENDAK

What makes a good kids' story?
Sendak: How would I know? I just write the books.

The monsters (in Wild Things) were based on adults, right?
Sendak: The monsters were based on relatives. They came from Europe, and they came on weekends to eat, and my mom had to cook. Three aunts and three uncles who spoke no English, practically. They grabbed you and twisted your face, and they thought that was an affectionate thing to do. And I knew that my mother's cooking was pretty terrible, and it also took forever, and there was every possibility that they would eat me, or my sister or my brother. We really had a wicked fantasy that they were capable of that. We couldn't taste any worse than what she was preparing. So that's who the Wild Things are. They're foreigners, lost in America, without a language. And children who are petrified of them, and don't understand that these gestures, these twistings of flesh, are meant to be affectionate. So there you go.

Sendak: I remember I was having fights with my editor about this book.

What were the fights about?
Sendak: Well, I'll just give you a silly example. The entire staff at the publishing house were keen on my changing the word "hot" to "warm" on the last page. Because "hot" meant "burn ...." It was going to burn the kid. I couldn't believe it. But it turned into a real world war, just that word, and I won.

How did you win?
Sendak: Just going at it. Just trying to convey how dopey "warm" sounded. Unemotional. Undramatic. Everything about that book is "hot."

Do you think Disney is bad for children?
Sendak: I think it's terrible.

What do you say to parents who think the Wild Things film may be too scary?
Sendak: I would tell them to go to hell. That's a question I will not tolerate.

Because kids can handle it?
Sendak: If they can't handle it, go home. Or wet your pants. Do whatever you like. But it's not a question that can be answered.

Yeah, Sendak can be a bit bold and grumpy sounding... but I got these bits from an interview about his movie that was a few years back from NEWSWEEK. It's pretty interesting. Read the whole thing here.

I have to admit that I didn't like the movie. I really liked the way the monsters looked but my liking of things ended there. I remain a huge fan of the book. I have yet to see a good rendition of a picture book. I don't think it's possible.

THE ELECTRIC GRANDMOTHER

I have such a strong memory of watching this part of this strange movie, based on a Ray Bradbury book, as a kid:



I'll never forget the grandmother pouring milk from her finger! It wasn't just strange, it was a little creepy but at the same time the grandmother was very warm and loving. What a strange combination! I don't think you can find that in a movie today. The same goes for books. I posted below about In The Night Kitchen. It's strange, but fun and memorable. "Wacky" as my mom called it. Everything has to be so safe or a bunch of people will complain. But there has to be room somewhere for that kind of material so that children today can end up carrying around powerful memories like I do. Memories like that are important. Not everything has to be happy--it can be a little unsettling or off kilter at the same time. At least I think so.

In The Night Kitchen - Too Strange?

When I asked my mom what some of my favorite books were as a kid she said, "You of course loved the wild and wacky, In The Night Kitchen," This spurred me to find this video:


And then of course I had to read the comments, some of which irritated the heck out of me:

That IS a weird book. I've come across it once b4 & thought what the??? Your comments on the book are hilarious! Well done!

At first i thought YOU had written the warped book, I kept looking at the cover to see if it really was an authentic main stream published book! Was the author on weird drugs? Is the author head of a pedaphile club?? Fantisy is fun in kids books, but this is more of a nightmare

zaniebobanie 2 years ago
It's sort of a classic -- same guy wrote "Where the Wild Things Are" -- but a very strange classic.

VMKPRO 2 years ago
Glad you liked it. An Owen classic...

DadLabs 2 years ago
Highest Rated Comments
I love this book. It was one of my favorites when I was little and is still one of my fav children's books. I love the illustrations, and the surrealism. Because he's naked on like 4 pages makes it inapropriatte?? Come on. It's a children's book, and it's not like it's graphic. You prudes need to grow up.

NotanEmoJasmine 1 year ago 6
I know this comment is a year old but I just had to say something. Sendak has discussed this book due to all the idiodic controversy and purpsely drew the chefs with hitler mustaches baking the kid in an oven as a hidden haulocaust referance because of his Jewish heritage.

Excellent, very funny review. Exactly our reaction to the story when we first saw it! We have it animated on the "Where the Wild Things Are" DVD (animated version) and our son (2 yrs old) watches it over and over and over! We weren't sure if it was all a bit too surreal but he loves it

leepharps 2 months ago
this is funny but the author is the same guy who wrote where the wild things are so... yea

Lubydo 2 months ago
thumbs up!

billshots 1 year ago
@NotanEmoJasmine THANK YOU

trembleweeds 1 year ago
LMFAO, that was beyond hilarious!!!!!!!

desolate2 1 year ago
this is hillarious

trishiz0 1 year ago
That made me laugh so hard that someone actually came into my room and asked what was wrong. Hilarious.

ChowakeePsycho 1 year ago
Just a small correction, those 3 bakers were actually supposed to look like Oliver Hardy, not Hitler.

This is a sick homo book. they even got hitler chefs in it. OMG!

phantastickyle 2 years ago
they showed his penis in a kids book....

Fantastic. I love how the discomfort just multiplies with every page.

weird book
heatherbreyerhorse
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I really hope that YouTube does not represent the cross population of America. Unfortunately, after working in retail for so long, I'm afraid that it does.

MAURICE SENDAK... ON... STUFF