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juushikaPart 2 of at least 3. (Here is part 1.) I'm definitely not going to read every Sendak, because the Nutshell books (Chicken Soup with Rice, Pierre) seem hit and miss enough to skip the rest. But these have frankly grown more interesting the more I read, sometimes for "the metacriticism/context/body of work is more interesting than the actual text" reasons as will come up in a later review. It makes me wonder what I'd think now of, say, Outside Over There, books to which I initially had a more tepid response.
Title: Chicken Soup with Rice: A Book of Months
Author: Maurice Sendak
Published: HarperCollins Children's Books, 1990 (1962)
Rating: 2 of 5
Page Count: 30
Total Page Count: 318,640
Text Number: 1110
Read Because: reading the author, hardback borrowed from the Wilsonville Public Library
Review: I'm not convinced that Sendak's dreamy illogic works particularly well to teach specific subjects—the panel-per-month format is familiar, but the surreal approach to each month doesn't make for concrete, clear associations. But I didn't read this as a kid and I'm not reading it to a kid, and other reviews indicate it's either more effective or more fun than I think it is, which is fair. Otherwise, nothing special: gets progressively weirder but doesn't grow into a deeper narrative; simple, two-tone art.
Title: Higglety Pigglety Pop! or There Must Be More to Life
Author: Maurice Sendak
Published: HarperCollins Children's Books, 1995 (1967)
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 70
Total Page Count: 318,710
Text Number: 1111
Read Because: reading the author, hardback borrowed from the Wilsonville Public Library
Review: A dog who has everything except contentment runs away to find it. I love Sendak's art here, detailed crosshatched ink still marked by his odd proportions and uncanny faces. The tone is effectively absurd—it's not realistically grounded, it's not a dream, it's just a dog packing a suitcase and leaving home to work as a nanny: unapologetic nonsense. I expect narratives about discontent to punish their protagonists—and while there is a sense of the universality, and thus senselessness, of discontent, the abrasively happy ending is a welcome subversion. This is what might have made the book succeed for me as a kid; coming to it as an adult reader, it's effective but not especially complex. This isn't on par with Where the Wild Things Are, but it's one of Sendak's stronger books—or perhaps I'm just adjusting to his style!
Title: Pierre: A Cautionary Tale in Five Chapters and a Prologue
Author: Maurice Sendak
Published: HarperCollin Children's Books, 1990 (1962), 50pg
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 50
Total Page Count: 319,320
Text Number: 1116
Read Because: reading the author, hardback borrowed from the Wilsonville Public Library
Review: Sendak keeps making me wonder just where is the arbitrary divide between slight nonsense and sincere fun; this falls among the later. The excess of structure and blatant moral play productively against Sendak's usual absurdity, contradicting, tempering, grounding, and the result is charming and relatable. The art meanwhile is simple, doodle-y with just two colors; not a favorite.
Title: The Sign on Rosie's Door
Author: Maurice Sendak
Published: HarperCollins Children's Books, 2002 (1960)
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 50
Total Page Count: 319,130
Text Number: 1118
Read Because: reading the author, hardback borrowed from the Wilsonville Public Library
Review: Children's books about make-believe are a pleasure, and the subject is a good fit to Sendak's oddball logic—this honestly is one of his more restrained books: no fantastic/absurdist elements, just a game of pretend turned vivid and a little magical. The art, like all of the Nutshell books I've read, is on the simple side, doodles with two colors, but it's stronger than usual, the large panels interweaving with the text and highlighted by effective use of contrast. ...So it's a pity about the Orientalism/racism in the first chapter! That sure hasn't aged well.
Title: Chicken Soup with Rice: A Book of Months
Author: Maurice Sendak
Published: HarperCollins Children's Books, 1990 (1962)
Rating: 2 of 5
Page Count: 30
Total Page Count: 318,640
Text Number: 1110
Read Because: reading the author, hardback borrowed from the Wilsonville Public Library
Review: I'm not convinced that Sendak's dreamy illogic works particularly well to teach specific subjects—the panel-per-month format is familiar, but the surreal approach to each month doesn't make for concrete, clear associations. But I didn't read this as a kid and I'm not reading it to a kid, and other reviews indicate it's either more effective or more fun than I think it is, which is fair. Otherwise, nothing special: gets progressively weirder but doesn't grow into a deeper narrative; simple, two-tone art.
Title: Higglety Pigglety Pop! or There Must Be More to Life
Author: Maurice Sendak
Published: HarperCollins Children's Books, 1995 (1967)
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 70
Total Page Count: 318,710
Text Number: 1111
Read Because: reading the author, hardback borrowed from the Wilsonville Public Library
Review: A dog who has everything except contentment runs away to find it. I love Sendak's art here, detailed crosshatched ink still marked by his odd proportions and uncanny faces. The tone is effectively absurd—it's not realistically grounded, it's not a dream, it's just a dog packing a suitcase and leaving home to work as a nanny: unapologetic nonsense. I expect narratives about discontent to punish their protagonists—and while there is a sense of the universality, and thus senselessness, of discontent, the abrasively happy ending is a welcome subversion. This is what might have made the book succeed for me as a kid; coming to it as an adult reader, it's effective but not especially complex. This isn't on par with Where the Wild Things Are, but it's one of Sendak's stronger books—or perhaps I'm just adjusting to his style!
Title: Pierre: A Cautionary Tale in Five Chapters and a Prologue
Author: Maurice Sendak
Published: HarperCollin Children's Books, 1990 (1962), 50pg
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 50
Total Page Count: 319,320
Text Number: 1116
Read Because: reading the author, hardback borrowed from the Wilsonville Public Library
Review: Sendak keeps making me wonder just where is the arbitrary divide between slight nonsense and sincere fun; this falls among the later. The excess of structure and blatant moral play productively against Sendak's usual absurdity, contradicting, tempering, grounding, and the result is charming and relatable. The art meanwhile is simple, doodle-y with just two colors; not a favorite.
Title: The Sign on Rosie's Door
Author: Maurice Sendak
Published: HarperCollins Children's Books, 2002 (1960)
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 50
Total Page Count: 319,130
Text Number: 1118
Read Because: reading the author, hardback borrowed from the Wilsonville Public Library
Review: Children's books about make-believe are a pleasure, and the subject is a good fit to Sendak's oddball logic—this honestly is one of his more restrained books: no fantastic/absurdist elements, just a game of pretend turned vivid and a little magical. The art, like all of the Nutshell books I've read, is on the simple side, doodles with two colors, but it's stronger than usual, the large panels interweaving with the text and highlighted by effective use of contrast. ...So it's a pity about the Orientalism/racism in the first chapter! That sure hasn't aged well.
