Maurice Sendak is a popular children’s author who is probably most well known for his work, “Where The Wild Things Are,” a book that tells the story of Max and his “wild” imagination.
What people don’t know however, is that prior to becoming a famous writer, Sendak worked mainly as an illustrator creating masterpieces that few people have ever heard of. Thanks to the awesome group of gals at babble.com, all that is about to change.
According to blogger Rebecca Odes, the following three books are must haves for every children’s bookcase.
1) I Want To Paint My Bathroom Blue
This dreamy book, written by once popular and currently under-appreciated children’s book author Ruth Krauss, is a fantasy of kid power with awareness of adult boundaries. Sendak’s watery watercolors add to the poetry.
2) How Little Lori Visited Times Square
A small boy decides to go to Times Square and takes matters into his own hands, attempting various means of transport with limited success. The book has an ambiguous ending which is uncharacteristic of modern media for kids. This was my son’s favorite book for a long time. It has all the freedom of Where the Wild Things Are…without the monsters.
3) Mr. Rabbit and The Lovely Present
Sendak’s watercolors here are remarkably beautiful. The look of this book really appeals to my kids, as does the fantastical story about a girl who encounters a talking, bipedal rabbit in a dappled forest. Though the look is much more “pretty” than Sendak’s own books, it’s easy to see the beginnings of Max and Sendak’s later characters in this little girl’s squat physique and facial expressions.
Book Reviews via Rebecca Odes of Babble
