In the Night Kitchen (Caldecott Collection) by Maurice Sendak
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Book Reviews of In the Night Kitchen (Caldecott Collection)
Book Review: Where the Wild Bakers Are.
Summary: 5 Stars
Maurice Sendak really can do it all. He can take gorgeous artwork and give you a short yet effective story to go along with it. He can give make realistic illustrations somehow go along with very weird stories too. Then there's the stories by Sendak that just plain look weird and -are- weird, and that's where In the Night Kitchen falls. I've read a lot of Sendak's books over the years, from when I was a child to now, now that I have a daughter, and I actually hadn't read this one until just the other day. It was one of those books that I'd always forget about when at the book store, despite loving the artwork I'd seen in The Art of Maurice Sendak. In the Night Kitchen isn't going to be for every parent to read to their kids, due to nudity, but it's still a fun story and very Wild Things-ish.
Mickey is a young boy who goes to sleep one night, but hears a sound from the floor below his. Without warning, he starts to float, loses his clothes and ends up in a place called Night Kitchen. Mickey falls into a giant mixing bowl of cake batter while three bakers mix it up to prepare for baking, and either don't notice or care that there's a little boy in there. He proclaims that he's not the milk for the batter and takes off, now wearing an outfit made of batter. Mickey then makes an airplane out of dough so he can fly to the top of a milk bottle, dives in, and then pours some milk down for the bakers so they can finish their cake. Finally, Mickey crows like a rooster, goes down the bottle, and is back in bed, safe and sound.
Ok, it might not sound like Where the Wild Things Are much, but it follows the same lines as having minimal dialogue or plot, and having the illustrations do the talking. Plus it ends the same more or less, with the hero escaping a strange world, and is quickly back in his room as if nothing happened. Mickey looks a bit like Max too. My daughter's almost 4 and really got a kick out of seeing Mickey suddenly lose his clothes, and loved how he looked like a cookie with his batter suit. Of course, not all parents will be ok with this, and there are some out there that actually make sick accusations about this being a 'dirty' book not just because of the few pages of nudity, but because of the flowing milk and shape of the milk bottle. I'm usually one to notice anything inappropriate and keep it away from my daughter or brothers/sisters, but I really didn't see anything wrong with them. All I saw was some great art by one of the best in the business.
You're better off taking a look at this book in a book store yourself to see if you consider anything here inappropriate. Mickey isn't naked that much in the book, and he gets the dough suit pretty quickly, but hey, you know how some people are. I love how the art here is different from some of Maurice Sendak's other major titles, and has its own unique look. It's classic and cute, especially the image explaining why we can have cake every morning. This is one that kids can read at an early age too, so it's great for all ages.
Book Review: Childhood Dream Logic In Pen and Ink
Summary: 5 Stars
Growing up in Brooklyn in the 1930's, Maurice Sendak became obsessed with an ad for the "Sunshine Bakers." It featured three little fat guys in aprons and baker's hats, proclaiming: "We Bake While You Sleep!" Sounds innocent enough, sure, but it enraged little Mo, who, already blessed with an artistic temperament, called this concept "sadistic," as HE wanted to watch them mix the batter and measure the milk. He even kept the coupons so he could stare at the little bakers and imagine the wild goings-on inside the bakery.
So maybe THAT explains this tantalizingly surreal book: it could only have come from years of creative festering mixed up with a child's unforgotten rage and desire. The finished product is as close to one of those intense, almost-scary-but-not-quite childhood dreams as has ever been committed to paper.
The story is told in elongated, cartoon-like panels, and the look of it resembles a trippy "Nemo In Slumberland" crossed with a Laurel and Hardy film. The hero, Mickey, falls out of bed, out of his clothes, and through the floor (let's add an Alice In Wonderland reference here, too, now that we're at it) into "the light of the night kitchen." There, he is almost baked into a cake by three red-nosed Oliver Hardy lookalikes, but this is presented in a cheerful, "oops" manner rather than a Grimm's-style cautionary tale. In true dream-logic, they didn't have any malice toward Mickey: they simply mistook him for the milk!
So Mickey's mission is set: he must get milk for the batter, and the milk is only accessible through the top of a skyscraper-sized bottle. Our resourceful hero quickly builds an airplane from some dough, jauntily places the cup atop his head and flies to the top of the milk bottle, where he dives in, losing his dough-suit in the process.
In addition to the never-fail storyline of a kid heroically rescuing some hapless adults, this book is also a five-star hit with my son because of the tactile quality of Mickey's adventures: he falls, naked, into a big warm bowl of dough, swims in a cool bottle of milk, and slides down a giant bottle, in addition to yelling stuff at the top of his lungs whenever the mood strikes. Oh, and there's cake.
But really, trying to explain this book's magic is pointless: just buy it. Trust me, there will be a few used copies available -- this book is still being debated (and banned) by libraries and parents and and schools more than 30 years after its release date. For some unknown reason, the book simply creeps some people out.
It also has amazing collage-like artwork, a million little fine artistic details, and mystery to burn. In other words, it's one of my son's favorite books of all time. Mine too.
Book Review: If you can't get the pattern, rent the dvd.
Summary: 5 Stars
Honestly, we don't even own the book. (yet) We do have Where the Wild Things Are and my friend highly recommended the Scholastic dvd's. I found the WTWTA dvd and picked it up for that story. Lately, my son has been asking for the Night Kitchen- the last story on the dvd. The first time I heard it I was like "huh?" just listening to it- the lyricism of it appealed to me but the "milk in the batter, milk in the batter, we bake cakes and nothing else matters" just didn't make sense to my 31 year old mind. Then I watched it. Yep, it's Laurel and Hardy & their brother baking the cake, the Mickey oven is Mickey mouse (who I adore) and, holy cow, Mickey is NAKED! Majoring in children's literature, I knew immediatly that this book would be threatened to be pulled without having to read the reviews. The fact that it goes back to having a new baby in the house makes a lot of sense. (the most primal outfit we have is our own skin, right?) No, he doesn't HAVE to be naked, but isn't it beautiful how our kids don't have the hangups about it that we instill in them later? I think the images are so vivid and lovely that I am considering getting a copy of the book to tear apart and frame for my son's room.
Not to degrade those who have rated this book low on the scale, I mean, to each his/her own, but it's "not making sense" is part of the beauty of it. I wish I could count the number of times my 5 year old son has told me something that doesn't make sense. Jimbo from Treasure Planet has planted a garden, taken a train, and uses mulch chips from our garden as his surf board.
This beautiful imagry and creative story are masterfully woven together to make this a childhood (and beyond!) classic.
I am hoping to find an autographed copy to add to my son's autographed book collection. That's the ONLY reason why we don't own it yet.
Book Review: My feelings have changed about this book over time
Summary: 5 Stars
As a mother and a teacher, I am always looking for quality books to read to my fourth graders as well as my 3 year old daughter. Although I would never be able to read In the Night Kitchen to my class (parent complaints and such), it didn't take long for my little girl to fall in love with this book.
Sadly, many children today are lacking a tremendous amount of imagination, getting caught up in video games and the newest electronics. This is the primary reason why I knew I would expose her to Maurice Sendak. She's loved Where the Wild Things Are since she was a baby. I just checked out this book in the public library last week.
In my Children's Lit class in college many years ago, our teacher lectured us about the Freudian undertones of this children's book. Being young and impressionable, I vowed to myself to NEVER expose my future child to a book like this. Well, what can I say? I've learned quite a bit since then.
I'm a firm believer that nothing is a big deal unless you MAKE it a big deal. Sure, the book is certainly different from any other children's book you normally see. However, Sendak wrote this in 1970 and wanted it to be a nostalgic piece and he brought it into his illustrations. He was brought up reading comics of the 1940s, which is clearly seen in the story.
It's a whimsical, mystical story showing a journey through the imagination of a little boy. My daughter adores it and I often hear her quoting, "Quiet Down There!" and "Good bless me." I'm sure I will have a difficult time bringing this one back to the library, so I plan on purchasing it for her very soon. Thank goodness she has the Scholastic Video Collection that includes "Where the Wild Things Are" as well as "In the Night Kitchen."
Book Review: Great, Dreamlike, Surreal Book - Obviously not for everyone
Summary: 5 Stars
"In The Night Kitchen" is the bizarre, surreal story of Mickey and his journey into the mysterious night kitchen where bakers are preparing the 'morning cake.' Mickey is the savior of the story getting the key ingredient, Milk, for the bakers to complete the cakes. Like "Where the Wild Things Are," "In The Night Kitchen" is the dream of the main character. Where Max's room turns into a jungle, Mickey "falls/ floats" down through his room into the fantastical kitchen-world that appears to be below his house. The story is a child's dream. It is not supposed to make perfect sense to adult minds. In all honesty, the book seemed a little weird and disjointed to me at first. But my son instantly loved it. He is now 3.5 and we have been reading this book to him pretty consistently for about a year and a half now. He still loves it. It grew on me as well. The subtleties in the art are very well placed, more so than "Where the Wild Things Are." If you realize the book is just the surreal journey of a child's dream you may not get weirded out by it, and may begin to appreciate the book for what it is, a great child's story. As mentioned, Mickey does get naked as he transitions from his bedroom to the night kitchen and into his 'dough-suit,' then again as he transitions back to his house. As it seems a lot of people get stuck on this one facet of the book. Chances are if a child being naked in a children's book makes you uncomfortable, you probably won't like this one for you kids and should probably just avoid it.