During this week we are celebrating the teachers of our center. One of the things were were asked to comment on was our favorite children's author. Mine is Maurice Sendak. With him on my mind I was saddened to hear of his passing today.
Maurice was an amazing artist. Sometimes beautiful-
Often melancholy-
His books are enduring-
I read these two books to my sons tonight- my milk man and my wild thing, tucked into my sides, enraptured.
"When you not only hear a treasured story, but also are pressed against the most important person in the world, a connection is made that cannot be severed."
Maurice was bright and brilliant, despite the pain of his childhood. He connected to the children of many generations, yet never tried to.
“I think it is unnatural to think that there is such a thing as a blue-sky, white-clouded happy childhood for anybody. Childhood is a very, very tricky business of surviving it. Because if one thing goes wrong or anything goes wrong, and usually something goes wrong, then you are compromised as a human being. You're going to trip over that for a good part of your life.”
“You cannot write for children They're much too complicated. You can only write books that are of interest to them.”
“Once a little boy sent me a charming card with a little drawing on it. I loved it. I answer all my children’s letters — sometimes very hastily — but this one I lingered over. I sent him a card and I drew a picture of a Wild Thing on it. I wrote, “Dear Jim: I loved your card.” Then I got a letter back from his mother and she said, “Jim loved your card so much he ate it.” That to me was one of the highest compliments I’ve ever received. He didn’t care that it was an original Maurice Sendak drawing or anything. He saw it, he loved it, he ate it.”
“And it is through fantasy that children achieve catharsis. It is the best means they have for taming wild things.”
Maurice, you will be missed dearly and your books will remain in a very important place on the shelf in my classroom. May your wild rumpus start.
“Can you draw a picture on the blackboard when somebody doesn't want you to? asked the rooster promptly.
"Yes," answered Kenny," if you write them a very nice poem."
"What is an only goat?"
"A lonely goat," answered Kenny.
The rooster shut one eye and looked at Kenny.
"can you hear a horse on the roof?" he asked.
"If you know how to listen in the night," said Kenny.
"Can you fix a broken promise?"
"Yes," said Kenny,"if it only looks broken,but really isn't."
The rooster drew his head back into his feathers and whispered, "What is a very narrow escape?"
"When somebody almost stops loving you," Kenny whispered back.”
― Maurice Sendak
"Yes," answered Kenny," if you write them a very nice poem."
"What is an only goat?"
"A lonely goat," answered Kenny.
The rooster shut one eye and looked at Kenny.
"can you hear a horse on the roof?" he asked.
"If you know how to listen in the night," said Kenny.
"Can you fix a broken promise?"
"Yes," said Kenny,"if it only looks broken,but really isn't."
The rooster drew his head back into his feathers and whispered, "What is a very narrow escape?"
"When somebody almost stops loving you," Kenny whispered back.”
― Maurice Sendak
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