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Dear all, how are you? I hope you are doing great in this quarantine period. This is Ms. Friska’s website where I share my experience and strategies to promote reading is fun to people around, and now to you too 🙂 Today’s library session topic is about this surprising story with title: Where the Wild Things are. I have the recorded storytelling below, please have a watch 🙂

The Story

You might go as far as you could, to where the wild things are, but at the end you know that you wanted to be where someone loved you best of all.

The Author

Where the Wild Things are is written by Maurice Sendak. He is an American artist and writer best known for his illustrated children’s books. Aside as his creative works in writing and illustrating, Maurice Sendak also involved in creating opera version some of his stories and designed a production of Tchaikovsky’s ballet the The Nutcracker for Pacific Northwest Ballet in Seattle.

His Awards

Maurice Sendak received number of awards for his works:

1. The 1964 Caldecott Medal for “the most distinguished American picture book for children,” Where the Wild Things Are;
2. The international Hans Christian Andersen Award for children’s book illustration, in 1970;
3. The Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, given by the American Library association in recognition of his entire body of work, in 1983;
4. The National Medal of Arts in recognition of his contribution to the arts in America, in 1996;
5. The first Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, an international prize for children’s literature, in 2003.
6. In 2013, P.S.118 in Brooklyn was renamed The Maurice Sendak Community School.

His Works

He has both written and illustrated books:

1. Kenny’s Window (Harper & Brothers, 1956)
2. Very Far Away (Harper & Brothers, 1957)
3. The Sign on Rosie’s Door (Harper & Brothers, 1960)
4. Nutshell Library, including Pierre, Chicken Soup with Rice, Alligators All Around, One Was Johnny (Harper & Row, 1962)
5. Where the Wild Things Are (Harper & Row, 1963)
6. Hector Protector and As I Went Over the Water (Harper & Row, 1965)
7. Higglety Pigglety Pop! or There Must Be More to Life (Harper & Row, 1967)
8. In the Night Kitchen (Harper & Row, 1970)
9. Fantasy Sketches (The Philip H. & A. S. W. Rosenbach Foundation, 1971)
10. Really Rosie, starring the Nutshell Kids, music by Carole King (Harper & Row, 1975)
11. Some Swell Pup, or Are You Sure You Want a Dog?, story by Maurice Sendak and Matthew Margolis (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1976)
12. Outside Over There (Harper & Row, 1981)
13. Caldecott & Co. (Michael di Capua Books / Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1988)
14. We Are All in the Dumps with Jack and Guy (Michael di Capua Books/ HarperCollins, 1993)
15. Bumble-Ardy (Michael di Capua Books / HarperCollins, 2011)
16. My Brother’s Book (Michael di Capua Books / HarperCollins, 2013)
17. Presto and Zesto in Limboland, story by Arthur Yorinks and Maurice Sendak (Michael di Capua Books / HarperCollins, 2018)

How Popular the Book is

Where the Wild Things are is very popular because it is peculiar. When it was published in 1963, the plot of the story was out of the common expectation in a children’s book. The illustration was gothic and imaginative compare to other children’s books in that era. This book changed how an author and illustration created story originally because the the story was inspired by Maurice Sendak’s childhood.

For over the years, this book becomes the top borrowed book in school libraries in USA. President Barrack Obama and the First Lady, Michelle Obama read aloud “Where the Wild Things are” for children in several occasions. Moreover, Warner Bros produced a movie based on the book’s story in 2009.

The publisher, HarperColins provided the voice recording for the story in Spotify and Apple Podcast. You may check them as well.

The Sendak Fellowship & Workshop

Even though Maurice Sendak was passed away in 2012, not only his works stayed with us but he wished to leave a legacy in children’s literature and theater design. He devoted The Maurice Sendak Foundation as a not-for-profit charitable organization to promoting greater public interest in and understanding of literary, visual, and performing arts.

The Maurice Sendak Foundation held The Sendak Fellowship/Workshop. It is a residency & workshop that encouraged, taught and supported artists who tell stories with illustration.

Sendak Fellows

Past Sendak Fellows are:

• 2010 Antoinette Portis, Aaron Renier, Paul Schmidt, Robert Weinstock
• 2011 Ali Bahrampour, Frann Preston-Gannon, Sergio Ruzzier, Denise Saldutti Egielski
• 2012 Gerardo Blumenkrantz, Tor Freeman, Alice Lickens
• 2013 Jessica Ahlberg, Ian Andrew, Marc Rosenthal, Sara Varon
• 2014 Harry Bliss, Nora Krug
• 2015 Richard Egielski, Marc McChesney, Doug Salati, Stephen Savage
• 2016 Elisha Cooper, Jenni Desmond, Yuyi Morales
• 2017 The Fan Brothers – Terry and Eric Fan, Rashin Kheiriyeh, Eliza Wheeler

Thank you Maurice Sendak! 🙂