Back to Musings (Blog)

Maurice Sendak

Throwback Thursday -Picture Books

A late night post –I didn’t take into account that on this Thursday my kiddos had off of school for an extra long weekend. We spent a grand day of taking in downtown Ft. Lauderdale with friends. After the library, endless scooter riding along the New River, and ice cream treats before dinner, I’m happy to be posting the second in a series I’m sharing of my vintage children’s books found in local thrift stores.

The first book–

In the Night Kitchen was not in the best shape, but I couldn’t leave it behind. This was a well-loved book by the previous owner. I knew it without a doubt. The cover was encircled in red marker with a large heart.  The pages inside were in good condition, minus one page where there was one peculiar word cut out quite carefully. Strange. I wonder the word and I wonder why. My kids and I both read this one for the first time together so it remains a mystery. The rest of the book, including the controversial character Mickey, remains intact and without red marker.

NK 1

NK 3

“Did you ever hear of Mickey,

How he heard a racket in the night”

The second book–

Swine Lake by James Marshall, illustrated by Maurice Sendak.

Oh happy picture book find! For red marker, a mysteriously cut out missing word, and all the love the first book endured, this book was in perfect condition. It’s also a first edition with the book jacket. Maybe it received the same amount of love from its owner as In the Night Kitchen, only shown in a different way –kept safe and neat in a special spot on the bookshelf. I can imagine of course, because just maybe I keep a few of my favorite picture books in a special spot on my bookshelf, away from toy bins and crayons and markers. Maybe.

The mystery of this book is how it has stayed in such excellent condition from first printing in 1999 to thrift store shelf.

What makes Swine Lake so special is the care and love Maurice Sendak must have put into illustrating this book. This was a project taken on after the death of his friend and author James Marshall.

You can read an interview with Maurice Sendak about Swine Lake HERE on Book Page

photo 1

photo 2

“The wolf tore out the review and shoved it in his pocket.”

“A real wolf, indeed!” he said. And he executed a couple of flashy dance steps.”

Share this post

Comments (3)

  • Washington D.C. | Laura Ann Miller Reply

    […] It’s great discovering out of print books I’ve never seen before from authors I know (like Maurice Sendak) or books with a bit of history attached. And the artwork, all the illustrations from a time gone […]

    October 18, 2013 at 11:55 am
  • Anonymous Reply

    Fun finds! He also illustrated my favorite fairy tale, “The Golden Key.”

    October 18, 2013 at 5:13 pm
    • Laura Ann Miller Reply

      I’ve never read “The Golden Key”. I’ll have to look it up 🙂

      October 18, 2013 at 5:21 pm

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Back to Musings (Blog)