In the Night Kitchen (Caldecott Collection) Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of In the Night Kitchen (Caldecott Collection)
Book Review: Well, Mickey, this is another fine mess you've gotten yourself into.
Summary: 3 Stars
Sometimes my job as a children's librarian leads me to think one way or another about a book. For example, if I discover that a book has been banned by a school or public library somewhere, that same book acquires all sorts of interest that it might never have gotten before. "In the Night Kitchen" is one such book. Banned for the nudity of its main character this title has always been considered the second rung in Maurice Sendak's creative and artistic trio (the first being "Where the Wild Things Are" and the third "Outside Over There"). Fuddy-duddy adults everywhere are consistently and predictably shocked by Mickey, the young protagonist who prefers to experience his adventures au naturale. By all rights I should enjoy this book. It has everything going for it! It has been banned, it's by the greatest living children's author today, it is considered a classic, and some of the newest reissues of it are breathtakingly gorgeous. I mean, they just don't reprint books like this twenty-fifth anniversary edition no more. That said, it's probably my least favorite Sendak creation. Sad isn't it? Though I'll fight to the death to keep this book on library shelves everywhere, I must admit that I don't much like it myself. It all just comes down to individual taste.
One night, Mickey hears an awful racket and by a process of falling and clothing removal finds himself in cake batter. The cake batter is in a gigantic bowl tended by three cooks who each bear a striking resemblance to Oliver Hardy. Mistaking Mickey for milk (it could happen to anyone) they mix the batter up with him in it and pop it into the oven. The baking doesn't work though and Mickey, now clothed in a suit of cake batter, fashions a small bi-plane out of bread dough. With a jaunty measuring cup on his head, he flies up to the top of a gigantic bottle of milk into which he dives (thereby losing his clothes again). He then pours some milk down to the grateful chefs and a cake is baked. Then Mickey floats gently downward into his bed once more, "cakefree and dried". The moral of the story? "And that's why, thanks to Mickey we have cake every morning". The end.
So why don't I like it? I do in a way. This is Sendak at his detailed and wholly intricate best. The world of ingredients in which most of this story plays is almost as intriguing as the main story. I guess when you come right down to it, I've never much cared for this brand of surrealism. If something's surreal (like "The Red Book" by Barbara Lehman or "Who Needs Donuts?" by Mark Stamaty) then I need it to see it hold together in some way. "In the Night Kitchen" plays like an odd dream that a child might really have. A child that's watched too many Laurel and Hardy films, that is. I haven't a problem with the nudity. It's the whole baking into a cake aspect, I guess, that sets me off. That and the plot that isn't a plot. Though a tribute to Wildsor McKay's, "Little Nemo", I think I prefer the original itself. Actually, I did love how Sendak slips an oblique tip-of-the-hat to this master of the Sunday funny pages. It happens in a picture where Mickey glares from a bowl. He is being covered in ingredients and below him we see some sugar with tiny words on the label reading, "Chicken Little, Nemo". I'm no genius, but it doesn't take much to remove that comma and see the words, "Little Nemo" float before your eyes. Nicely done, Mr. S.
Of this book, its editor Ursula Nordstrom had this to say: "I think young children will always react with delight to such a book as 'In the Night Kitchen', and that they will react creatively and wholesomely. It is only adults who ever feel threatened by Sendak's work". She also says, "Should not those of us who stand between the creative artist and the child be very careful not to sift our reactions to such books through our own adult prejudices and neuroses?". We should indeed. A former college roommate once bemoaned to me the popularity of this book, citing her own childhood objections to its baking-kids ethic. It's hard to read a picture book and not find yourself weighed down by your own prejudices and hang-ups. Obviously, my friend objected to the book as a kid and that carried over into her adulthood whereas I met this book as an adult and was put off by it late in life. I would never prevent a child from reading it or hesitate to recommend it to someone who was already a fan of Sendak's work. I just don't care much for it personally, though I don't know how much weight that carries with you. This is a book that is going to get a different reaction out of every person who reads it. If you want a title that pleases everyone everywhere, look elsewhere. If, on the other hand, you want a highly original picture book for a creative kid who isn't squeamish in the least, "In the Night Kitchen" is the place to start. I didn't like it, but that isn't to say that someone else won't love it.
Book Review: Not Scary for a Toddler
Summary: 5 Stars
As a child, I LOVED this book (and a shoe box, but that's a different story!)! My parents have many many pictures of me starting at the age of two with this book! And in fact, this is the only book that I really remember from that far back. My daughter is now the age that I was when my parents took the first pictures of me with this book, and I have no problems sharing it with her!
I think issues in the story that some folks are thinking may be too scary are just really good ground for the imagination to grow in! As toddlers, children believe they can do anything--and imagining being baked into a cake or making an airplane out of dough doesn't seem unusual to them--especially when they ultimately end up saving the morning by bringing the milk to the bakers!
Book Review: Holding the Test of Time
Summary: 5 Stars
In this book Mickey (who looks a lot like Max from Where the Wild Thigns Are) finds himself floating in a surreal kitchen where he is baked in a cake, makes a suit and airplane out of dough, and eventually saves the day by delivering milk to the chefs. The story is absurd and silly snd there is no real conflict-just pure unapologetic fun.
Sendak's books have touched many different generations of children-I remember them as a child and kids still read them. This is the true test of a great children's book. If each new generation embraces a book then it is truly wonderful, and that certainly goes for Sendak's work. Everyone knows and loves Where The Wild Things Are-his most famous work-and those characters and stories have become staples of children's literature.
Another indication of quality is if when those same children grow up, they still read and appreciate the book. My roomate from California (total surfer dude dharma bum beatnik) brought 4 books to college with him; Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, On the Road, In The Night Kitchen, and Where the Wild Things Are. And i have to agree, his work-particularly his artwork-only grows more fascinating with age. And the art is one of the most striking aspects of Sendak's work. it is incredibly fine and detailed while still retaining a simplistic cartoon-like feel. Great book. Buy it for your kids, for you, for the future.
Book Review: Weird from an adult perspective, but kids love it!
Summary: 5 Stars
Yes, the book is odd. Very surreal in my opinion, but my boys just love it. The story has a very nice rythym to it and makes it very easy to read. It's a favorite at bedtime for both boys (age 3yrs and 16mos). They love the bakers, and the airplane made of bread dough. Like most reviewers, I think the nudity is not a problem. It's actually very cute, and different since you don't see that very often unless it's a book about potty training. I also found the review that said the book would be frightening for children to read to be odd. Did they read it to their child and they were frightened? Mickey is so cute and having so much fun, that I don't really see how a kid would think it was frightening, unless they've had a bad milk experience in the past! "Milk! Milk! Milk for the morning cake!!" My 3yo son likes to cook and bake with us, and we like to talk about the bakers and cooking while we read the book.Book Review: freaky book for a preschooler
Summary: 1 Stars
I had heard rave reviews of this book. The only voiced concern I had heard about was the nudity, which I didn't think was a big deal.
However, I was disappointed when I received it. I love fantasy, but for a 3 - 5 year old to be reading and seeing pictures about a plot that is both weird and scary (being put into a batter to be cooked?!), I think is unnecessary. Explaining that this is Mikey's dream not helpful, since I think this would scare any toddler from letting themself fall asleep and risk seeing these crazy images!
The pictures are well drawn and interesting, but I do not like the storyline and find it frightening for a child to read.