5 Reasons to love Maurice Sendak

Acclaimed children's author Maurice Sendak passed away this week so we are posting the Top 5 for Friday a day early this week.  Annie from Central Library provided us with this post in his memory. 

“I have nothing now but praise for my life. I'm not unhappy. I cry a lot because I miss people. They die and I can't stop them. They leave me and I love them more. ... What I dread is the isolation. ... There are so many beautiful things in the world which I will have to leave when I die, but I'm ready, I'm ready, I'm ready."

We were all a bit shell shocked and sad on Wednesday with the news that Maurice Sendak had died, aged 83. [New York Times link]

For me, it was a shock, but not unexpected. I’ve listened to a 2011 radio interview – where Sendak was an old man, ready to die, and sharing his regrets, joys, and sadness. The quote above is from that interview.  You can listen to the full interview at: the NPR books website but have your tissues ready.

This was the last of three interviews on the station – you can listen to them all by clicking here.

How many of us grew up with Where the wild things are? If that was the only thing Sendak ever published, his place in literary history – and our hearts – would have been secure. But he didn’t rest on his laurels.

Here is my list of my favourite 5 Maurice Sendak books:

5.

Brundibar

Retold by Tony Kuschner, illustrated by Sendak. Based on the 1938-39 Czech opera by Hans Krasa and Adolf Hoffmeister, and performed by the children of Terezin. This multi-layered story offers many readings – including a look at life at the beginning of the Holocaust. Many of the characters wear yellow Star of Davids, Brundibar looks similar to Hitler. A tale of hope, against a backdrop of tyranny.

4.

Little Bear books

Written by Else Holmelund Minarik, it was Sendak’s illustrations that endured this series of beginner readers to generations of children, beginning to stretch their reading muscles.

3.
Mummy? art by Maurice Sendak; scenario by Arthur Yorinks; paper engineering by Matthew Reinhart].
A glorious pop-up book, featuring some very recognizable monsters. There’s a very classic Frankenstein’s bride and a Lon Chaney-style werewolf. Spectacular paper engineering, too.
There’s a great interview to check out here

2.

In the night kitchen

Hard to believe how controversial this number was. Yes, it featured full-frontal nudity! Oh, and complete rebellion! What’s not to love about this one. Yes, and it features baking.

1.

Where the wild things are?

Let the wild rumpus start! In primers, my class made life-sized wild things, using many textures and techniques, including collage with fake fur. Somehow I ended up with my group’s wild thing, which hung with pride on the wall outside my bedroom door – protecting me from monsters. I’ve had a soft spot for the book and the wild things ever since. (But am still recovering from the trauma of the movie.)

A review of 'Helen: The Helen Meads Tragedy'

Title: Helen: The Helen Meads Tragedy
Author: David White
Publisher: David Ling
Year: 2012
Reviewed by: Anne
Summary: "On the morning of 23 September 2009 Helen Meads was murdered by her husband Greg at the stables on their Matamata farm. It was the final chapter in years of control and abuse. Here, Helens father David White describes the events of that day, and what led to it, and tells of the ordeals that a family is subjected to when one of their own is murdered. It is a poignant and compelling story. There are issues of custody, access and bail, and looming court appearances. And often, as in this case, there is the killers family to deal with. Finally, there is also the bureaucracy and the media that have to be faced and accepted as inevitable intrusions on the private lives of the victims families. Families who would prefer to be left alone to grieve. Now that the trial and sentencing have been completed, much more can be told." (Back cover)

Last year I struggled through Sophie’s Legacy by Lesley Elliott. Struggled, not because I wasn’t involved in the story, but more from the depth of emotion portrayed through the words of a mother grieving for her daughter, going deep inside that grief and examining both it and the whole sad tragedy of Sophie’s murder at the hands of someone many call arrogant and narcissistic.

Helen is at once both similar but different. A father’s story is the byline and while David does not write with the density of words and examination of the grief evident in Sophie’s Legacy, it is as much what he leaves unsaid and his plain statement of facts as we are taken through the lead-up, event and aftermath of Helen’s murder at the hands of her husband, that brings the power to this book.

Carefully considered, and with quiet dignity, these two books stand out as evidence of the failure of the current bail system in New Zealand (and the absurdity of some of the bureaucracy in Government departments). Two lives taken too young, in Helen’s case leaving children to cope with something no one should have to. I admire the courage it must have taken to write this book, but the author would probably simply say, it was what had to be done, as have so many other things since that morning in September 2009 when life changed for his family.

Top 5 most requested nonfiction items for April 2012

"To sit alone in the lamplight with a book spread out before you, and hold intimate converse with men of unseen generations - such is a pleasure beyond compare."
- Kenko Yoshida

I'm not going to bend your ear (eyeballs?) for too long this morning, except to say that I forgot to celebrate something the other day. After the tweet about The Hunger Games and the rather funny responses we received (in what some might have perceived as being somewhat of a facepalm moment), I forgot to celebrate the fact that people are reading. I have always believed that HOW we're reading isn't important, whether it's through libraries or through bookstores. The fact that we are is what counts. The fact that, for a brief moment, we were all talking about the popularity of a book and how much people want to read it - that's the real story. I temporarily lost sight of that. I won't do so again. Here is today's list: our top 5 most recent nonfiction items for April 2012.

Crime wars! (or, Why Everyone Can Enjoy a Little Mystery)

I'm proud to admit that crime is my favourite genre. While I do enjoy a bit of children's and teen's fiction (particularly fantasy), and sprinkle in some random authors from all over the shop, chances are my request list at any one moment is going to be half mystery. You might think that's awfully restrictive. All that murder and mayhem doesn't sound like a balanced diet. However, that "crime/mystery" genre is not as narrow as you might think. Some are quite literary, taking you deep into the social fabric. Some are wonderful guides to a period of history. Some are cosy bits of fluff that make you laugh. And some are high-octane thrillers. 

Take the divide between the British and American authors. Some supposed crime aficionados won't touch that "nasty American dross" - others delight in the action and sarcastic humour you often find across the Atlantic. But is one really better than the other? What about the Europeans? Can someone who "doesn't like crime" find anything to enjoy in a crime novel? And do those who think the Americans are inferior realise that Elizabeth George and Deborah Crombie are Americans? And that Lee Child is English? Anyway.

Here are some of my favourite crime authors from around the world. Bet you there's something for everyone.

Strange Tales from Auckland Libraries...

If you've ever worked in a job that involves a lot of customer service, you'll have a few funny stories. One of life's inevitables, if you work in a bookshop (or a library) long enough, is to be asked "Do you have any books?" by customers who have just passed a large display of them. I worked in bookshops for a decade, and over the years, I was asked if we sold grand pianos, cars and ladies' underwear. That's why, when Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops came out recently, it gave me many a wry chuckle. In it, you will find the answer to the question: "Did Anne Frank ever write a sequel?" You will also meet the woman from Canada who rang every bookshop on the Internet - including the ones in the UK - to demand they remove The Gruffalo from their shelves because her daughter thought it was scary. Not to mention the mother who rang to get her teenage daughter a job:
"But I'm not sure she wants a job, so maybe if you came round and convinced her you'd like her to work for you."    

Step into our shoes and you will be gobsmacked. You will be confused. And you will sometimes find it very hard not to laugh.

Welcome...

...to STRANGE TALES FROM AUCKLAND LIBRARIES...

"At closing time one Saturday a library assistant went to check the toilets to make sure there were no customers still inside. He found a man sitting on the loo, stark naked, with a bottle of beer in his hand. As you do..." (Waitakere Central)

"A customer asked for a book with photographs of REAL dinosaurs. They were very disappointed to discover no one had thought of such a thing." (Ponsonby)
  

"Once a man came into the library, and asked for a blue book. I asked what the book was supposed to be about, or what he wanted to know, but he simply repeated that he wanted a blue book. I thought if all it takes to make the man happy is to find him a blue book then I should just do it, so half-jokingly I wandered over to the shelf with him and picked out a book that looked blue. He said: "No, that's not blue, that's light purple". So I found a more decidedly blue book, at which he smiled, thanked me, and went away happy." (Auckland Central)

Perhaps he was going through a blue phase, like Picasso? And here's another one:

"You got that red book!!" she asked, or was that a yell? 

"Which one did you mean?" I asked her.

"Y'know, that red one..Don't be so silly, of course you know!"

"No I do not. Do you know the author or title by any chance?"

"NO!! You should know, you're a librarian aren't you?"  (Manurewa)

We librarians do like to think of ourselves as well-informed, but alas, we're not psychic. On that note:

"I had a woman come in and ask me to find James Cameron's contact details. Because she was "the psychic sensitive that gave him the idea for Avatar"." (New Lynn)

I would like to know how she gave him this idea without his contact details! 

Recently a woman with a strong Eastern European accent came in and asked where the honey factory was. I tried to work out if it was a specific factory or brand. "Manuka honey", she replied. Seems to some tourists manuka and Manukau are too similar; they come here expecting a huge factory that produces all the manuka honey in the world." (Manukau)

"My favourite so far is this person who came in upset that his doctor had said the the tiny insects burrowing into his scalp were imaginary. He came to the library to show his scalp to a librarian and ask if we knew what the insects were..." (Onehunga)

"Two young boys (around five or six) were in the library talking about how old their grandparents were. One young lad said his granddad was really old. The other young lad said: "My granddad is even older than that, he's nearly dead". Granddad was highly impressed - he was in his early fifties." (Mangere Town Centre)

"A customer had just walked into the library for the first time, and when she saw the large ADULT FICTION section she seemed aghast. There was a look of great relief on her face when I explained that it was just fiction for adults, not the X-rated section." (Orewa)

 

But it's not just the customers:

"I recall being asked for a book about teaching deaf cats to communicate. Admittedly, I asked the inane question: "You mean like signing for deaf people?"" (Massey)

"One quiet Saturday morning there was suddenly a tremendous BANG! Clouds of books exploded off the shelves, and a car appeared through the wall! One of our retired librarians had mistaken drive for reverse, and accelerated over a raised flowerbed into the fiction section. We cordoned off the hole so people could keep browsing." (Titirangi) 

"I had just started working at the library, at the tender young age of 17. A customer came in and asked if I could tell her where she could find the women's room. Feeling ever so helpful, I told her that it was outside, and up the path, just to the left of the library building. I still remember the look of total confusion on the lady's face, until she finally figured out what I was referring to. After laughing a wee bit, she told me that she was referring to the book by Marilyn French, entitled The Women's Room. I was mortified!" (Glenfield)


It really is a wonderful job at times!