I adore Maurice Sendak and his work, but I do not adore Gregory Maguire. Rambling, stilted, and seemingly unorganized - and therefore barely readable! ( )

By far, the most well-known of Sendak's work is Where The Wild Things Are where a young boy named Max is sent to his room, and takes a journey and discovers the monster-like wild things who allow him to make rukus and celebrate his inner naughty side.

Gregory Maguire the well-known author of Wicked, writes intellectually, and at times it seemed too pedantic, but this is a book to read and study because Maguire was a friend of Sendak, and Sendak was known for being a difficult, hard to connect with person. Maguire was able to open doors to Sendak's personality and gleaned wonderful insights into the psyche of Sendak.

I've read most of Sendak's books, thus this intensive study of his art held my attention for the greater part of the afternoon. And, it was a great way to begin the year of 2020 reading!

My favorite book of Sendak's is Outside Over There.
Highly intelligent, Sendak did not suffer fools gladly. Discriminate in the number of interviews, and interactions with the "real world," Maguire does an incredible job of delving into both the works, their symbolism and the personality of this very complicated, supremely gifted man.

I can study each image for a long time and never get bored.

I'll end with a Sendak quote that rings true in this materialistic, hedonistic time:
"“There must be more to life than having everything.” ( )

Making Mischief: A Maurice Sendak Appreciation – Gregory Maguire
3 stars
This is a coffee table art book based on material presented at a 2003 symposium of Sendak’s work. In addition to being an obvious Sendak fan, Maguire has a deep understanding of the artist, his background and the many aesthetic influences on Sendak’s work. Unfortunately, the text reads like a power point presentation. There are no captions on the various plates and pictures so it’s sometimes difficult to be sure which illustration the text refers to.
Nevertheless, I enjoyed perusing the art work. In one section, Maguire selects the ten prints of Sendak’s original art that he would rescue in a disaster. I might disagree with some of his choices, but it was fun to think about. The last section of the book was the best. Maguire selected other Sendak works to illustrate the text of Where the Wild Things Are; including ten different choices for the line. “And it was still hot.” This was a very whimsical and effective was to illustrate recurring themes and motifs in Sendak’s work. The next time I read one of Sendak’s picture books, I’ll have a new appreciation for his genius.

( )

Not quite as substantial as I expected, knowing how well Gregory Maguire can write; this is more a collection of his musings about Maurice Sendak's art, and not as fully fleshed out as the title might suggest. I did enjoy learning about some of Sendak's inspirations, and Maguire's top ten list of the pictures he would save from a museum fire is interesting and thought-provoking. Those who are looking for a comprehensive survey would do better with one of the books Maguire mentions, Selma Lanes' "The Art of Maurice Sendak". ( )

This book tries to do too many things and fails at most of them. It's too expensive just to be a movie tie in, too shallow for any real revelations; to filled with hero worship to reveal the real Sendak.

The one thing it does well is retell story "Where the Wild Things Are." That was an appreciation. The rest was just pseudo-academic speak and filler text.

Also, I reviewed this book for Green Man Reviews. My full review will be coming out near the end of November. It can be found on the Green Man Review website after 29 November 2009. ( )