It’s no coincidence that my personal favorite Sendak work is Outside Over There
For my oldest brother, she chose Where the Wild Things Are
My brothers were 15 and 12 at the time, and couldn’t have cared less (as is perhaps evident from the fact that both of their copies are still at my parents’ house), but I was already really into books, and I was over the moon. A real signed copy of a hardcover book! With my name in it and everything!
I would sit in my bedroom and tenderly turn the pages, reading and rereading the book over and over.
The story is about a young girl, named Ida, who is watching her baby sister one afternoon when some goblins sneak into the window and steal her sister away to be their goblin bride, and Ida has to go get her back. Sound familiar? The book was a heavy influence on the 1986 Jim Henson and George Lucas film Labyrinth.
The storyline and language is captivating, sure, but what really separates this book from the pack are the breathtakingly beautiful illustrations, so I will just let them speak for themselves:
The shading on the foot in that bottom illustration just destroys me. It’s so perfect.
I read this one to Milo a couple of times a week, but unlike the rest of his books, which live in a bin at his height, this gets stored up on an adults-only shelf. Milo knows this, and thus treats the book with the appropriate reverance when I take it down to read to him. He touches the pages a little more gently. It’s a great privilege to pass on the love of books to my child. Hopefully they will be his great friends and comfort, as they have been for me.
Title: Outside Over There
Author and Illustrator: Maurice Sendak
Age recommendation: 4-8
Is there a giraffe: No, but there is a great big German shepherd that makes Milo squeal
Other titles by the author: Where the Wild Things Are
Tags: outside over there, sendak