BUMBLE-ARDY [Hardcover]

Maurice Sendak (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Release date: September 6, 2011 | Age Range: 4 - 8 years

Since the publication of his classic Outside Over There in 1981, Maurice Sendak’s book illustrations have focused on interpreting the texts of such authors as James Marshall, Tony Kushner, Wilhelm Grimm, Ruth Krauss, Herman Melville, and Mother Goose. And beginning in 1980, with his sets and costumes for The Magic Flute, Sendak launched a busy second career as the designer of stage productions of opera and ballet. Now comes Bumble-Ardy, the first book he has written as well as illustrated in thirty years.

Bumble-Ardy has evolved from an animated segment for Sesame Street to a glorious picture book about a mischievous pig who reaches the age of nine without ever having a birthday party. But all that changes when Bumble-Ardy throws a party for himself and invites all his friends, leading to a wild masquerade that quickly gets out of hand.

In this highly anticipated picture book, Sendak once again explores the exuberance of young children and the unshakable love between parent (in this case, an aunt) and child.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A delight to read aloud" The Daily Telegraph Magazine --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Book Description

Bumble-Ardy has evolved from an animated segment for Sesame Street that aired in the early 1970s to a glorious picture book about a mischievous pig who has reached the age of nine without ever having had a birthday party. But all that changes when Bumble throws a party for himself and invites all his friends, leading to a wild masquerade that quickly gets out of hand. In this highly anticipated picture book, Maurice Sendak once again explores the exuberance of young children and the unshakable love between parent (in this case, an aunt) and child. Bumble-Ardy is the first book illustrated and written by Sendak since Outside Over There in 1981.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 4 - 8 years
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins; y First edition edition (September 6, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0062051989
• ISBN-13: 978-0062051981
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 11.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #197,422 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

For more than forty years, the books Maurice Sendak has written and illustrated have nurtured children and adults alike and have challenged established ideas about what children's literature is and should be. The New York Times has recognized that Sendak's work "has brought a new dimension to the American children's book and has helped to change how people visualize childhood." Parenting recently described Sendak as "indisputably, the most revolutionary force in children's books."
Winner of the 1964 Caldecott Medal for Where the Wild Things Are, in 1970 Sendak became the first American illustrator to receive the international Hans Christian Andersen Award, given in recognition of his entire body of work. In 1983, he received the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award from the American Library Association, also given for his entire body of work.
Beginning in 1952, with A Hole Is to Dig by Ruth Krauss, Sendak's illustrations have enhanced many texts by other writers, including the Little Bear books by Else Holmelund Minarik, children's books by Isaac Bashevis Singer and Randall Jarrell, and The Juniper Tree and Other Tales from Grimm. Dear Mili, Sendak's interpretation of a newly discovered tale by Wilhelm Grimm, was published to extraordinary acclaim in 1988.
In addition to Where the Wild Things Are (1963), Sendak has both written and illustrated
The Nutshell Library (1962), Higglety Pigglety Pop! (1967), In the Night Kitchen (1970), Outside Over There (1981), and, We Are All in the Dumps with Jack and Guy (1993). He also illustrated Swine Lake (1999), authored by James Marshall, Brundibar (2003), by Tony Kushner, Bears (2005), by Ruth Krauss and, Mommy? (2006), his first pop-up book, with paper engineering by Matthew Reinhart and story by Arthur Yorinks.
Since 1980, Sendak has designed the sets and costumes for highly regarded productions of Mozart's The Magic Flute and Idomeneo, Janacek's The Cunning Little Vixen, Prokofiev's
The Love for Three Oranges, Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker, and Hans Krása's Brundibár.
In 1997, Sendak received the National Medal of Arts from President Clinton. In 2003 he received the first Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, an international prize for children's literature established by the Swedish government. Maurice Sendak was born in Brooklyn in 1928. He now lives in Connecticut.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

95 of 103 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Pure Sendak -- Thank God! September 10, 2011

By Geoffrey Hayes

Format:Hardcover

Anyone who knows Sendak shouldn't expect his work to be "easy." It is defiantly idiosyncratic and often disturbing, unlike most of the garish pap out there these days. Sendak is less interested in telling a neatly tied-up story, than he is in creating an emotional narrative that invites repeated viewings. At 83, his art has lost none of its vibrancy, and he paints this one in loose and light watercolor spreads with thankfully no evidence of computer enhancement. The masks worn by the guests at Bumble Ardy's party are clearly bizarre, but intriguingly so. I suspect children will immerse themselves in Bumbe's environment despite what their parents might feel. And this is one of Sendak's strengths; he doesn't water down his work to please overly sensitive adults who have forgotten the wildness of their own childhoods. These days, awash as we are in political correctness, that takes balls! So celebrate this new work from a master of his craft and pray it won't be his last!

30 of 33 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A good ending to a fantastic career September 22, 2011

By super_cami

Format:Hardcover

I was young enough to read Sendak's work as a child and am now old enough to share my love of his books with my niece. What I find absolutely enchanting about Sendak's work is that it continues to speak to you with an evolving voice as you get older. The fantastical situations and fun illustrations that most captivated me as a child have now evolved into a sort of reverence and reflection on childhood and growing up. Maybe I'm just reading a little too far into everything, but I just meant to make very explicit that Bumble-Ardy is very much a recapitulation of exactly that: my niece can enjoy the fanciful story and interesting illustrations, and I can enjoy the very philosophic aspects of it. I hadn't initially been very excited about the book until I heard an interview Sendak had on NPR, after which I decided I had to get the book. I'm glad I did. It's a fantastic addition to my personal library, a great story to read with my niece, and (assuming Sendak won't write another) a wonderful close to his career. I'm rather in love with it.

20 of 24 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars this is a great book September 22, 2011

By Paige G.

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

these reviewers are crazy. this book is hilarious. it never says they are drinking booze, to kids swill could be punch. the illustrations are amazing, as are all of sendaks books. i love at the end when the aunt and he make up. it is adorable. i read it to toddlers as well as my kindergarten twins.
i would recommend getting it, as i would recommend any other sendak book. there is nothing 'frightening' about it.