Customer Reviews

Making Mischief: A Maurice Sendak Appreciation

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Almost everyone is familiar with Maurice Sendak's Wild Things, but are you familiar with the inspirations behind the creative genius? In this masterfully crafted presentation, brilliant critic and author Gregory Maguire offers a unique analytical overview of the artwork that is signature Sendak. Maguire exudes an honest passion for Sendak's work: He carefully draws comparisons between the offerings of visual narrative masters of the 19th to early 20th century (i.e. Randolf Caldecott) with that of Sendak's visions. I myself didn't realize the extent of influence that the golden age illustrators and the theatrical presentations of the early 19th century had on Sendak's work. This revelation has elevated my appreciation for an elusive artist who forever transformed children's literature with his beloved 'Where the Wild Things Are'. We are also treated to brief glimpses of a man who is famously private and grouchy--yet depicts children with full emotional poignancy. "Most fundamental to Sendak's work, for over 50 years, is his trust in the emotions of children." (p. 95)

Sendak was not afraid to confine his drawings--often compacting his settings in a style that is reminiscent of a stage. He focused on the characters, their gesticulations, and the idea of transformation and transcendance. Much like the cluttered studio he apparently worked in, once at the drawing table, his creative oasis transformed into a magical forest filled with endless imagination. "The page is a stage" and this book does an excellent job providing page-turning enticements, revealing a broad spectrum of styles and techniques that Sendak explored over his lifetime. The book is written with a rehearsed scholastic tongue peppered with some heavy-handed language/references that may be off-putting for some. However, the visual streams are lyrical and entertaining, making this work a joy to peruse again and again.

Near the end of the book, Macquire cleverly asks us/himself: "What would I drag from a burning museum?" (if said museum housed an ouevre of Sendak's work). Though I agree with several of Maguire's 10 picks, there are others that I would have chosen for inclusion, making for a compelling debate/conversation. What would you choose? After poring over this delightful homage to one of the great children's book writer/illustrators, I would honestly have a hard time deciding.

Fans of both Sendak and Maguire will enjoy this retrospective. Relying heavily on Sendak's illustrations culled from across the lifetime of his work, the book is both intriguing and visually exciting. We see many samples of works that inspired the famous author accompanied by succinct and pithy commentary. I particularly liked Maguire's words at the beginning of chapter two on page 65, beginning with, "Children's lives are fiendishly hard." They are and we adults too often see only a rosy glow when we look backward. Books are essential for navigating the treacherous years - good books. Ones that offer more than white-washed platitudes and watered down stories filled with morals for this and that. Sendak has given us good books.

If you only glance at one part of this wonderful fan letter, let it be the re-telling of Where The Wild Things Are on pg 154. An incredibly moving ending to this wonderful book.

I'm of two minds dueling when it comes to Making Mischief: A Maurice Sendak Appreciation. On the one hand, Gregory Maguire has put together an amazingly thoughtful look at Sendak's art through illumination of his influences and homages. The book is a very insightful one-sided conversation that seeks to deconstruct and learn from the oeuvre of an artist. It opens the topic of how artists communicate with each other subconsciously through their work with borrowed imagery, casting, and outright theft (by hook or by crook.) On the other hand it reads very much like (I imagine) the presentation it originated as during a symposium that also included Sendak's May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture at MIT. It doesn't seek to be authoritative, instead it's only Maguire's impressions and observations, and because of this is feels sort of like half a book. It's very subjective and in a way it pushes Sendak as the subject out of the books focus and pulls Maguire's own observations into the spotlight.

My first impression of Maguire's Sendak Appreciation is tinged with a bit of frustration in that it's yet another example of a trend in publishing these days that tends to irk me, repurposing. The first chapter reads like an extended apology, absolving the writer for his choice of focus and perspective; deciding to cover Sendak's body of as a whole, his influences, and considering a through-line or encompassing theme, yet also deciding to ignore much of what's already been written about the man's work. Maguire chose instead to stick to his own revelations and the connections he made to others' art, which is an interesting and personal approach for the presentation/talk he gave at MIT. Making Mischief is derived from that presentation, and in this repurposing it suffers a bit in its own indulgence. This sort of approach to looking at Sendak's art seems like it would work best as one part of a larger retrospective, and granted there are other books out there that this volume helps complete (in terms of broad appreciation of Sendak.) But as a stand alone it feels very much like one piece of a larger work.

Again, I don't want to understate the fact that what is presented is insightful; it's a terribly interesting read and is beautifully illustrated with a lot of rare art, but if you're looking for a book that gives a nice overview of Maurice Sendak's artistic career you'll be left wanting. For devoted fans of Sendak's work, I'd highly suggest picking up this volume, but for those new to examining the man's work I'd suggest starting with The Art of Maurice Sendak (v. 1).

The safe feeling of sitting on my mom's lap, feeling and hearing her voice as she read aloud to me, is one of my fondest memories. "Where the Wild Things Are" came into my life before kindergarten, with its roars of terrible roars and gnashing of terrible teeth, and the ritual hug my mom gave me at the end of each reading. Too lively for a bedtime story, it was an after-dinner, before you brush your teeth kind of book. And I can't imagine childhood without it.

Maurice Sendak has dedicated more than a half-century of his life to weaving tales for children, honoring his audiences and his muses alike by crafting works that stoically stand up to the passage of time, and bring delight to his readers the 10th or 100th time through.

While some serious or highly regarded writers and illustrators may shy away from writing for children, much less choose to devote their careers to this niche, Sendak has been one who had faith in his generations of youthful readers and felt that they deserved the best stories he could provide. He also accords his audience the respect of recognizing the reality of their lives, not sugar-coating or minimizing -- or thinking that they wouldn't appreciate the classic lines of earlier art. Truly, even though he realized his younger readers would not recognize these sources of inspiration, he obviously thought they would feel the emotion and elemental forces of such works. This is why members of my generation, who grew up with his works, savor the comfort of visiting old friends and half-forgotten dreams when reading these stories to the next generation, even as we recognize nuances, artistic echoes and homages our young minds hadn't yet learned as children.

In "Making Mischief," Gregory Maguire mixes a childlike perspective with a scholarly look at Maurice Sendak's array of work, teasing out details that show the depth of this man's knowledge and abilities. This is a book to savor. It stands the test of being read and re-read. Each time through, no matter how thorough you were the last time, you'll spot something new, whether it's yet another example of Sendak's skill, or perhaps Maguire's careful mirroring of Sendak's enthralling phrasing and cadence as he seeks to celebrate an element of Sendak's work.

As Maguire puts it: "More fundamental to Sendak's work ... is his trust in the validity of the emotions of children. It is in this area that he has demonstrated his widest range."

I'd simply add that if Sendak's work was part of your childhood, this book will bring thoughts, memories, hopes and dreams rushing back. Truly, don't we all want to be where someone loves us best of all?

A beautiful collection of Sendak's drawings, this book displays a history and understanding of Sendak through the sketches on his walls and his workspace, and a description of the voices that contributed to Sendak's work. Maguire's presentation of Sendak makes Sendak seem almost inevitable to the world of children, someone who was needed from the moment any literature became children's. It is an amazing view of Sendak's work as a whole, a view that pays tribute to Sendak in a way only another artist could. Gregory Maguire, writer of Wicked, is in a unique position to be able to see Sendak the man as well as knowing the heart of Sendak the artist.

Sendak has spent his life in conversation with children and the artists before him, playfully including them in his drawings and borrowing ideas. A lot of the images are brilliantly transposed into characters of his stories. Anyone who looks closely at Sendak's work, sees what is there and more that is implied. His drawings always have surprises in them. Sendak writes about truth to children, enchanting them, teaching them. Children in Sendak's stories are brave, sometimes foolhardy, and strong. One of the gifts Sendak gives to children over and over is a safe place, populated by scary creatures over which they will triumph.

I loved Where the Wild Things Are, as a child, as a mother, as a teacher, and now as a grandmother. His most famous work is only a portion of his lifetime's work and it is amazing to see it all being put together in perspective. This book is not dependent on any particular Sendak book, but on his lifetime's work, which was much larger than I remembered. It caused me to go digging through my cabinet of children's books to make sure I had my favorites, including Brundibar, another brilliant Sendak book.

Maguire's book is enchanting. He moves from letting the reader see Sendak a person, to showing us how he is more than just a writer and artist. It was fascinating to see Blake's painting beside Sendak's, to see all of the paintings that shared their form and some substance with Sendak who made them something other than they were while bringing them into his own work. It is an homage to the painters of the past as well as a conversation with them. Sendak's work is an homage to children while being a conversation with them.

Making Mischief is the kind of book to give to a new parent, to a teacher, or to any child who grew up and still remembers to dream.

Making Mischief: A Maurice Sendak Appreciation by Gregory Maguire is a collection with surprising layers, offering not only an homage to Sendak's works but dipping into the history of his inspirations. It is easy to forget that artists and illustrators learn from one another, much as writers attribute their skills to the inspiration of previously published authors and musical artists often drop the names of bands, musicians, and singers as being the muse that moved an innate talent.

But ultimately this is Maguire's perspective of Sendak's oeuvre. He doesn't offer quotations from Sendak to reinforce the contentions of what is a source of inspiration. Rather, the author draws his own conclusions (no pun intended) and invites the reader to agree or disagree. And it is interesting to see how Sendak may have been influenced by the works of William Blake or Winslow Homer although not as intriguing as following the repeated visual themes drawn from Sendak's own history.

And because of the narrow focus, the book serves mostly as an excuse. An excuse for the publisher to milk more money from Maguire's fans, to dovetail on the anticipated (and probably now disappointed) enthusiasm to follow the release of Where the Wild Things Are, and, when there are other more thorough collections of Sendak's illustrations, the limitations of the content are very quickly apparent. I guess, in the end, this book is for die hard fans either of Maurice Sendak and/or Gregory Maguire. Or maybe there are some artists out there who enjoy exploring how one artist informs another, the way that I enjoy reading how writers are inspired by one another. It's an interesting book, with an even more interesting idea behind it, that doesn't live up to its potential.

This is a lovely book which provides an interesting look at Sendak's work. It's not exactly a coffee table book, but it sort of is too. Recommended for Sendak fans.

I loved the art in this book, but the text was a little like an over-inflated college essay. While it's an interesting homage to an amazing illustrator, it wasn't anything really special nor did it provide any great insights. Also keep in mind that this was written for adults and not children.

This book is less an appreciation of Sendak's work than a forensic examination of the artist's influences, conscious and perhaps unconscious. The author obviously adores Sendak, so don't expect a critical eye. Maguire dissects cultural, psychological and artistic themes that recur in Sendak's work, giving the reader a fascinating overview of the evolution of Sendak's career.

I'm giving the book 5 stars because it succeeds at what it sets out to do. It's a scholarly work. If you're looking to really think about what makes Sendak tick, it will fascinate you. But if you're just looking for a coffee-table book of Sendak's art, this is probably not what you need.

Maurice Sendak is a staple of children's literature, much like Dr. Seuss. And, much like Dr. Seuss, there's much more going on in the books than a snappy text and some neat pictures. There's breadth and depth that don't don't have to be noted to appreciate a good surface story. Maguire brings to light some of the these oft-overlooked aspects to Sendak's work in this coffee table book.

I have long been a casual fan of Sendak. I love the unique personalities of each of the monsters in Where the Wild Things Are and just a few days ago my daughter delighted with a bedtime reading of One Was Johnny: A Counting Book.

"Making Mischief" was interesting in that it showed some of the many themes that have run throughout Sendak's career as an author of more than 20 books and the illustrator of dozens more. It is easily accessible by the serious fan and the more casual fan. The book is loaded with pictures and they are given great respect since the book is printed in color and on very high quality paper.

The text is derived from a speech given at a symposium by Maguire in 2003 at MIT.