Never met him, but he’s one of those icons, those amazing “I
grew up with this book!” author/illustrators from our youth. And who hasn’t
read his books to kids, grandkids, nieces and nephews? Lord knows I have.
We all remember the big hoopla surrounding In the Night
Kitchen, don’t we? How shocked we were when some library somewhere banned it?
It was because the small boy, falling dream-like through the sky, was sporting
the full (albeit teensy) monty. How hysterical to think of that now, right?
Those were more innocent times, I guess.While I was working at Borders in Oak Brook, Sendak was developing his Where the Wild Things Are opera in Chicago.
So one day, since I had to head to Chicago from the ‘burbs
anyway, I brought along a poster of Where the Wild Things Are. Just in case I
could get to the rehearsal studio, meet him, and get him to sign it. Amazingly, I did get to the studio – not so amazingly, he wasn’t there. The women behind the desk waved me in and cheerfully agreed, per my impassioned plea, to have Mr. Sendak sign the poster the next time he was in. I skipped out, with no idea how or when I’d be able to pick it up. But certain that he would autograph it. Someday.
I didn’t get back to Chicago until 3 months later, for another meeting. It was easy enough to find the studio again…not so easy to find my poster. It was a different pair of women behind the desk, and they had no idea what I was talking about. In that sort of lame “Look, I’m helping you – not” kind of way, they halfheartedly glanced around the office. I stood rooted to my spot, looking around but planning how I’d make a graceful exit if it wasn’t found.
And then, surprisingly, one of them tugged it from a pile of office-y stuff, saying, “Oh, is this it?”
Yes! It was my poster! Rolled up in a sloppy way, with – literally – coffee droplet stains in a few places, but gloriously, it was my poster. With Maurice Sendak’s signature!
It’s amazing to me still that I got there, that he’d signed it at one point, that I get back there and the poster was found again. At their (insincere) apology for the coffee splotches, I rolled my prize tightly and yes, gracefully exited the office.
After trying unsuccessfully to cover the coffee drops using
White-Out, I had the poster framed. It graced my offices at Borders Oak Brook
and then Borders Santa Barbara, for years. Currently, it graces my garage, in a
careful stack with other framed items. But wouldn’t now be a great time to dig
it out and find a spot to hang it here at home?
In honor of Maurice Sendak and all he’s done for children’s
literature all this years, that would make me very happy once, happy twice,
happy Chicken Soup with Rice.
Thanks for reading – K8.
