Saying good-bye to Maurice…
Today is National Teacher Appreciation Day, and I’d like to thank Maurice Sendak. Since getting my first teaching job in 1998, I have read his stories to hundreds of children. I have read Chicken Soup with Rice so many times that I can almost quote every month in my sleep. I know you were expecting me to name his other, more famous book, Where the Wild Things Are, but I find this to be very entertaining:
I also collected more of his lesser known works simply because I loved the way he drew the pictures. I ordered a book a few years ago that was hard to find in my area. The book was one of my favorite ballet productions.
Just look at the “smile” on the nutcracker…that guy has a secret and he doesn’t play nice. It cracks me up for some reason.
To conclude my love of this author and very talented illustrator, I must tell you that over 15 years ago the school library was discarding books. I always went through the books that were being discarded because I felt like I owed it to them to give them a new home. There was an interesting blue book with no cover on it what so ever. I don’t believe I even looked through it because I saw Maurice’s name on the spine and grabbed it. That night, I was looking over my new gifts and I distinctly remember a chill going up my arm. I squealed and looked all around like I had committed a crime. I had obtained a signed copy of a book and it was being discarded! I felt like I had won the lottery. The lottery for literature lovers everywhere. So it is with a sad heart that I mourn Mr. Sendak, but I know that his work will live on through teachers like me.
Spread awesomeness:
