In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
In the Night Kitchen is one of my all time favorite books that I ever read when I was little. I probably read it 2 or 3 times a night sometimes and know it is still somewhere at my parents house. Although I definitely understand why some parents would find this book offensive, my own mother who wouldn't let us have a Ken doll to go along with Barbie, allowed us to read this book. With this imaginative story of a boy who floats away in his sleep to a Night Kitchen where bakers are ready to bake a morning cake. He is mixed in and eventually the cake batter forms clothes for the little boy as he continues on his journey. By the time morning comes Mickey is taken back to his bead where just a memory of his Night Kitchen experience lingers. This has great illustrations and with a comic book set up on some pages, it keeps you turning the page to see what will happen next.
Before class yesterday, I did not know how well-loved In the Night Kitchen was. When I read it this past week, I honestly didn't like it. The plot didn't interest me, and the nudity bothered me. However, I gained a new perspective in class yesterday as we saw Jen's husband reading the book to his son. You too said it was one of your favorite children's books growing up. I still don't feel that it is necessary for the boy to be nude in the story, but now I also realize that kids can look past this element of the story and delight in the telling of the story itself. Parts I found just plain odd, like the big jug of milk, the airplane of dough,etc. were the most entertaining parts for Jen's stepson. Seeing this story from a child's perspective makes me reevaluate the worth of this children's story. Even though I am now convinced that this story would be appropriate to read to my future children as a bedtime story, I'm still hesitant about placing it in my classroom library.
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