Once again, after reading Sendak, I feel like I need to reevaluate my life and do some research.

I feel like this would be a perfect book for a high school sociology class. ( )

The artwork is fascinating. Sendak added a whole new level of complexity, depth, and surrealism to the nursery rhymes he mushed together. I'm just not sure about it's effectiveness as a children's book. ( )

This was a strange but interesting book. Kittens and a little kid are taken by a rat. With the help of a watchful moon cat, they find their way home again. One thing Sendak has done in this story is to keep the reader in suspense as to what is going on. I don't know if this is at all where he was going with this book, but I felt like the rats were political figures they were gambling with the lives of less privileged. The sky or someone up in the heavens was watching over the world and intervened when necessary. The illustrations gave off feelings of frustration, sadness, sorrow, and helplessness. ( )

Full of adorable creatures and astonishing cruelty. And jokes. In 1993, I didn't notice that after the rats seize the little brown boy, the speech bubble TRUMPED is right next to the background word TOWER. ( )

I was surprised to learn that this is one of Maurice Sendak's most controversial books. The book, on the surface, is an innocent mash-up of two Mother Goose nursery rhymes, set in modern times (or at least, modern when the book was published). The story follows Jack and Guy, two homeless men who witness a black baby and a litter of kittens being stolen by large, monster-like rats. The rats challenge Jack and Guy to a game of bridge, where the baby and the kittens would be the prize. They lose, and the rats take the baby and kittens to St. Paul's orphanage and bakery. Jack and Guy follow them, and a large cat (presumably the kittens' mother) chase the rats away. Jack and Guy save the baby, and Guy suggests that he and Jack raise the baby as their own. I really enjoyed Sendak's masterful illustrations, and I could tell that the book was making statements on society's views towards the homeless and possibly even gay couples. Upon further research online, I learned that my thoughts about the book's message were right; the book was written during the peak of the AIDS crisis and when homelessness in America was being considered an epidemic. This book was a message to the public, telling them to show these people experiencing hardships mercy and kindness. The book has layers of meaning- on the surface layer, it's obvious that Sendak is stressing the importance of people coming together in times of need. The deeper layers are criticizing culture's view towards the homeless; when the baby is taken in the game of bridge, the homeless say they were "trumped," as they cry in front of a building that looks almost exactly like Trump Tower. I've always enjoyed books that have many layers of meaning, as they allow me to do research and dig to find all the different messages the author wanted to send to the reader. I think that this book is appropriate for all ages, as children will enjoy the surface message of hope and the importance of working together, and adults will enjoy the commentary and criticisms Sendak included. ( )