Like BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA yesterday, Maurice Sendak’s IN THE NIGHT KITCHEN makes the list for one of the top 100 most frequently banned books of the decade, 1990-2000. It was also made the Top 10 most challenged book of 2004. It’ll be no surprise to those of you familiar with the book that the sticking point is the illustrations of naked Mickey, the young protagonist of the story.We asked children’s literature consultant Connie Rockman to contribute a booktalk for IN THE NIGHT KITCHEN – feel free to use this booktalk year-round to share Sendak’s Caldecott Honor winning book in your classrooms and libraries.
Ever had that unsettling feeling of waking up to the sound of “thumps” and “bumps” in the night? When that happens to Mickey, he reacts with a shout of his own: “Quiet down there!” But I’ll bet you never had the experience Mickey did of falling – gently, slowly – through the house and ending up in a bowl full of batter in the Night Kitchen. Dreams often recreate images of our waking lives with bizarre alterations, and Mickey’s dream features buildings made of jam jars and flour kegs, coffee cans and kitchen utensils, along with a toy oven and a bread-dough airplane. Mickey is in charge of this wacky world, not the bumbling adult bakers who try to cook him up in the oven. You’ll soar with him to the top of the milk-bottle Milky Way, swim your way with him to freedom, and slide with him into the safety of his cozy bed … all without leaving your own comfortable nook. Don’t miss this adventure with Mickey in the wonderful world of the Night Kitchen!
Thanks so much, Connie, for sharing your booktalk!
Check out Weston Woods video of IN THE NIGHT KITCHEN, created in 1987 (and the study guide that accompanies the video):
