In the Night Kitchen
OCLC 103953 | |
In the Night Kitchen is a
Plot summary
While sleeping, a young boy named Mickey is disturbed by loud noises on a lower floor. Suddenly, he falls out of his bed and begins to float through the dark, then he loses all his clothes as he drifts into a surreal dreamworld known as the "Night Kitchen". Now arriving completely naked as he came, Mickey falls into a giant pot that contains the batter for the "morning cake". Three bakers (who closely resemble Oliver Hardy) arrived to mix the batter and prepare it for baking, unaware (or unconcerned) that Mickey is inside.
Shortly after the pot is placed into the oven, Mickey pushes through the oven and emerges from the pot, protesting that he is not the batter's milk. Now covered in batter from the neck down, Mickey jumps out of the pot and constructs an airplane out of bread dough and flies to the mouth of a gigantic milk bottle while wearing a measuring cup on his head. He dives into the bottle and revels in the milk, during his time in the milk bottle Mickey's covering of batter disintegrates making naked again as he swims back to the top of the bottle. Mickey pours the needed milk in a cascade down to the bakers, who joyfully finish their morning cake.
As dawn approaches and the bakers leave, Mickey stands naked and proud on the milk bottle and crows like a
Controversy
When Mickey (who looks to be about three years old) enters the Night Kitchen, he loses his pajamas and is fully naked in some parts of the story. Critics object to Mickey's nudity which depicts not only his buttocks, but also his genitals. Some also interpret sexual innuendo in the events, with the nudity, free-flowing milky fluids, and a giant (allegedly phallic) milk bottle.[2] As a result, the book proved controversial in the United States on its release and has continued to be so. The inclusion of child nudity has been frequently raised as morally problematic; consequently, this book remains on lists of books either challenged or banned.[3]
The book has been ranked 25th on the "100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990–2000" list compiled by the American Library Association.[4]
Artwork
Sendak's illustrations here are rather different in style from Where the Wild Things Are, his best known book, which makes much use of cross hatching not found here. However, Sendak continues to utilize specific color tones and drawing a dream environment around a young child. Sendak's unique style captures the spirit and feeling of a dream, as Mickey floats, flies and dances from one panel to the next.
The book may be defined as a
In fact, the imagery is very similar to
In an interview on NPR's Fresh Air in 2006, Sendak said that his depiction of the cooks in In the Night Kitchen (with their Hitler-esque mustaches) and the fact that they tried to cook the boy in their ovens were references to the Holocaust, a subject high in his thoughts, especially due to his Jewish heritage. Sendak also said the story dealt with the things that happen after a child goes to bed.[6]
Awards received
Written in 1970, it has received the following awards:
- 1971 Caldecott HonorBook
- Notable Children's Books of 1940—1970 (ALA)
- Best Books of 1970 (SLJ)
- Outstanding Children's Books of 1970 (NYT)
- Best Illustrated Children's Books of 1970 (NYT)
- Children's Books of 1970 (Library of Congress)
- Carey-Thomas Award 1971—Honor Citation
- Brooklyn Art Books for Children 1973, 1975
See also
- 1970 in literature
- Children's literature
- List of most commonly challenged books in the United States
References
- S2CID 25420037.
- ^ NNDB. "Maurice Sendak".
- ^ "The 15 Most Controversial Picture Books". Blisstree.com. 2008-08-18. Retrieved 2012-05-12.
- ^ American Library Association. "The 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990–2000". Archived from the original on 2010-10-28.
- ^ Some examples of similarities between Little Nemo and Sendak's In the Night Kitchen.
- ^ Gross, Terry. "Sendak on Adapting 'Brundibar' for Theater". npr. Retrieved 8 May 2017.