What’s better than a June birthday? There are so many talented and creative people born in the month of June, such as Norton Juster, Eric Carle, Charlotte Zolotow and Chris Van Allsburg and *ahem* me, just to name a few. And today marks the birthday of another children’s book great, Maurice Sendak. It’s the perfect time to share with some of our more faraway fans a very special piece of our bookstore here at The Carle.
About two years ago, we were gifted this gorgeous full-size wooden display unit by Justin G. Schiller. It was originally made for the Metreon entertainment center in San Francisco, which at one time housed a Where the Wild Things Are playground, an In The Night Kitchen restaurant and a Sendak-themed gift store. We now use this two-sided case to display Maurice Sendak’s books and toys in our store. It makes quite an impact on customers when they walk in, especially the young kids who recognize the characters from Where the Wild Things Are right away. Sometimes it’s a little frightening (the bookcase is considerably larger than they are!) but most of the time, kids are drawn right to it, proudly pointing out “Max!” or “Wild Thing!” as if they’re introducing their parents to good friends.
Since Sendak’s exhibition was one of our very firsts at The Carle, and his Wild Things have the proud placement on our logo, we often get guests anticipating seeing original Sendak artwork every time they visit. While we’re happy to have galleries full of constantly rotating artwork, it’s also nice to have this piece of consistency in the store. You can always come and see a Wild Thing here.
Tags: Birthday, bookcase, In the Night Kitchen, June, Maurice Sendak, Max, Where the Wild Things Are