What Maurice Sendak Can Teach the Church

Maurice Sendak, who just died, doesn't seem, at first glance, to have much to teach Christians. After all, he was an atheist with a cynical outlook and a foul mouth. But underneath all of that, I think, Sendak saw something of the fallen glory of the universe we followers of Jesus sometimes ignore.

Sendak's most famous work, of course, is his children's book Where the Wild Things Are. It's about a boy named Max, who is sent to his room for telling his mother he'll eat her up. My sons love this story. Whenever I read it, they start shifting around in their seats as they hear about his room becoming a forest, about his encountering scary, teeth-baring "wild things."

My boys aren't unusual. I loved that story as much as they did, when I was their age. And when I talk to people about my age, I find that this book struck, and strikes, a particular resonance with at least two generations of American children, no matter what their racial, social, economic, or religious backgrounds.

Sendak said that the "wild things" originated with his fear and loathing of his grownup extended family, trying to hug and kiss him and "eat him up." But I think there's more to it than that, more that causes this story to persist.

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Evermyrtle

I never even heard of the book!!! From what I gather here: please read a book or at least you know what is in it before you give it to your children
- Taquoshi
  
  I've heard of it ad nauseam since I went to a college that had a strong teacher's training course and a family member worked for Scholastic. People praised it to the high heavens. Although I read the first few pages, I didn't like it at all, so never finished the book. And I didn't give it to our son to read, either. There were other children's books that were much more interesting to me.
  - Johnny
    
    Yes, C. S. Lewis' series of books about Narnia would be more beneficial than Maurice Sendak's works. I have not even seen one of his books, much less read one, but from the comments I have read, his writings need not be read.
    - http://dl.dropbox.com/u/22306708/Jn6.37.png Despeville
      
      There was very few popular liberals who have done more damage to the cause of the Gospel than CS Lewis have done in his reductionist and universal spin about the Gospel.
      - http://dl.dropbox.com/u/22306708/Jn6.37.png Despeville
        
        CS Lewis is a fad between clueless American leavenjellycals. In UK that man is commonly known to be a typical liberal Anglican with messed up and bastardized theology. He was a good writer but no theologian and very frequently a heretic. This is lost on American dilettante… Now go ahead and thumb me some more dilettante :)
- http://dl.dropbox.com/u/22306708/Jn6.37.png Despeville
  
  Your bibliophobia is truly astounding…
Taquoshi

I totally agree. My college thesis was on Lewis and I thoroughly enjoyed his Narnian work. I wasn't so interested in the Space Trilogy. However, our son grew up with Aslan as a role model and we're hoping that if they film either the Horse and His Boy or the Silver Chair, that it will be true to the book.
- http://dl.dropbox.com/u/22306708/Jn6.37.png Despeville
  
  CS Lewis is a fad between clueless American leavenjellycals. In UK that man is commonly known to be a typical liberal Anglican with messed up and bastardized theology. He was a good writer but no theologian at all and very frequently a heretic tickling ears of itching gullible with chip on their shoulders.