Day Twelve: Storybook Treasures- Where the Wild Things Are

WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE AND FIVE OTHER STORIES BY MAURICE SENDAK

Rated: G

Directed by various people, this is an animated collection of Maurice Sendak’s children’s stories. This DVD includes “Where the Wild Things Are,” “In the Night Kitchen,” “Pierre,” “Chicken Soup with Rice,” “One Was Johnny,” and “Alligators All Around.”

Most everyone is familiar with WILD THINGS, the story of a little boy named Max who sails off to the Island of Wild Things and becomes their king.

IN THE NIGHT KITCHEN is an anatomically correct story about a boy called Mickey who floats out of bed and falls through the darkness until he winds up in the Night Kitchen. This is where a handful of fat Italian chefs make cakes for the morning. Mickey helps the chefs bake their cakes and then flies back to his bed in an airplane he makes out of bread dough. It’s weird. Kind of like a stoner song for toddlers.

CHICKEN SOUP WITH RICE goes through the different seasons in a year, praising each month as the perfect time to enjoy this delicious meal.

ONE WAS JOHNNY is a story about a little boy who lives by himself and receives several strange visitors. It’s a counting book that goes up to ten and back down to one.

ALLIGAOTRS ALL AROUND is an alphabet story: Alligators all around, bursting balloons, catching colds, doing dishes, entertaining elephants, forever fooling, giving giggles, having headaches, imitating Indians, juggling jelly beans, keeping kangaroos, looking like lions, making macaroni, never napping, ordering oatmeal, pushing people, quite quarrelsome, riding reindeer, shockingly spoiled, throwing tantrums, usually upside down, very vain, wearing wigs, x-ing x’s, yakety yacking, zippity zapping. It’s cute.

“Pierre,” “Chicken Soup with Rice,” “One Was Johnny,” and “Alligators All Around” are all sung/narrated by Carole King.

This is a neat little DVD for small(ish) children, people who appreciate animation, or Sendak’s interesting illustrations and story style.

A+