In the Night Kitchen
Encyclopedia
In the Night Kitchen is a popular and controversial children's picture book
, written and illustrated by Maurice Sendak
, and first published in 1970. The book depicts a young boy's dream journey through a surreal
baker's kitchen where he assists in the creation of a cake to be ready by the morning. It was a Caldecott Honor recipient in 1971.
He falls naked into a giant mixing pot that contains the batter
for the "morning cake". While Mickey is buried in the mass, three identical bakers (who most likely resemble Oliver Hardy
) mix the batter and prepare it for baking, unaware (or unconcerned) that there is a boy inside. Halfway through the baking process, the boy emerges from the oven, protesting that he is not the batter's milk.
To make up for the baking ingredient deficiency, Mickey (now covered in batter from the neck down) constructs an airplane out of bread dough so he can fly to the mouth of a gigantic milk bottle. Upon reaching the bottle's opening, he dives in and briefly revels in the liquid. After his covering of batter disintegrates, he pours the needed milk in a cascade down to the bakers who joyfully finish making the morning cake.
With dawn breaking, the naked Mickey crows like a rooster
and slides down the bottle to magically return to his bed. Everything is back to normal, beyond the happy memory of his experience.
and testicles). Some also interpret sexual innuendo in the events, with the nudity, free-flowing milky fluids, and giant (allegedly phallic
) milk bottle. 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.
The book has been ranked 25th place on the "100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990-2000" list compiled by the American Library Association
. The book has also been included in "The 15 Most Controversial Picture Books."
, 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 comic story
, at least if one uses the definition of comics proposed in Scott McCloud
's acclaimed Understanding Comics
– the storytelling is mainly pictorial (albeit clarified by captions) and the images mainly sequential
, and speech balloons are used throughout the entire book.
In fact, the imagery is very similar to Winsor McKay's Sunday comic strip series Little Nemo
from the early 1900s. Maurice Sendak has cited these comics as influential in his work, and on page five of Night Kitchen, one of the ingredients shown has a subtitle saying "Chicken Little, Nemo mass", a nod to this influence.
In an interview on NPR
's Fresh Air, 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.
Picture book
A picture book combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format, most often aimed at young children. The images in picture books use a range of media such as oil paints, acrylics, watercolor and pencil.Two of the earliest books with something like the format picture books still retain now...
, written and illustrated by Maurice Sendak
Maurice Sendak
Maurice Bernard Sendak is an American writer and illustrator of children's literature. He is best known for his book Where the Wild Things Are, published in 1963.-Early life:...
, and first published in 1970. The book depicts a young boy's dream journey through a surreal
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
baker's kitchen where he assists in the creation of a cake to be ready by the morning. It was a Caldecott Honor recipient in 1971.
Plot summary
A young boy named Mickey sleeps in his bed when he is disturbed by noise on a lower floor. Suddenly, he begins to float, and all of his clothes disappear as he drifts into a surreal world called the "Night Kitchen".He falls naked into a giant mixing pot that contains the batter
Batter (cooking)
Batter is a semi-liquid mixture of one or more flours combined with liquids such as water, milk or eggs used to prepare various foods. Often a leavening agent such as baking powder is included to aerate and fluff up the batter as it cooks, or the mixture may be naturally fermented for this purpose...
for the "morning cake". While Mickey is buried in the mass, three identical bakers (who most likely resemble Oliver Hardy
Oliver Hardy
Oliver Hardy was an American comic actor famous as one half of Laurel and Hardy, the classic double act that began in the era of silent films and lasted nearly 30 years, from 1927 to 1955.-Early life:...
) mix the batter and prepare it for baking, unaware (or unconcerned) that there is a boy inside. Halfway through the baking process, the boy emerges from the oven, protesting that he is not the batter's milk.
To make up for the baking ingredient deficiency, Mickey (now covered in batter from the neck down) constructs an airplane out of bread dough so he can fly to the mouth of a gigantic milk bottle. Upon reaching the bottle's opening, he dives in and briefly revels in the liquid. After his covering of batter disintegrates, he pours the needed milk in a cascade down to the bakers who joyfully finish making the morning cake.
With dawn breaking, the naked Mickey crows like a rooster
Rooster
A rooster, also known as a cockerel, cock or chanticleer, is a male chicken with the female being called a hen. Immature male chickens of less than a year's age are called cockerels...
and slides down the bottle to magically return to his bed. Everything is back to normal, beyond the happy memory of his experience.
Controversy
When Mickey (who looks to be about three years old) enters the Night Kitchen, he loses his pajamas and spends much of the story naked. Critics object to Mickey's nudity (which depicts his penisPenis
The penis is a biological feature of male animals including both vertebrates and invertebrates...
and testicles). Some also interpret sexual innuendo in the events, with the nudity, free-flowing milky fluids, and giant (allegedly phallic
Phallus
A phallus is an erect penis, a penis-shaped object such as a dildo, or a mimetic image of an erect penis. Any object that symbolically resembles a penis may also be referred to as a phallus; however, such objects are more often referred to as being phallic...
) milk bottle. 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.
The book has been ranked 25th place on the "100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990-2000" list compiled by the American Library Association
American Library Association
The American Library Association is a non-profit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with more than 62,000 members....
. The book has also been included in "The 15 Most Controversial Picture Books."
Artwork
Sendak's illustrations here are rather different in style to Where The Wild Things AreWhere The Wild Things Are
Where the Wild Things Are is a 1963 children's picture book by American writer and illustrator Maurice Sendak, originally published by Harper & Row. The book has been adapted into other media several times, including an animated short in 1973 , a 1980 opera, and, in 2009, a live-action feature film...
, 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 comic story
Comics
Comics denotes a hybrid medium having verbal side of its vocabulary tightly tied to its visual side in order to convey narrative or information only, the latter in case of non-fiction comics, seeking synergy by using both visual and verbal side in...
, at least if one uses the definition of comics proposed in Scott McCloud
Scott McCloud
Scott McCloud is an American cartoonist and theorist on comics as a distinct literary and artistic medium...
's acclaimed Understanding Comics
Understanding Comics
Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art is a 215-page non-fiction comic book, written and drawn by Scott McCloud and originally published in 1993. It explores the definition of comics, the historical development of the medium, its fundamental vocabulary, and various ways in which these elements...
– the storytelling is mainly pictorial (albeit clarified by captions) and the images mainly sequential
Sequential art
Sequential art refers to the art form of using a train of images deployed in sequence to graphic storytelling or convey information. The best-known example of sequential art is comics, which are a printed arrangement of art and balloons, especially comic books and comic strips.The term is rarely...
, and speech balloons are used throughout the entire book.
In fact, the imagery is very similar to Winsor McKay's Sunday comic strip series Little Nemo
Little Nemo
Little Nemo is the main fictional character in a series of weekly comic strips by Winsor McCay that appeared in the New York Herald and William Randolph Hearst's New York American newspapers from October 15, 1905 – April 23, 1911 and April 30, 1911 – July 26, 1914; respectively.The...
from the early 1900s. Maurice Sendak has cited these comics as influential in his work, and on page five of Night Kitchen, one of the ingredients shown has a subtitle saying "Chicken Little, Nemo mass", a nod to this influence.
In an interview on NPR
NPR
NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
's Fresh Air, 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.
Awards received
Written in 1970, it has received the following awards:- 1971 Caldecott Honor Book
- 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
- Beginner BooksBeginner BooksBeginner Books is the Random House imprint for young children ages 4-8, co-founded by Phyllis Cerf with Ted Geisel, more often known as Dr. Seuss, and his wife Helen Palmer Geisel.Their first book was Dr. Seuss's The Cat in the Hat...