Toronto Reference Library Blog

This weekend will be your last chance to visit our free exhibit, Maurice Sendak: 50 Years, 50 Works, 50 Reasons, before Max steps into his private boat and waves good-bye for good! The exhibit is on display at the TD Gallery, on the first floor of the Toronto Reference Library and it runs until January 31 - this Sunday!

The exhibit features more than 50 original works of art by Maurice Sendak (1928-2012), beloved children's author and illustrator of Where the Wild Things Are. Organized in celebration of the book's 50th anniversary, the exhibit invites you to immerse yourself in the story and travel in Max's private boat to where the wild things are...

... and finally into the night of his very own room where he found his supper waiting for him

and it was still hot.

It has been amazing to see so many young visitors who know and love Where the Wild Things! Half a century after it was first released, there is something really magic about this book and how it so deftly captures the emotions of being a kid. 

Sendak Story Time with Children's Librarian, Leigh, in the Gallery 

The original illustrations, sketches, posters, and limited edition prints on display feature some of our favourite characters spanning Sendak's prolific career: Max and the Wild Things, of course, but also Mickey from In the Night Kitchen, Else Holmelund Minarik's Little Bear, the four-legged rooster from Kenny's Window, the disobedient Pierre from the Nutshell Library, and the charming Rosie who first appeared in the The Sign on Rosie's Door. 

As a side note, Rosie and Pierre also appear in Sendak's delightful animated special, Really Rosie, which features music by Carol King. The song "Chicken Soup with Rice" seems particularly well suited for a chilly January day in Toronto:

Don't think you will be able to make it to the TD Gallery before Sunday? Don't fret! You still have until March 5, 2016 to visit a complimentary exhibit, "Let the Wild Rumpus Start!" Celebrating Maurice Sendak on display at the Osborne Collection of Early Children's Books at the Lillian H. Smith Branch.

"Let the Wild Rumpus Start!" Celebrating Maurice Sendak 

Curated by Elizabeth Derbecker, the "Wild Rumpus" exhibit provides a deeper look at the books, artists, and experiences that helped shape Sendak's distinctive style of storytelling. See rare published works by Thomas Rowlandson (1756-1827), William Blake (1757-1827), George Cruikshank (1792-1878), the Brothers Grimm, Randolph Caldecott (1846-1886) and Windsor McCay (1869-1934), each of whom Sendak credited as an important artistic influence. 

The exhibit explores personal influences in Sendak's life that echo through his published works: his beloved dog Jennie, his family, his Jewish folk heritage, the kidnapping of the Lindbergh Baby, and his love of Mickey Mouse.  You can also see a fascinating selection of early and lesser-known works by Maurice Sendak including the very first book he illustrated, Atomics for the Millions (1947), written by Sendak's high school physics teacher, Human Ruchlis.  

Don't miss your chance to visit one, or better yet both, of these great exhibits before it is too late!