Milk in the batter
One of the gifts Lina received for her birthday was Maurice Sendak’s In The Night Kitchen. Though I’m very familiar with Where the Wild Things Are, I’d never seen or heard of In The Night Kitchen. Auntie Kerry’s eyes widened when she saw Lina unwrap the book. “That’s one of my very favorites!” And if it’s one of Kerry’s favorites, it’s GOT to be good.
That night, after Lina (and at least one bottle of wine) was down, Kerry volunteered to read the book aloud to me. “I have a way of reading it,” she explained. Kerry is a former Montessori teacher, and has read many a book to a child. I tucked in and got ready to listen.
Her reading was magical. The Sendak zone was never more accessible to me than when ushered in by Kerry and a big glass of red wine.
My reading of the book to Lina is nothing but a cheap, sober imitation of her Auntie Kerry’s masterful storytelling, but the kid loves it. LOVES it. Asks for it again and again and again. She cannot get enough of that book! I almost have it memorized at this point. But not quite.
If you haven’t read it, you should. And if you want to understand it, you should read it to a child.
March 11th, 2007 at 16:31
so funny - I felt ridiculous for reading it to you. the wine sure helped, as did the audience.
actually, I really want to hear Art read it to her. I imagine he would somehow turn that story, like the cupcake, upside-down.
March 11th, 2007 at 19:22
I look forward to reading it to her. I promise, I’ll read it responsibly.
March 12th, 2007 at 15:38
There is a great video of this story as well. In fact, it’s one of the few that I remember from rainy day recesses in elementary school. Charming.