Story Time: Where the Wild Things Are - A Tribute to Maurice Sendak (11/08/2012)
| Venue | ： | 3/F, Causeway Bay Book Centre, 9 Yee Wo St., Causeway Bay, H.K. |
| Speaker | ： | Miss Miki Yokoyama |
| Host | ： | Ms. Christa Tam |
Review
Our Story Time: Where the Wild Things Are – A Tribute to Maurice Sendak on 11 August 2012 turned out to be a tribute to both him and Else Holmelund Minarik, the author of the Little Bear series which he also illustrated.
We were very sad to learn that Else Holmelund Minarik died in July 2012 at the age of 91. Our event was very timely indeed to honour these two great authors who brought joy to children all over the world through the wonderful stories they had written in the past six decades.
Else Holmelund Minarik’s simple and heartwarming stories in the Little Bear series about Little Bear’s daily life. have been popular amongst preschoolers since they were first published in 1953. Miki Yokoyama read with zest two of her childhood favourites, What Will Little Bear Wear?r, a short storyfrom Little Bear, and A Kiss for Little Bear.
The former tells that the clever Mother Bear knows just the right coat to keep Little Bear warm on a cold and snowy day – Little Bear’s own fur coat! The latter tells with great charm how a kiss Grandma wants Hen to pass on to Little Bear has got all mixed up when it is passed from one animal to another. Beautifully illustrated by Maurice Sendak, the two enchanting stories brought smiles to the young children in the audience.
Miki Yokoyama then told the adventures of Max in Where the Wild Things Are with even greater energy, and many facial expressions and actions. It was as if she really sailed away to the land where the wild things are with Max when he was sent to his room without supper for being naughty. The little boys and girls liked how she imitated the way the wild things ‘gnashed their teeth, rolled their eyes, showed their claws’. Little did they know that she was a mischievous child like Max when she was growing up in Japan!
The children found it reassuring that after all the ‘wild rumpus’ Max had, his supper was waiting for him in his bedroom. The lovely ending makes this story a great book to read aloud at bedtime to calm the children down at the end of the day.
We thank Miki Yokoyama for giving us her time and all of you for coming!
See you next time.
