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I Saw Esau

The Schoolchild's Pocket Book

Illustrated by Maurice Sendak
Paperback
$14.00 US
5.13"W x 7.31"H x 0.84"D   | 11 oz | 36 per carton
On sale Nov 13, 2012 | 160 Pages | 9780763664015
Age 7-10 years | Grades 2-5

"The mood is insouciant glee. A treasure." — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me."

That’s what children chant when they are being teased; it’s what their parents chanted, and their grandparents and their great-grandparents before them. Collected in this invaluable book are the wit and wisdom of generations of schoolchildren — more than one hundred and seventy rhymes ranging from insults and riddles to tongue twisters, jeers, and jump-rope rhymes. With Iona Opie’s introduction and detailed notes and Maurice Sendak’s remarkable pictures — vignettes, sequences, and full-page paintings both wickedly funny and comically sad — here is a book that deserves a place among the classic texts of childhood.
  • SELECTION
    ALA Notable Children's Book
  • SELECTION
    New York Times Notable Book
"Sendak. . . . dramatizes the verses' challenging spirit in some splendidly witty and imaginative interpretations: Dr. Fell is truly ghoulish, but his victim remains undaunted. Scores of these pictures are masterpieces of illustration: lively, exquisitely designed, offering unexpected insights while enthusiastically celebrating their texts. Overall, the handsome format is worthy of the content, and the mood is insouciant glee. A treasure. New introduction by Iona Opic; notes, nicely leavened by Sendak's characters, who reappear among them." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
 

About

"The mood is insouciant glee. A treasure." — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me."

That’s what children chant when they are being teased; it’s what their parents chanted, and their grandparents and their great-grandparents before them. Collected in this invaluable book are the wit and wisdom of generations of schoolchildren — more than one hundred and seventy rhymes ranging from insults and riddles to tongue twisters, jeers, and jump-rope rhymes. With Iona Opie’s introduction and detailed notes and Maurice Sendak’s remarkable pictures — vignettes, sequences, and full-page paintings both wickedly funny and comically sad — here is a book that deserves a place among the classic texts of childhood.

Awards

  • SELECTION
    ALA Notable Children's Book
  • SELECTION
    New York Times Notable Book

Praise

"Sendak. . . . dramatizes the verses' challenging spirit in some splendidly witty and imaginative interpretations: Dr. Fell is truly ghoulish, but his victim remains undaunted. Scores of these pictures are masterpieces of illustration: lively, exquisitely designed, offering unexpected insights while enthusiastically celebrating their texts. Overall, the handsome format is worthy of the content, and the mood is insouciant glee. A treasure. New introduction by Iona Opic; notes, nicely leavened by Sendak's characters, who reappear among them." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Author

 

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