Bookverdict.com

Gr 7 Up—In Sendak's final opus, as in his life, a youth yearns to be with his beloved brother. A cosmic cataclysm has divided them, leaving Jack ensconced in "iced eternity." Guy is prepared to join him-whatever the risk. While this sounds dire, the author's synthesis of ideas from a wide span of literature and art, combined with exquisitely illuminated scenes, conveys instead a quest in which the ultimate sacrifice leads to complete fulfillment. Free-verse narration accommodates the breadth of referents. The Winter's Tale inspires a dialogue that occurs...Log In or Sign Up to Read More

If, as Wordsworth wrote, "poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquillity," Sendak's vision of a Dante-esque search for his beloved brother Jack (1924-1995) is poetry in both word and art -- though tranquility is only achieved with reunion in the sleep of death. In an eloquent introduction, Shakespeare scholar Stephen Greenblatt links this posthumous book to A Winter's Tale, "absorbed, redistributed, and transformed into something rich ...Log In or Sign Up to Read More