In the Night Kitchen

In the Night Kitchen By Maurice Sendak

I don't get the point of this book. I didn't really care for it. Why did the chefs think Mickey was milk? Was it really necessary to have Mickey remove all of his clothes? I can see why there is much discussion about this book. It doesn't bother me that there would be a naked child in a picture book, all kids have seen their own body parents, it is a fact of nature. I just don't understand why it was necessary for this book. It would have had the same impact if the boy had kept his clothes on.

The illustrations had a lot of detail which I liked but for the first four pages the pictures and words don't start until about a quarter up the page. So the bottom quarter is completely blank. It seems odd, like a waste of space. I also don't like how many of the characters looked mad in a lot of the pictures. Another strange part to this book was the last page. It said "And that's why, thanks to Mickey we have cake every morning." I am wondering who has cake every morning? Cake is a dessert which is usually had a night after dinner.