Maurice Sendak

When reading children’s books, many people do not think about previous books the author may have written. Sometimes when an author writes several books, they seem to tie them together with a similar theme or characteristics that they give to their characters. I have always been interested in the works of Maurice Sendak and have always wondered about his motives behind his “Great Trilogy.” Did he purposely tie his books together with the same theme, or is it just the way I choose to read it?
“ The three bears, the three pigs, and the many stories of ‘Once there were three sisters’, are just a few examples that clearly show it is not surprising that the motif of three has been carried over into the creation of stories that form trilogies”(Hayward 97). Along with the motif of three, are journey, heroism, and time, all of which appear in one way or another in all of children’s literature. Where the Wild Things Are, In the Night Kitchen, and Outside Over There all hav...