The Sign on Rosie's Door

I ordered a number of Sendak books for a class I am teaching, and selected this one without having read it. Now that I have it, I am am utterly charmed and wishing I would have discovered it years ago. The Sign on Rosie's Door is a delightful book that is closer in spirit to Little Bear than Where the Wild Things Are, and also reminds me of the Frances books by Lillian Hoban. It is one of those simple and gentle stories that seems to be about real children rather than what adults think children are like.The book (much like Little Bear) contains four chapters, each with a different episode. In the first, Rosie shares the secret with her friends that she is no longer Rosie but is Alinda, the lovely lady singer. She is performing in a "great musical show" in her backyard. Unfortunately her friend Lenny keeps interupting. The interaction between the children is completely natural and delightful. Chapters 2 &3 show a day when the children have nothing to do and how it unfolds-again, with that whimsical sense of "this is something children would do." The last chapter shows their imaginative Fourth of July.Sendak's has a special knack for capturing the essence of children at play. The personalities of the individual children, especially their leader Rosie (or Alinda) shine in both the story and the illustrations. I smiled at the page when, after an exiting day spent sitting on "Alinda's" porch waiting for "Magic Man" to arrive, the children tell their parents that "they had done so much there wasn't even enough time to do it in and they were going to do it all over again tomorrow." "Good!" all their mothers said.Yes, good. This book is very good and you and the children in your life will be happy you picked it.This is a gentle and charming story that is suitable for children of all ages.

I adore Sendak. And this is a lovely depiction of free-form play among city children who use blankets and chairs and any handy household item to create their own magical world! Truly nothing much happens, but in the children’s joy and their imaginative play is a great story to read to your kids and grandkids!

Delivered quickly

Read aloud to granddaughter 4 via FaceTime. She asked for it again and again, squealing “it’s Buttermilk (white cat) and calling out friends names.

This book will send you back to the childhood activities of the 1960s and 70s. Before 'screen time'. This is a book about imagination, boredom, the mystery of little kid relationships, living in a neighborhood and playing outside... Delicious and funny, perfectly captures the way time is experienced by children. My second grader adored it.

Kids book, Entertaining and cute illustrations.

We have a Rosie in our family—she assumed the book was about her!

I love Maurice Sendak's work, and in this one, a little girl pretends to be a beautiful singer and gets her friends to watch. It is very much like it would be with a group of children, where other children get distracted. My granddaughter loves this book.

Storia incantevole come le illustrazioni, scritta in un inglese assai semplice. Molto poetico.

表紙が破れていて残念でした。

Author of the famous “where the wild things are”, this is a wonderfully entertaining story of some young children playing together, beautifully capturing the naivete and spontaneity and creativity the kids have that age. Only had to book 3 days, and I read it to my five-year-old at least four times.I think I have all of Sendak’s books, And I have to say this is definitely one of my very favourites.

pretty much nothing happens, but delving into sendak's work past 'where the wild things are' is very rewarding. as i say nothing happens, but it's exactly like how every playtime i remember seemed to pan out, with kids that have nothing but their imagination and a couple of props to amuse themselves, having a good time then going home happy. My 2.5year old loves this and all the other sendak stuff we binged on over xmas: Outside over There, In the Night Kitchen, Where the Wild Things Are DVD (not the recent film, the 40yr old compendium of 5 animations) and the Nutshell Library. Do a Sendak binge. It will make you happy.

A lovely, rambling tale which reminds me of my own lazy days of putting on shows to each other and hanging around back gardens. My nearly 4 year old loves it and doesn't seem to mind its lack of beginning-middle-end at all. Her father can't bear reading it though - can't work out the non-story of it at all. It can easily be read in one sitting - holds attention even though pictures are monochrome - and as it finishes with our main girl Rosey falling asleep, it's a great one for making my daughter drowsy at bedtime.