Higglety Pigglety Pop!: Or There Must Be More to Life

As a tribute to his dearly departed pooch, Maurice Sendak wrote this odd little tale in 1967 about Jennie, a Sealyham terrier who is not content with having everything but must go out in the world to find something she doesn't have. Right off the bat, she comes across a pig wearing sandwich boards advertising the need for a leading lady in the World Mother Goose Theatre. Jennie leaps at the opportunity. Unfortunately, the position requires someone with experience, so she sets off to find it. One hungry lion and a stubborn un-hungry baby later, Jennie definitely has experience, if nothing else anymore, and off she goes to play the leading role in a nursery-rhyme-turned-theatrical-production:

Higglety-pigglety pop!
The dog has eaten the mop!
The pig's in a hurry
The cat's in a flurry
Higglety-pigglety pop!

This dreamy, slightly dark story, illustrated in Sendak's renowned pen-and-ink style, tells of a gluttonous dog's transformation from someone who cares only about her next salami sandwich to one who would risk her life for a weaker being (while still wondering where that next sandwich is coming from). Caldecott Medal artist Sendak is the brilliantly quirky creator of such classics as Where the Wild Things Are and In the Night Kitchen. (Ages 5 to 9) --Emilie Coulter