Wild Things Exhibition Guide

There must be more to life than having everything!

Higglety Pigglety Pop! or There Must Be More to Life
1967
Book
New York: Harper & Row, 1967. © 1967 by Maurice Sendak

Higglety Pigglety Pop! or There Must Be More to Life, 1967

Of all of his books, Higglety Pigglety Pop! was Sendak’s favorite. Three key pictures from it were the only works by his hand that he hung in his house. A series of events—Sendak’s massive heart attack, his mother’s terminal illness, and the news that his beloved dog, Jennie, was dying of cancer—inspired the book’s theme of mortality. The book, he said, became “my requiem for [Jennie]—an unsentimental, even comic requiem to a shrewd, stubborn, loyal, and lovable creature whose all consuming passion was food.” But instead of a morbid tone, Sendak approached Higglety Pigglety Pop! whimsically.

Like all of Sendak’s greatest heroes, Jennie goes on an existential quest. Ultimately, she becomes a star, performing “Higglety Pigglety Pop!,” based on an 1846 nursery rhyme, twice a day, with the special perk of eating a mop made of salami. Sendak crafted personal grief into a book that is both humorous and consoling.

Samuel Palmer
British, 1805–1881
The Lonely Tower
1858
Etching

In addition to the personal events that sparked the idea for this book, Maurice Sendak drew inspiration from the prints of earlier artists who depicted dark and moody subjects.

Sendak collected British artist Samuel Palmer’s prints and watercolors. Palmer’s etched cross-hatching in The Lonely Tower directly influenced the look of Higglety Pigglety Pop! Its depiction of two young shepherds reminded him of his childhood friendship with his brother, Jack.

Final Art for Higglety Pigglety Pop! or There Must Be More to Life
1967
Ink on paper
© The Maurice Sendak Foundation

Jennie was Sendak’s beloved dog, and, as he said, “the love of my life,” who died about a month before he published Higglety Pigglety Pop! Sendak placed Leonardo da Vinci’s famous Mona Lisa behind Jennie in this drawing, referencing her original name, Mona, when he first got her as a puppy.

Storyboard for Higglety Pigglety Pop! Opera
1984
Ink on paper
© The Maurice Sendak Foundation

In 1984, Sendak wrote the libretto (script) for an operatic adaptation of Higglety Pigglety Pop! with the British composer Oliver Knussen. Sendak’s libretto, like the book, features his beloved Sealyham terrier, Jennie, leaving home in search of the meaning of life.

Rich Toys
Established 1923, Sterling, Illinois
Borden’s Milk and Cream Truck with Horse
About 1930
Mixed media

Sendak’s favorite toy as a child was a miniature Borden’s milk truck that he remembered “had little tin milk trays inside and real little glass bottles that clinked together.” He said that it inspired much of his fantasy life as a child and, subsequently, it is featured in some of his books, including Higglety Pigglety Pop!

The piggy bank is another toy that inspired a character in this book.