BRUNDIBAR, [illus by Maurice Sendak.**]

UK,slim,rectangular 8vo HB+dw/dj,illustrated 1st edn. [Complete number line 2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3,so 1st edn, 2nd imp.Story adapted/retold by Tony Kushner in capitalised text for younger readers and other text in speech bubbles.] FINE/FINE-. No owner inscrptn and no price-clip to dw/dj - price to rear panel of dw/dj.Bright,crisp,clean,glossy colour pictorial artwork,by Maurice Sendak illustrated front panel of dw/dj,with capitalised brown-lettered title,illustrator and author names to front panel,a yellow spine/backstrip with capitalised illustrator+author sunrames at its head, capitalised brown-lettered title to middle and capitalised brown lettered+illustrated publisher colophon to foot of same,rear panel of dw/dj with three different coloured borders to a plain orange panel with light,superficial scoring/indents with very minimal penetration to board beneath. Negligible shelf-wear,bumping,creasing to edges and corners – no nicks,tears or splits present.Top+fore-edges bright and clean without foxing/spotting; contents bright, tight,clean,solid and sound - pristine - no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corner tips,appears unread other than my own collation.Publisher's bright, crisp,clean,sharp-cornered,original plain dark brown cloth boards with blocked/impressed darker brown lettered title across its middle and bright,crisp,blocked capitalised gilt lettered spine/backstrip,and immaculate pale peach colour repeated single illustration repeated to illustrated endpapers. UK,slim, rectangular 8vo HB+dw/dj, illustrated,1st edn,58pp [unpaginated and includes free endpapers] with glossy,colour illustrations by Maurice Sendak and accompanying text and speech bubbles throughout and also includes colour illustrated recto+verso to half-title page,colour illustrated title page,and colour illustrated dedication page. Visually the exterior appearance is more than acceptable,and particularly internally,the book is in an exceptional condition/state of preservation and presentation for a book of its age and nature, i.e. a child's book. It is only the exterior faults described that prevents a slightly higher grading especially for the dw/dj and also overall.Despite that, it really is still an exceptional example for its cleanliness and brightness. The story is originally based on a Czech opera of the same name (Brundibar is Czech for Bumblebee),with a libretto by Adolf Hoffmeister,set to music by Hans Krasa.. Completed in 1938 the opera was performed fifty five times by the children of Terezin,the Nazi concentration camp. The composer Hans Krasa who was Jewish was also imprisoned in Terezin. He was killed in Auschwitz in 1944. When Aninku and Pepicek go to town for milk to make their sick mother better, their attempts to earn money by singing are thwarted by a bullying hurdy-gurdy grinder,Brundibar,who terrorizes the town square and chases all other street musicians away. But with the help of three intelligent talking animals and three hundred helpful schoolchildren,Aninku and Pepicek sing for the money,buy the milk,defeat the bully and triumphantly return home. Award-winning Maurice Sendak has received the 1964 Caldecott Medal,the 1970 Hans Christian Andersen Medal, the 1983 Laura Ingalls Wilder Award and a 1996 National Medal of Arts. In 2003 he received the first Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award,an international prize for children's literature established by the Swedish government.He died in 2012. Tony Kushner writes and adapts plays and in collaboration,musicals.He is the author of 'The Art of Maurice Sendak: 1980 to the Present'. He has received of the 1993 Pulitzer Prize for Drama,two Tony Awards, two OBIE Awards,and a Cultural Achievement Award from the National Foundation For Jewish Culture. Please contact seller,because of the lighter weight of this item,for correct shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas buyers - BEFORE ordering through the order page! N.B. ALL buyers please note,that stocks' actual shipping/P+p costs are adjusted and any difference is refunded,after order's receipt and before the order's despatch,especially if the item(s) are offered either P+p included/FREE. ** N.B. US/Canada customers please be aware: Standard AIRMAIL postage from UK to these destinations can now cost more than the price of any inexpensive book! If speed is not of the essence,then Economy rate is recommended - at approx. anything from a 1/3rd to 1/2 of the standard AIR quote/rate - sometimes arriving sooner than the 42 days - but not always. **