A HOLE IS TO DIG

[New York]: Harper & Brothers, 1952. Fine in near-fine jacket.. Inscribed first edition, later state, of the commercial and critical success that established Sendak's talent as an illustrator and Krauss's reputation for capturing child-like lyricism - an especially nice copy inscribed by Krauss. Krauss enjoyed enormous acclaim, particularly in the 1950s, as a writer on her own terms for her children's books that are now better known today as early "Sendak titles." Biographer Philip Nel argues that, because she "treated them as equals, children accepted Krauss as one of them, confiding in her, telling her stories, or just playing while she watched. She listened, wrote down what they said, and used her poet's ear to select phrases that displayed a natural, unrehearsed lyricism."

Krauss, along with her husband Crockett Johnson, was a formative mentor for Sendak. While their relationship was often strained, Sendak felt that "part of her fury was educating me, the dumb Brooklyn kid, into a more interesting human being. She was determined that I have more insight, that I think higher" (quoted in Nel, 178-9). Their first collaboration. 6.5'' x 5.25''. Original quarter teal cloth, color pictorial paper boards. In original unclipped ($1.50) color pictorial dust jacket. Illustrated by Sendak on every page. Later state, with "Grr" present on page [23]. [48] pages. Jacket rubbed at spine head.