Boy, Was I Mad!

Boy, Was I Mad!
Kathryn Hitte ~ Mercer Mayer ~ Parents' Magazine Press, 1969

People often mention that Mayer was heavily influenced by Sendak, and no place is that more evident than here... particularly in the picture above with the dogs. Those definitely look like Sendak dogs. I love both these men, and if Mayer did lift some of his styling in the beginning, he sure added his own humorous spin that the seriousness of Sendak sometimes overshadows. I was influenced by both men equally growing up, so I don't like to draw comparisons as they both hold separate but special places in my heart. Besides, Hitte's story is pretty darn cute, too...

I was mad one day,.
I mean REALLY mad!
So I ran away.
I stuck a sandwich in my pocket,
and left my house fast,
and I didn't look back.
I wouldn't look back at my house for anything,
I was so mad that day--
that day when I ran away.

Off he goes and meets some workmen who give him a hard hat and let him help... until he remembers how mad he is and moves on... He gets to drive a horse-drawn wagon, until he remembers how mad he is and gives up... he meets dogs and babies and ants... so much cool stuff that he eventually forgets why he was mad in the first place and find himself home again.

Darling! Nothing not to love here.

Also by:
Liza Lou and the Yeller Belly Swamp
One Monster After Another
Professor Wormbog in Search for the Zipperump-A-Zoo
Me and My Flying Machine
Beauty and the Beast
A Special Trick
Bubble Bubble
OOPS
One Frog Too Many
How the Trollusk Got His Hat
Little Monster at Work
AH-CHOO
The Bird of Time
Herbert the Timid Dragon
Professor Wormbog's Gloomy Kerploppus

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