The Sign on Rosie's Door

Oh, yes. Highly recommended for fans of Sendak's sometime partner [a:Ruth Krauss|12961|Ruth Krauss|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1495054958p2/12961.jpg] ([b:A Hole is to Dig|118077|A Hole is to Dig|Ruth Krauss|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1347664265s/118077.jpg|515786] etc.) as well as fans of [b:Where the Wild Things Are|19543|Where the Wild Things Are|Maurice Sendak|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1384434560s/19543.jpg|3020535]. Rosie is just as imaginative as Max, but instead of dreaming of running away, Rosie goes out to play with the other children in the neighborhood and leads them on some wonderful imaginary adventures.

I love the extra depth in the story, as we adults see the melancholy in Rosie's spirit when her show more friends realize they have elsewhere to be and she has lost her audience. Never fear, though, as each of these children have plenty of reasons to come back and play tomorrow. show less

Rosie, a fictional character based on Sendak's real-life neighbor, is an imaginative little girl who spends a few summer days playing with the neighborhood children in this book. She's a bit bossy and dictates how that playing will go, from a musical show to a special Fourth of July parade. The book is presented almost as a series of short vignettes, although they are interrelated. It doesn't have that clear introduction/problem, climax, and resolution structure. The characterization of Rosie does feel very realistic at times, especially in her conversations with her mother. However, the "story" seems to drag in parts, and my listening audience started getting bored. The illustrations -- black-and-white drawings with dashes of red and show more blue coloring -- show exactly what is going on in the text. show less

Rosie, a perfectly ordinary little girl, like all perfectly ordinary children, is filled with strange and wonderful fancies. When it gets too monotonous being just plain Rosie, she transforms herself into a variety of alluring creatures, all of whom bear the mark of the original Rosie in their whimsy and intensity. Maurice Sendak, both through text and illustrations, fuses the appealingly familiar with the magical in a book of outstanding charm.

This is one of the lighter books written and illustrated by Sendak. It harkens back to a simple time, a time when pretend was a daily game and neighborhood children who grew bored with summer and with each other, could create fantasies and play.

Rosie is quite a character -- stubborn, bossy and creative.

She insists that others listen when she dresses up and becomes the world famous singer Alinda.

Compared to the strong messages in other Sendak book, this one took me by surprise and was quite uninspiring.

For a beginner's reader, this four-chapter picture book is a delight! It's a blend of Dr. Seuss and Minarik's Little Bear series. It tells a timeless tale reminiscent of a quieter, gentler time when kids who had nothing to do had to rely on their imaginations. Like many second-graders, Rosie is a creative genius when it comes to thinking up things to keep her pals "busy."
Maurice Sendak did both the story and the illustration and I love the way the art work blends right in with the words to further the story. Second graders are going to love reading this extremely funny book all by themselves, and everyone else can enjoy it too.

"The Sign on Rosie's Door" is about a young girl named Rosie who post a sign on her door saying, "Is you want to know a secret, knock three times." For anyone who knocked, Rosie would come out dressed up as a famous singer named, Alinda. Throughout the story she switches between her plain self, Rosie and her famous self, Alinda. I think that this story is perfect for independent readers who are moving onto longer books by themselves. The book is broken down into four really short chapters, but it gives the young reader the feel of moving onto chapter books. It shows them what chapters are, exercising their growth, while never losing sight of the creativity and imagination of our main character.

"I have nothing to do, Mamma," Rosie said. "Well, do something," her mother said. So Rosie pastes a note on her front door and sits down to wait for Magic Man who will tell her what to do. When friends find Rosie's note and join her, they discover that the day isn't long enough for all the games they've found to play.