SEVEN LITTLE MONSTERS

New York: Harper & Row, 1977. Fine in fine jacket.. Inscribed first US edition (and first English-language edition) of Sendak's illustrated picture book of monsters, originally created as a 1971 animated short for Sesame Street but deemed too scary for repeated showings. Like Sendak's other early Sesame Street short, BUMBLE ARDY, the animated SEVEN MONSTERS was only aired once or twice on Sesame Street due to reports that children were "freaked out" (Gilkow); the Jim Henson Company Archivist recalls that both films "were charming but only aired briefly - the monsters film included cannons and the swine were drinking wine, both considered inappropriate for young audiences." Also, the seventh monster casually unscrews his head. The segment was considered a lost gem for many years, but may now be seen on youtube, where it was posted in 2011 by its original animator, Bruce Cayard. The story was first published in book form in German by Diogenes Verlag in 1975, appearing in this first English-language edition two years later; still later, in 2000, SEVEN LITTLE MONSTERS was adapted again as a new animated series, airing on PBS Kids for three seasons. Uncommon signed. 4.5'' x 9''. Original pictorial boards. In original unclipped ($3.95) pictorial dust jacket. Hanrahan A101. Illustrated by Sendak in color on every page. Inscribed by Sendak and dated Oct '80 on front free endpaper. Minor edgewear, very faint traces of soil to jacket.