Pierre: A Cautionary Tale

Pierre: A Cautionary TaleBy Maurice Sendak1962

Written and illustrated by Maurice Sendak, of Where the Wild Things Are fame, Pierre is about a naughty boy named Pierre who decides one morning that he is going to cry out his indifferences to the world by employing the mantra “I DON’T CARE!!!!”, that is, until a rather large and hungry lion sets him straight. Sounds a little brutal? That’s because it is!




“Now, as the night
began to fall
a hungry lion
paid a call.
He looked Pierre
right in the eye
and asked him
if he'd like to die.
Pierre said,
"I don't care!"




The Lion ACTUALLY eats Pierre………… who in the end, having been retrieved in one piece, really does care.

Published as part of The Nutshell Library (along with One was Johnny, Alligators All Around, and my ultimate favorite... Chicken Soup with Rice), Pierre certainly is a cautionary tale.

There is an animated version of Where the Wild Things Are which also includes the entire Nutshell Library set to music sung by Carole King allowing kids to sing and dance through the alphabet, good manners, numbers, and the months of the year. Peter Schickele narrates Where the Wild Things Are and In the Night Kitchen both set to Jazz music. It is one of my childhood favorites and now I get to share it with The BOOG!