[BOOK REVIEW] Pierre: A Cautionary Tale by Maurice Sendak

Title:  Pierre:  A Cautionary Tale

Author:  Maurice Sendak

Genre: Animals / Manners / Drama

Year Published: 1962

Year Read:  1993

Publisher: HarperCollins

Series: The Nutshell Kids Library

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 5+  (One Scary Scene and Some Rude Behavior)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

“Pierre: A Cautionary Tale” is apart of the Nutshell Kids Library collection by Maurice Sendak and is one of the most exciting one out of all the stories of the collection.  “Pierre: A Cautionary Tale” is about a young boy named Pierre who never cared about hurting other people’s feelings until a lion comes for a visit.  This book will definitely be a cult favorite among children who are fans of Maurice Sendak’s works. 

Maurice Sendak has done a superb job at both illustrating and writing this book.  Maurice Sendak’s writing is similar to Dr. Seuss’ famous rhyming prose as Maurice Sendak writes the story in a rhyming prose, making the story extremely creative to read.  Maurice Sendak also creatively and effectively relates the consequences of not caring about the world and how not caring could become dangerous if one is not careful.  Maurice Sendak’s illustrations may seem a bit simplistic, but the characters are lively and detailed enough to entice many children to read this book, especially of the images of Pierre with his blue outfit and his scowling facial expressions.  

Parents should know that the scene where Pierre is eaten by a lion might scare smaller children, even though this scene is not that graphic since the next images just shows the lion picking his teeth and his belly getting large.  Parents should reassure their children that if they do not care about the world, it does not mean that a lion will eat them, but that there are other consequences that children might face if they do not learn to care for other people like being shunned by other people. 

“Pierre: A Cautionary Tale” is a terrific book about the consequences of not caring about other people’s feelings and it will surely interest children for many years.  I would recommend this book to children ages five and up due to the scene where the lion eats up Pierre.