Maurice Sendak’s last book, ‘Bumble-Ardy,’ flies past ‘Wild Things’

Maurice Sendak may be gone -- but he’s hardly forgotten. His books, including the childhood staple”Where the Wild Things Are,”were selling fast and furious Tuesday as news of the author’s death sent fans to bookstores to reconnect with their old friend.

But “Where the Wild Things Are” was being largely overlooked, with sales of other Sendak titles skyrocketing past it.

At Amazon.com’s Movers & Shakers list -- an hourly compilation of book sales from the last 24 hours -- Sendak titles accounted Tuesday afternoon for seven of the top 10 bestselling books. And not one of those seven titles was “Where the Wild Things Are.” In fact, that children’s favorite was No. 22 on the list.

Perhaps that’s because so many people already have “Where the Wild Things Are.”

Instead, Sendak’s “Bumble-Ardy” was No. 1 on the Movers & Shakers list. It was released last September and was the first book that Sendak had both written and illustrated in more than 30 years. (Here’s hoping he had something else up his sleeve.)

“Bumble-Ardy” was catapulted to this heady spot by an astonishing 360,162% increase in sales, according to Amazon.com.

The book evolved from a Sesame Street segment years ago. It has all the tell-tale signs of a Sendak story -- dark notes thrown in with a “wild rumpus.”

“Bumble-Ardy” is the story of an orphaned piglet -- his parents were, um, eaten -- who decides to throw himself an uproarious birthday party. As might be expected, swill-drinking abounds and things get out of hand.

“Bumble-Ardy” had ranked at 190,939 on the sales list prior to Sendak’s death. By late Tuesday afternoon, it was at 53.

RIP, Maurice Sendak. No doubt a wild rumpus or two will be thrown tonight in your honor.

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