This was and is one of my favorite books, of childhood and adulthood! As a child I loved the idea of throwing my hat in the air when I was happy and being friendly to the butterflies, by leaving windows open for them to come and go. "Dog-dog" became a part of our household vocabulary and as a budding writier I admired (and copied) the way the author used different font sizes as emphasis for words. I still like that, and think Ruth Krauss was ahead of her time in that regard. Maurice Sendak's illustrations are, of course, delightful. As an adult rereading it, I admit to being taken aback by that one segment the one-star reviewer referred to, where it says "there are some people whose mothers you know you'll hate," but honestly...ain't that the truth?? And that didn't even register in my child-brain. More important a memory was the page describing all the different ways to say "I'm sorry." If you don't like whimsy, don't take this book. It's not meant to be a story. It's a celebration!