WHERE THE WOW THINGS ARE EXHIBIT HONORS THE LIFE AND WORK OF MAURICE SENDAK - BUT IN A FUN WAY.

Byline: Evan Henerson Staff Writer

By all means, let the wild rumpus start. And let parents and little ones alike join in.

``Where the Wild Things Are: Maurice Sendak in His Own Words and Pictures'' is designed to enchant young gallerygoers and educate their parents. ``Wild Things,'' Sendak's best-known book, is prominently featured in the exhibition that visits the Skirball Cultural Center through Jan. 5, but it's hardly the exhibit's only highlight.

Also on hand are Rosie (from Sendak's ``The Sign on Rosie's Door''), Jennie the dog (``Higgelty Piggelty Pop!'') Mickey and the bakers (``In the Night Kitchen'') and plenty of wild things. Young children can dress up in costumes, slide into a giant bowl of chicken soup with rice and put on a wild puppet show.

Interactive exhibits are kid-friendly and encourage both creativity and a love of reading. Related programs range from cooking classes to seminars on childhood fears and development to a ``Night Kitchen'' pajama party.

Older children and adults can learn how Sendak - an opera-loving youth who once had aspirations to be a toy maker - put his own life feelings and experiences into his books. Read carefully. The baby spirited away  by goblins in Sendak's ``Outside Over There'' is the author's coming to terms with the the kidnapping of the Lindbergh baby.

The exhibit contains several of Sendak's original drawings, sketches and early drafts as well as reproductions of two wooden toys created by Sendak and his brother, Jack. Many of the books themselves are on display and can be read cover to cover.

``This exhibit talks about an American artist's experience, about how Sendak used his ingenuity and his family background to create his ideas about children,'' says Barbara Gilbert, the Skirball's curator. ``Sendak made children's literature that dealt with honest issues about children: how they really think and how they feel. He was groundbreaking.''

Also prolific. In addition to more than 100 books, Sendak has designed several operas and is the founder of the Night Kitchen Theater Company. The 74-year-old artist, who lives in Connecticut, is the recipient of numerous awards including the National Medal of Honor and the Caldecott Medal. ``Where the Wild Things Are'' is one of the 10 best-selling children's books of all time.

What is it, then, about Max, who dresses up in a wolf suit, makes mischief and eventually journeys to and becomes a ruler in the land of the Wild Things?

``I have no idea,'' says Sendak from his home in Connecticut. ``It just hit a funny bone or a serious bone. Some kind of bone. 'Wild Things' is not my favorite book, but it has allowed me to experiment and spend my life free to do what I've wanted to do.

``So I bless Max. How many people have a faintly crazy 5-year-old who supports his father. Max has been taking care of me for years.''

The Sendak exhibit began at the William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum in Atlanta and will travel across the country through 2005. The Rosenbach Museum and Library in Philadelphia, which houses the majority of Sendak's archives, lent several pieces to the exhibition.

The Rosenbach will do a major exhibition in 2003 to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the publication of ``Where the Wild Things Are'' and with Sendak's 75th birthday.

``I'm also designing an opera in Chicago,'' says Sendak. ``If I make it, it will be a nice year.''

WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE

What: ``Maurice Sendak in His Own Words and Pictures.''

Where: Skirball Cultural Center, 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles.

When: Noon to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays; through Jan. 5, 2003.

Tickets: $6 to $8, free for children under 12. Call [phone].

CAPTION(S):

6 photos

Photo:

(1 -- 2 -- color) no caption (scenes from the book ``Where the Wild Things Are'')

(3 -- color) ``And now,'' said Max. ``Let the wild rumpus start.''

- Maurice Sendak, ``Where the Wild Things Are''

(4 -- color) Amid scenes from the book ``Where the Wild Things Are,'' 9-year-old Haley Stegman, left, and her sister, Samantha, 6, of San Diego try on costumes inspired by the wild things.

(5 -- color) Gracey Lee George, 2, of Venice slides into a giant bowl of ``Chicken Soup With Rice'' at the Maurice Sendak exhibit at the Skirball Cultural Center. Sendak is credited with writing books about how children really feel.

(6) Samantha Stegman, 6, examines a copy of Sendak's classic book at the exhibition devoted to his life and work, which will stay at the Skirball until January.

Evan Yee/Staff Photographer