Where the Wild Things Are

It is hard to review a book that was and still is one of my favorite all-time picture books. I love everything about this book, from the text to the illustrations. I also love the message Maurice Sendak promotes here, a message of unconditional love, a message that even if one misbehaves, there will be supper waiting on the table (Max does get sent to his room, but no matter how much he has misbehaved, his mother will always love him and cherish him). Of course, that particular message is only one of many. As essential as the concept of universal love is the fact that children's emotions and tantrums are taken seriously and not dismissed here. Max might be seen and chastised as a "wild thing" by his mother, but his emotions, his actions show more are seen as an integral part of his being, maybe not quite appropriate, but also not completely inappropriate, but rather as a living, breathing part of Max's soul. And it is these emotions, these feelings that are the impetus to Max's adventures in the realm of the Wild Thing. However, once Max's emotions have been allowed and have flourished to the maximum, he retreats from the realm of the Wild Things and is happy to return home to his room, his waiting supper and his mother's love.

One thing I must mention concerning my recent reading of [b:Where the Wild Things Are|19543|Where the Wild Things Are|Maurice Sendak|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61mzRB7PCmL._SL75_.jpg|3020535] (for the Picture Book Club in the Children's Literature Group) is that it was the first time I have ever read this book in English. I had only ever read the book in German translation, and I have to say that I actually like the translated German text better than the original English text. For those who know me, this is quite a different attitude, as I am usually very much in favour of original texts and keeping any translated texts as close to the original as possible. In this particular case, I think that I like the German text better because it is the text that I had read to me when I was a child and that I later read for myself (and a few years ago read to my nieces). It has a nostalgic hold on me that the original text, no matter how ingenious, will never have (for me, the ultimate version of [b:Where the Wild Things Are|19543|Where the Wild Things Are|Maurice Sendak|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61mzRB7PCmL._SL75_.jpg|3020535] will always, always be the German translation, [b:Wo Die Wilden Kerle Wohnen|1846198|Wo Die Wilden Kerle Wohnen|Maurice Sendak|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1189125614s/1846198.jpg|3020535]). show less

Where the Wild Things Are is one of those stories - like much of the work of Dr. Seuss - that is a treasured memento of my own early reading childhood, and as a result, excruciatingly difficult to subject to any kind of meaningful analysis (would "it's genius!" suffice?). So deeply embedded is it, in my memories of childhood, that it seems almost perfect to me, and utterly impervious to criticism.

With a rather free-form text - Sendak's sentences tend to tumble along, in a rushing accretion of thoughts that, despite their seeming disorganization, build flawlessly toward the final page - and brilliant engraving-style artwork, this book perfectly captures a child's willful obstinacy, when being punished (something with which I was show more intimately acquainted, as a girl), and the healing balm provided by the imagination, during such turbulent incidents. Childhood, despite the sincere desire of many that it should be otherwise, is not all sweetness and light. Rather, it is often a time of terror, as the young person contends with a world that is on a different, and far larger scale than herself; and sometimes also of rage, at the discovery that life, and the people in it, will not always (in fact, will rarely) be governed by our will. This isn't to say that this is all that childhood is, but I think it is certainly a significant part, and a necessary one, in the maturing process. And Sendak, a true picture-book pioneer, captured that to perfection here!

I do not know, despite my love for it, to whom I would recommend Where the Wild Things Are. To young children who love imaginary (or not) voyages? To kids who resent being punished, and want a way to express their frustration, all while being assured that at the end, they will still be loved? To fans of fine engravings in general, and Sendak's work in particular? To anyone interested in the genre of picture-books? Yes. To all of these, I think. show less

The perennial classic of children's literature, I don't know where modern American childhood would be without Maurice Sendak's "Where the Wild Things Are." The terrain of growing up would be decidedly different and far less wild without Max's adventurous journey and terrible beasts to guide and comfort.

In more ways than one, I think most people look upon Sendak's masterpiece as almost an allegory for their own childhoods - savage in many ways, but still possessing at the core the kind heart and noble ways of Max. Max's emotional journey to the land of the wild things is a bumpy one, but in the end he manages to sail the turbulent seas back to the safety of his own home – and his dinner, waiting for him on the night stand, still hot.

I wondered after the movie if I'd come back to this and find it a bit too precious, too Spike Jonezy, too obscurely new world order, one of those things you don't have a choice about liking or risk being somehow anti-childhood, shunnable, howling alone to yourself that they don't know that Steve Jobs is monetizing their nostalgia or their whimsy somehow if only you could prove it, you crazy. But nope! This is the best, and Emmett loves it, and I may be a crazy, but you know who else is a crazy? My son is, and Max is too, and all the monsters on Monster Island. Let's rumpus!

I read this book at an unofficial story time at Barnes and Noble today, to my daughter and six My Little Ponies that she set up to flatter me with a larger audience. My daughter is well aquatinted with little boys' penchant for being wild and obstreperous, so Max's behavior and punishment did not come as a shock. What did capture her attention, however, was the transformation of Max's bedroom into a forest, an ocean, and an island inhabited by wild things--she said, "My room doesn't do that." (According to my daughter, these wild things freaked Pink Pie out!) What caught my attention was the clever bridging of Max's imaginative world and reality, with the smell of his hitherto forbidden dinner as an isthmus between worlds. In the end, show more my daughter pronounced the book to be "more for boys" and Rainbow Dash called it "Fashionable!" show less

This is one of those books that really shouldn't be as good as it is.... it's rather simple, random, and ambiguous..... but, it's also cute, lovable and endearing. What can I say... I love it as much as my children do. Maybe it's the wonderful illustrations....maybe it's pity for poor Max, who's Mother unfairly sends him to bed with no food.... maybe Maurice Sendak is just a genius. Whatever the reason, it just works beautifully.

The children's picture book Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak displays the theme of growth within imagination and emotion. The book follows a young boy who misbehaves and is sent to his room, where his imagination takes him to a faraway place where the wild things live. On this journey, his character changes as he realizes the love of his mother and his longing for home. Sendak depicts Max's emotions through well-illustrated facial expressions that highlight the feelings of anger, loneliness, rebellion, and love. Another striking feature of the illustrations within this book is how some pages contain small images while other pages include full pages. I feel that the contrast between the full pages and single picture show more illustrations mirrors Max's journey from the chaotic land where the wild things are to the peaceful life back at home. Personally, I feel that this book holds great value in the lesson that no matter how much our emotions may take control, there are always people in our lives that we can always turn to. show less