Where the Wild Things Are
Maurice Sendak
Haper & Roe
First Published 1963
FTC: Library Copy
This book is a Caldecott Medal winner.
Synopsis:One night Max puts on his wolf suit and makes mischief of one kind and another, so his mother calls him 'Wild Thing' and sends him to bed without his supper. That night a forest begins to grow in Max's room and an ocean rushes by with a boat to take Max to the place where the wild things are. Max tames the wild things and crowns himself as their king, and then the wild rumpus begins. But when Max has sent the monsters to bed, and everything is quiet, he starts to feel lonely and realizes it is time to sail home to the place where someone loves him best of all.
My Review
I was mesmerized by this book. Max is a child who dresses in a wolfs costume and tantrums when he doesn't get his own way. His mother called him “WILD THING!”. He was sent to bed without food because he talked back to her. Knowing that he would soon calm down, she moves to go get his supper.
In the meantime, Max returns to his room and put his energies into fleeing her control. His room becomes his escape. His imagination grows. Along with this, we see the illustrations expand too.
My Thoughts
I adore the childlike whimsical romp with beasts. Throughout the book, Max becomes his Mother in the way he deals with things and he quickly returns to reality. The books mention a year but we know the concept of time to a child is often like a big fish story- much larger than in reality. The tone of the book is unconditional love and teaches to trust the end result of a process.
