LS 5603 Literature for Children and Young Adults-Picture Book: Where The Wild Things Are

Bibliography

Sendak, Maurice. 1991.  WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE.  Harper Collins Publishers.  ISBN 0060254920

Plot Summary

In this classic fiction, Max is a child that is behaving mischievous at home one night.  Max runs around the house acting wild in a costume.  Max refused to behave correctly and disrespects his mother.  As a result of Max's unruly behavior he is sent to bed without having dinner.  That night Max lets his imagination run wild.  He travels far around the world where the wild things are.  The wild things make Max the King of Wild Things.  Max grows lonely from being away from home so he decides to return back home in which he finds his dinner is still warm.

Critical Analysis

This story shows how a typical child can easily misbehave with their parents.  It also shows how a child can have a wild imagination that can take them anywhere they want to go.  Not only does Max have a wild imagination it displays how a child can be disobedient and get punished for it.  When children or adults are placed in a situation where they would rather not be in they imagine a place where they can be, and in this case Max wanted to be far, far, far away from his mother.  But in the end he realizes that he misses something that wasn't there anymore-his mother.  A good moral of this story would be, you never know what you've got until it's gone.

The pictures really help bring the story together. There is a sentence that matches the pictures on most of the pages, but the pages that don't have words gives an opportunity for a child's imagination to run wild and make it up.  You can look at the pictures and understand what is happening without reading any words.  The colors in this tale are very dark like a metaphor for the wild things.  The wild things are depicted as frightening and feral but are not graphically scary.  

Reviews Excerpts/Awards/Honors

Caldecott Medal (1964)

Most Distinguished Picture Book of the Year (1964)

International Hans Christian Andersen Medal for illustration (1970)

Laura Ingalls Wilder Award (1983)

School Library Journal: "Each word has been carefully chosen and the simplicity of the language is quite deceptive."

Connections

·         Have students write about a time when they got in trouble for their behavior and what they did.

·         Make a list of mischievous things Max did that night and then have the student to write a note to his mother asking her for forgiveness and have the class vote on which one she would be show forgiveness towards.

·         Have students create another Wild Thing monster.

·         Max was sent to bed without supper and that could have made him sad, so have the children write about a time they were sad and draw a picture that matches the sentence.