Where The Wild Things Are

Sendak, Maurice. Where the Wild Things Are. New York: Harper & Row, 1963. Print.

The children’s book Where the Wild Things Are was published in 1963, but today still remains one of the most printed and beloved children’s books of all time. In the book reader’s follow the story of a young boy named Max. From the very first page it is easy to see that Max is a disobedient child who gets into trouble from time to time. Due to his mischievous behavior Max’s mother sends him to bed without any supper. While in his room Max is transported into a different world where he is free to run around, do whatever he wants, and just be a wild thing. He becomes king of all the other wild things and rules the land. While on this journey through this magical land Max begins to get bored and decides that it would be best if he returned home. When he arrives back at his house he sees his dinner sitting on his bed. “And it was still hot”. While reading through this book as an adult you happen to notice more things than you might have as a kid for example the visual elements. One of the biggest visual elements in Where the Wild Things Are is composition. Composition is how an artist positions the picture on the page depending on the mood they are trying to create. Sendak does this frequently throughout the story carefully planning how much room a picture will take up depending on what part the book was at. One example of when this is seen is when Max begins to imagine the world of the wild things and his room transforms into a forest and the composition of the pictures gradually gets bigger.

Another thing that you may notice more about this book as an adult is the philosophical element. Children can learn many lessons from this story including that it is okay and exciting to have an imagination, but it is also okay to listen and obey your parents. Maurice’s Where The Wild Things Are conveys many various messages, but above all else is shows us how important imagination is to a young child.