Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
|
List Price: Our Price: $10.25 You Save: $7.70 (43%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $2.94 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of Where the Wild Things Are
Book Review: A wonderfully wild experience...
Summary: 5 Stars
Inspired by my Ammy buddy Betty Dravis (yes, that's DRAVIS, not Davis), I decided to go ahead and write a review for a book I wouldn't normally. I become so self consumed with reading, watching and listening to more adult fare that I tend to neglect this genre altogether. Recently though, as my daughter has gotten a little older, I have been reading a lot of children's books. Her favorite thing in the world is being read to and so from the minute I get home until it's time to eat I find myself reading to my little angel.
As a young boy I remember loving this book, and so since my daughter has this newfound adoration for books I decided to buy her a copy.
She LOVES it.
The great thing about `Where the Wild Things Are' is that it is written at the right level to engage them without over stimulating them. There are few words, and they are strung along across quite a few pages with some big illustrations. You don't have to linger on one particular page for too long, which is good because after a while of staring at the same picture my daughter starts to turn the pages for me. The illustrations are wonderfully done; the monsters (wild things) are goofy enough so as not to frighten the child (I read this to my daughter before bed every night, so I guess there's further proof). The illustrations, especially on the pages without words, are great ways to get your children involved in reading as well. There are a few pages in the center of the book that show Max and the Wild Things dancing and howling and swinging from the trees. It's at this point where I get my daughter to dance in the living room or howl at the ceiling. She loves it, and watching her get so excited over a book is such a genuine joy. Another thing I really like about the wording is that it has a very nice, poetic flow to it. It almost encourages a smooth tone in your voice. It's written in such an easy way that it sounds almost comforting.
And of course it teaches children that no matter what, they are always loved.
I completely recommend this book. It was a highlight of my childhood, and now it's a highlight for my little angel. I'm positive that you too will enjoy this book as a family. Another selling point is that they are currently filming the movie adaptation to this book, so getting your children interested in this now will only heighten their joy for the film when it is released. I'm hoping by then my daughter will be just as stoked as I am.
Book Review: So he sailed away for a year and a day
Summary: 5 Stars
I haven't a clue how one goes about reviewing the book that is perhaps the most beloved, respected, and widely enjoyed American picture book of the last 100 years. Maurice Sendak could never have imagined that his canny "Where the Wild Things Are" would not only capture the Caldecott Award of 1963, but go on to be hailed by critics, loved by librarians, and considered by parents to be one of the finest works of picture book art ever concocted. Is the book deserving of its praise? I suppose. But honestly, it is very difficult to read it today without getting caught up in its publicity and hype. On the whole, though, it is an enjoyable read and few can resist its charms.We begin the book with two small vignettes of the naughty things Max does that get him sent to bed. Max is a boy outfitted in a wolf suit, and after being sent to his room he finds his boudoire changed completely into a wild forest. After hopping a nearby boat and traveling, "In and out of weeks and almost over a year to where the wild things are" he is in a land of monsters. Taming them by staring them down, the Wild Things make Max their king and celebrate his crowning. Max proclaims that a wild rumpus should start, and start it does. When it ends, however, Max decides that he needs to be near someone who loves him. He leaves his beloved Wild Things, sails back into his room, and goes down to dinner where, on a single white page, we are told, "it was still hot".
Simultaneously combining the wish to be a wild naughty creature uninhibited by love, or rules, or society and at the same time revealing the human need for comfort, the book is a success. In its illustrations, those wild crazy creatures with their too large eyes and sharp razor-like claws, it is a success. In its text, the elegantly presented last line or the repetition of wild things saying "I'll eat you up", it is a success. Heck, the book is good. And really, what more is there to say? Reviewing classics like this one is a pointless job. I'm not going to be shocking and say that every reviewer since the 1960s is wrong about this book, cause they're not. They're right, it's great. Does it deserve the huge publicity and love its garnered? Maybe. Maybe not. But the adults like it and the kids like it, and that is (as they say) enough. So take it home and love it yourself. It is a great book.
Book Review: Ingeniously Imaginative Mischievousness
Summary: 5 Stars
Winner, in 1964, of the Caldecott Medal for the Most Distinguished Picture Book of the Year, Where The Wild Things Are, by celebrated author-illustrator Maurice Sendak, was one of my favorite picture books as a kid and remains so to this day. I have two nephews now, and I can't wait `til they're a little older so I can share Where The Wild Things Are with them. Both the book and its author deserve every word of praise and every award they have earned in the last thirty-six years. At the warm heart of Where The Wild Things Are is a boy named Max, who is determined to have as much fun as possible, even if having that fun means wreaking havoc throughout the house. Before long, Max is, understandably, sent to his room without any supper for running wild and making so much mischief. What's a boy sent to his room to do? Why, go where the wild things are, of course! As if by magic, Max's room transforms into a forest that grows and grows by leaps and bounds. Then, an ocean tumbles by, complete with a private boat for a delight-ed Max. Max hops in his private boat and sails to the land where the wild things are and where a glorious destiny awaits him. After raising a ruckus with the fearsome creatures that are the wild things, Max begins to feel lonely, so he sails for home. And there, on the table by his bed, a surprise that is a testament to a mother's love for her son, awaits. No matter how old you are, the excitement of the story of Where The Wild Things Are is infectious and will hold you as well as your kids enthralled. The story is accompanied by artwork that is as imaginative as it is richly detailed, and that compliments the delightful story on the perfect note. I would also venture to add that Mr. Sendak's understated use of color throughout the book makes his pictures all the more vivid and exciting; each one seems to jump right off the page with a life of its own. Where The Wild Things Are truly is a delightful treasure, and will serve as an on-going testament to the power of the imagination whether you are young or old. Treat yourself and your kids to a copy of Where The Wild Things Are. While you're in the market for picture books, I would also highly recommend The Polar Express, by Chris Van Allsburg, Miss Spider's Wedding by David Kirk, God Bless The Gargoyles by Dav Pilkey and Night Of The Gargoyles by Eve Bunting. Enjoy!Book Review: Classic story, classy art from a classy illustrator.
Summary: 5 Stars
Not much can be added to the accolades of so many people concerning the books and art of Maurice Sendak. I grew up with his work, I read his books to my children, I am reading them now to my grandchildren. ... And so will send for a hardback edition this time around. When children ask to read a book over and over again, you know that that book has found a place in their imaginations. This is one such book. When I think of a classic picture book, there are two such Maurice Sendak books that come to mind. His work is beyond mere illustration, it is an artform. The pictures require close attention to catch all the visual nuances. Max is a typical little boy, who dons his wolf outfit and becomes a 'wolf' in his active imagination. In sending him to bed without dinner, he uses his imagination to turn his room into a wild forest inhabited by humongous monsters. He asserts his powers over the monsters, and becomes their rightful king, for he is surely a monster himself! Yet, his mother loves him in spite of his monsterism...and eventually he comes home to find that mother has relented and brought in his dinner...
This winter, get this book, this classic and sit down in a big chair with a child and read and pore over this book together. Every time a child is read to, it expands their imaginations, helps to determine their life course, aids in getting them ready for school and the 'real world'. Our children are not getting the aural and visual stimulation that is our right as chldren. My parents read to me, and I've never stopped reading because of that...in spite of captioned television and computer access. Our children have a right to be read to by someone they love and someone who loves them. Turn the television and computers off, and use a rainy evening to spend time with your own monsters. Maybe someday they will become the next Maurice Sendak!
Karen Sadler,
Science Education,
University of Pittsburgh
Book Review: Humanimals
Summary: 5 Stars
While going about My nightly activities, I came upon this delightful hard-cover book and it brought forth an evocation: I remember reading this book in 5th grade when I found it in the school library during a break from My Safety Committee duties - the cover really drew Me in - and though the story was intended for previous gradation, I enjoyed it for its charming simplicity and the adventure of Max, who likes to dress up like a white wolf who used his imagination to fashion his own little total environment in his room, and effectively turns it into a dark jungle for himself, and thus embarks upon a journey that will bring him into the darkest recesses of his imagination, as he visits an island "where the wild things are", which are various projections of himself in the lycanthropic state - veritable Satanimal-like forest demons resembling some of the classic features from demonological arcana - werebeasts all {note the humanoid feet and general mannerisms}, who in the beginning, try to scare him, but he ends up becoming their king, and they show him homage as King of all Wild Things, ruling with sceptor and crown. So they romp together under the full moon, hang from trees, and parade through the glades in a joyous fanfare, until little Max gets a bit bored and longs for something good to eat, and sets off back to his room across the sea again "for over a year", finding his hot supper waiting for him.
It can be seen now that this was but a dream, as he took a famished nap, after having earlier run about the house chasing the family dog and constructing his room to specification with utmost imagination, fading into a nap sometime in the process. I suppose mom could not allow him to starve, so after sending him to his room to ruminate over a comment he made about eating her up, he awakens from his nap and is welcomed back to the table.