Where the Wild Things Are is one of those truly rare books that can be enjoyed equally by a child and a grown-up. If you disagree, then it's been too long since you've attended a wild rumpus. Max dons his wolf suit in pursuit of some mischief and gets sent to bed without supper. Fortuitously, a forest grows in his room, allowing his wild rampage to continue unimpaired. Sendak's color illustrations (perhaps his finest) are beautiful, and each turn of the page brings the discovery of a new wonder. The wild things--with their mismatched parts and giant eyes--manage somehow to be scary-looking without ever really being scary; at times they're downright hilarious. Sendak's defiantly run-on sentences--one of his trademarks--lend the perfect touch of stream of consciousness to the tale, which floats between the land of dreams and a child's imagination. This Sendak classic is more fun than you've ever had in a wolf suit, and it manages to reaffirm the notion that there's no place like home.


SLJ.
"Each word has been carefully chosen and the simplicity of the language is quite deceptive."


H.
"The clearer reproductions of the original art are vibrant and luminous [in this edition]."



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



"The clearer reproductions of the original art are vibrant and luminous [in this edition]."


Book Description
In the forty years since Max first cried "Let the wild rumpus start," Maurice Sendak's classic picture book has become one of the most highly acclaimed and best-loved children's books of all time. Now, in celebration of this special anniversary, introduce a new generation to Max's imaginative journey to where the wild things are. Winner, 1964 Caldecott Medal
Notable Children's Books of 1940–1970 (ALA)
1981 Boston Globe–Horn Book Award for Illustration
1963, 1982 Fanfare Honor List (The Horn Book)
Best Illustrated Children's Books of 1963, 1982 (NYT)
A Reading Rainbow Selection
1964 Lewis Carroll Shelf Award
Children's Books of 1981 (Library of Congress)
1981 Children's Books (NY Public Library)
100 Books for Reading and Sharing 1988 (NY Public Library)


About the Author
Maurice Sendak received the 1964 Caldecott Medal for Where the Wild Things Are. In 1970 he received the international Hans Christian Andersen Medal for illustration, and he remains the only American ever awarded this honor. In 1983 Sendak received the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award from the American Library Association, given in recognition of his entire body of work. He also received a 1996 National Medal of Arts in recognition of his contribution to the arts in America.

FROM OUR EDITORS

Max is being so terrible that his mother sends him to his room without supper. But Max doesn't care -- he sails off to the land of the Wild Things, and they make him his king. There, Max can be as terrible as he pleases, and the Wild Things join in the rumpus. Finally, Max is tired of being wild, and yearns to go home. Marvelous pictures and the superb story combine to make this a quintessential picture book. In it, readers will recognize their own wild side.

ANNOTATION

A miniature version of Maurice Sendak's story about Max, a little boy who sails to the land of the Wild Things.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Max is sent to bed without supper and imagines sailing away to the land of Wild Things,where he is made king.

FROM THE CRITICS

SLJ

Each word has been carefully chosen and the simplicity of the language is quite deceptive.

Children's Literature - Mary Quattlebaum