Where the Wild Things Are

Sendak, M. (1963). Where the wild things are. New York, NY: Harper Collins Publishers

In Where the Wild Things Are, a Caldecott Medal Award recipient, Max is sent to bed before he has the chance to eat dinner. While in his room, his imagination takes him on a trip through a land where Max is proclaimed the king of all things. He engages with all of the wild things in this amazing land until he grows tired and decides to travel back because he is missing his mom. The journey both to and from this enchanted land takes Max a very long time and he must travel by boat, but when he makes it back his room his mom has his food waiting for him.

The book is illustrated using the artistic style utilizing cartoon shaped drawings. The composition is primarily line drawing with color added to fill in the shapes. The initial lines are done with pen and ink, and the colors are soft and relaxing. All of the illustrations compliment the story and add significant details that help to enrich the story. The majority of the illustrations are done in a double-spread fashion and encompass both pages. This style promotes a feeling of importance and grandeur, as well as depicting wide-open spaces. There are also several pictures that spill over from one page to the next. This style has a tendency to keep the reader's eyes moving through the book.

I have seen the movie rendition of this story and personally, I do not care for it. The movie seemed to change the overall mood and feeling of the book. The book conveys a sense of innocence and love for family. This gets lost in the film. The film, in my opinion, lost this and did not seem to be geared for the same audience for which the book is.