When Where the Wild Things Are was first published in 1963 by Maurice Sendak, it's surprisingly didn't get a warm reception right away from critics at the time because of it’s somewhat “controversial messages” and how they would appeal to children. As time went on, the book would only get more and more attention from readers young and old, and the rest would be history as this simple but meaningful and creative picture book would go to be one of the best selling picture books of all time and for great reason.
After being sent to his room with no dinner for mischievous behavior, Max in his wolf suit imagines himself in a jungle where he finds a private boat that takes him to a mysterious island that is full of monstrous creatures known as wild things. After convincing the wild things of his “magical powers” they crown him king of all wild things and they all enjoy being wild and out of control which is fun at first but then max soon misses home and is conflicted on whether to stay in the imaginary world or to return to reality.
What can I say about the story that almost everyone else hasn’t said about it already? It’s a timeless story that goes for a different approach than most other children's stories. Instead of being all happy and sugarcoated, the story goes for an edgier and disobedient tone that you think would be way too unpleasant but in this story, it works because it still manages to play to our own childhood innocence and how even we wanted to escape to a different place where our misbehavior could be welcomed. Its story is short but sweet and it will no doubt be able to speak to the young and young at heart.
Illustrations were done by Maurice Sendak himself and much like the storytelling, it is as timeless as it is wonderful. One common thing I've noticed is how much crosshatching shading there is in the illustrations which gives the illustrations a unique flair that make them unique from the author himself as he would continue to use this technique in other illustrated books he’s published. The colors of the jungle really pop and the design of the wild things are both fun and even a little playfully scary at times. There are even sometimes in the book where the dialogue in the book is missing and instead, we focus on the illustrations as a whole to tell the story which is very clever and really brings Sendak’s wonderful illustration work to the forefront.
what started out as a book being banned from libraries across the world, is now a story that continues to inspire many young readers to this very day. Where the Wild Things Are is a genuine story that explores the mischievous side of childhood while doing it with fun characters and timeless illustrations. Maurice Sendak would of course go on to make more books after this one, but it’s most likely we will never forget the one that touched many hearts for almost 60 years.
(Final Grade: A)