One night Max puts on his wolf suit and makes mischief of one kind and another, so his mother calls him 'Wild Thing' and sends him to bed without his supper. That night a forest begins to grow in Max's room and an ocean rushes by with a boat to take Max to the place where the wild things are. Max tames the wild things and crowns himself as their king, and then the wild rumpus begins. But when Max has sent the monsters to bed, and everything is quiet, he starts to feel lonely and realises it is time to sail home to the place where someone loves him best of all.
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Amazon Review
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 colour 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's suit, giggle-stiflingly funny at times, and even manages to reaffirm the notion that there's no place like home. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
"The key to Sendak's success and to the continuing hipness of his book, is that it's hero is not a good child . . . the book is, in fact, extraordinarily childcentric, a book written for and about terrible infants, the kind of terrible infants that most children really are and that all adults remain for much of the time" (David Baddiel The Times 2006-01-14)
"This is my never-fail picture book. The text is very short, but utterly perfect, the illustrations are tremendous" (Jacqueline Wilson 2006-04-30)
"Gripping, ingenious and uplifting . . . a shrewd, fierce, healing book" (Boyd Tonkin Independent 2005-08-08)
"A timeless masterpiece. The illustrations, the fabulous monsters, the beautiful cross-hatching, and the surreal, dreamlike narrative beckons the reader to join the adventure. The themes are perfect for inspiring discussion on confronting life's scary things, mastering your fears and being brave, letting off steam, saying goodbye, and the comfort of returning home safe and sound" (Child Education 2009-06-01)
"An almost-perfect picture book stuffed with mischief, magic and meaning . . . Has a haunting depth that makes bedtime reading thrilling, a little scary, but also empowering" (Junior)
"This is my never-fail picture book. The text is very short, but utterly perfect, the illustrations are tremendous" (Jacqueline Wilson 2006-04-30)
"Gripping, ingenious and uplifting . . . a shrewd, fierce, healing book" (Boyd Tonkin Independent 2005-08-08)
"A timeless masterpiece. The illustrations, the fabulous monsters, the beautiful cross-hatching, and the surreal, dreamlike narrative beckons the reader to join the adventure. The themes are perfect for inspiring discussion on confronting life's scary things, mastering your fears and being brave, letting off steam, saying goodbye, and the comfort of returning home safe and sound" (Child Education 2009-06-01)
"An almost-perfect picture book stuffed with mischief, magic and meaning . . . Has a haunting depth that makes bedtime reading thrilling, a little scary, but also empowering" (Junior)
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
130 of 133 people found the following review helpful
By The Librarian
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
It's hard to believe that this wildly imaginative book is 36 years old - definitely worthy of the description "timeless". Sendak is a highly-esteemed painter in a surreal style, and has made many superbly illustrated books. It must be said that not all are actually very accessible by children, but this is his masterpiece! I read this to my daughter EVERY SINGLE NIGHT for six months, and never tired of it. There is only a line or two of text on each page, and every word counts. It reads like blank verse, and there are intriguing internal rhymes, beautifully apparent when read aloud .... " 'Now stop!' Max said, and sent the wild things off to bed without their supper." Also wonderful is the typographical joke at the end, where the story appears to finish when Max returns from his dream journey to find his supper waiting for him. You turn the page, and then on an otherwise blank page, "And it was still hot". Sendak had always insisted that his books are never published in reduced format, or bowdlerised in any way, so, even when you buy paperback editions, you get a quality product.I have worked as a children's librarian for nearly 30 years, and in my view this has never been bettered - recommended for absolutely any age of child. It's so subtly satisfying that I never tire of talking about it!
PS - Buy the video too - it's wonderful!
PS - Buy the video too - it's wonderful!
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This is simply wonderful - one of the best children's books ever.
It is a beautiful book - the illustrations are amazing (it is easy spend ages discussing the content of a single page with your children) and the prose is simple and sparse, yet beautiful, succinct and evocative. The toy is good quality and durable, it is a useful when reading the book: my son has great fun deciding which wild thing the toy is.
I never tire of reading this book and my son (4) never seems to tire of hearing it. It is now one of his firm favourites.
A timeless classic; a book to be read and reread, enjoyed and treasured.
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
By Buzzaboom
Format:Paperback
My memory of being a small child is a soup of images that are too distant to see clearly anymore.
Reading this book is like being pulled back to the clear reality of those days as I experienced them then.
I don't feel as if I've changed.
(I'm a bit taller).
Reading this book is like being pulled back to the clear reality of those days as I experienced them then.
I don't feel as if I've changed.
(I'm a bit taller).
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
I have thought about it and I have considered it and it seems to me now so very obvious that "Where the Wild Things Are" is the best illustrated children's story in the history of the entire world, with the emphasis on the word "illustrated." There are entire children's books that do not use as much black ink as Maurice Sendak works into the illustration on the first page. You would have to go back to John Tenniel's famous work for "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" to find artwork that makes as profound an impression upon young and old alike. The story is disarmingly simple, with young Max not letting the fact he has been sent to his room without his supper because he has been acting like a "WILD THING" ruin his evening. Children might dream of traveling for almost over a year to become king of all wild things, but it will be the exquisitely detailed artwork that will stay with them forever. Give to this book to any child and watch how it affects their future attempts at drawing. There is something to be said for having attention to detail and we can only guess at the number of young artists who had that idea seared into their souls by looking at the "pictures" in this wonderful book.
20 of 21 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
At first this book seems like it could be scary for very young children, but in fact the opposite is true. Both my children have loved it, especially the 4 year old who acts out the story after we have read it! It appeals to both girls and boys and really sparks their imagination. I would highly recommend it to any parent, the only problem is that they want you to read it so many times that eventually you will read it from memory!!
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
By fimble
Format:Hardcover
This book changed childrens books forever. The pictures are given much more emphasis that the text and so increase the appeal to a young child.
The book has travel the world and has been enjoyed by generations , this is because it is timeless and an absolute classic which is still used in schools today.
The book has travel the world and has been enjoyed by generations , this is because it is timeless and an absolute classic which is still used in schools today.
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a book I have very vivid memories of from my own childhood and it is a pleasure now to read it to my own children. It's a great story where an unruly small child is sent to his room without his supper and in the confines of his bedroom goes to the land where the wild things live. The language is magnificent- for example, Max sails in and out of weeks and almost over a year - and the great pictures are just as I remember. They're timeless; they haven't dated at all. These beautiful illustrations are also unusual within our picture book collection, and the book itself is well-produced on good strong paper. You might think the theme and pictures of Wild Things would be a little scary for the smallest tots but this hasn't been the case at all. Both children loved it from around 2. Now, at not quite three, my son thinks Max's voyage is real; at four my daughter understands about the way imagination can transform a room into anything you want it to be. It's lovely that after having all the fun where the wild things are, and being in trouble at home they still want to go back to 'where someone loves them best'. And of course that Mum (or other someone) has left them their dinner in their room. A classic with good reason.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant resource
Used this book to enhance The Three billy Goats Gruff storysack I put together ... also bought a selection of trolls off Ebay
Published 23 days ago by G Hunton
5.0 out of 5 stars
A brilliant classic
Delightful. Just long and eventful enough for my toddler, who is also a Wild Thing! And it's wonderful to share this treasure from my own childhood with her.
Published 24 days ago by Sophie B, Brussels
3.0 out of 5 stars
Nice book.
There are things I like but also dislike about this book. I like how imaginative it is but found it a bit strangely phrased in places. The drawings are great. Read more
Published 26 days ago by Zofia Wojciechowska
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic book!
Wonderful story, fantastic illustrations and the children in my class were memorised. This was certainly approved by 30 5-6 year olds!
Published 27 days ago by J. A. Parker
5.0 out of 5 stars
Really good quality
Good quality, good condition, good value for money. It is great for my classroom because i dont mind if it gets slightly damaged.
Published 1 month ago by Misschell
5.0 out of 5 stars
Everyone should own a copy.
This book is a pure delight. My son made me read it to him so often that I knew it by heart. The pictures are as wonderful as the deceptively simple text. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Esdeen
5.0 out of 5 stars
An absolute classic
This book has surely become the benchmark for this particular genre of kids' books, imagined adventures that are rather scarey but all work out in the end. The drawings are superb.
Published 1 month ago by RodEwins
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fabulous Fantasy
Quite simply one of the greatest books ever drawn! bought it for my son after the fond memories i have of the book growing up. Now his favourite book.
Published 1 month ago by Scott Andrews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Picture Book
A lovely story about a boy called Max and you can find lots of new things to talk about from the excellent pictures.
Published 2 months ago by Honey
3.0 out of 5 stars
Nice book and story
Great for boys. Especially if they are named Max! A boy is sent to his room and his imagination takes him on an adventure to where the wild things are. Read more
Published 3 months ago by regan clark
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