SuitabookWhere the Wild Things Are
Maurice Sendak
- Reading
- Look closely at how the illustrations change as Max travels, plays and returns. Pause after the threatening language or monster images, then let the child decide whether they feel frightening, funny, or both.
- Themes
- Imagination and emotional expression: Max’s room becomes the setting for an imagined forest, ship and land of Wild Things after his angry behaviour. The book leaves its stance open to more than one reading.
- Disobedience and parental love: Max threatens his mother, is sent to bed without supper, and later returns to find supper waiting. The behaviour is presented as troublesome, while the return home and waiting meal are described as reassuring signs of parental love.
- Monsters, fear and play: The Wild Things threaten Max with snarls and claws, then join him in a lengthy wild rumpus. The creatures combine potentially frightening features with playful, kind or jovial presentation, leaving room for different reactions.
- Worth knowing
- The Wild Things snarl, show claws and gnash their teeth, although they are also described as goofy or jovial. Max threatens to eat his mother, and his rudeness and disobedience may merit discussion.