Where The Wild Things Are, by Maurice Sendak - Picturebook

“And now,” cried Max, “let the wild rumpus start!” I want to be Max, the ruler of the wild things, holding a royal scepter in my hand and commanding wild things to do as I please. I want to sail across an ocean in my own private boat for days, weeks, and into a year. I mean, at some point in all our lives, I would wager to say that we all wanted to be Max. I would also wager to say that we all have been Max’s mother at some point in time, telling him to go to bed without dinner because he smart mouthed off at us. I would even wager to say that at times we have all been the wild things, wanting to roar terrible roars (when someone has upset us) and gnash terrible teeth (when we feel frustrated) and roll terrible eyes (when someone is threatening our place in this world) and show terrible claws (maybe just when we are hungry). Still, a person, no matter what age, can read this book and discover themselves in it.

Ironically, I didn’t read this book for myself until I had taught for several years. Sure, I had heard of the book and could even tell you a little about the wild things, but I couldn’t tell about the main plot to the story. Interestingly enough, however, I am glad that I read it as an adult, so that I could smirk at Max and his “hedonistic behavior” and realize that this was really a dream (or was it?). The author/illustrator draws from the ideas of dreams. I still, as an adult, dream every night, and just like Max, my dreams are strange and unbelievable in their natures. In my dreams I have traveled to many a place in the time period of a good night’s sleep and arrived right back home in the morning. The wild things are true creatures of dreams with their different configured bodies. They are a combination of animals and all have really scary eyes, but not too scary. A child would most likely be able to realize that these are not creatures to fear, but creatures to pretend to fear and more importantly, to laugh at. Yes, the wild things are a true conglomeration of different animals, but it is the eyes that make them perfectly unique. Their yellow eyes, which Max instantly tames with the “staring game”, are fascinating to look upon. They are just big yellow dots with pupils of black smaller dots, but they show so many emotions and feelings. I see fear and excitement, joy and anger. It is when the wild things actually close their eyes that Max tires of being their ruler and decides to go home.

The whole concept of the wolf suit is fun, also. When people go to costume parties they become someone else for a little while. They are given a chance to break free and take a little vacation from life, even when you are around people you may see every day. In a costume, you are different and you feel the desire to act-out the character. I can imagine that Max was quite the beastly wolf in the wolf suit, obviously leading him into some serious trouble.

The pictures are simple, yet neatly done. When I say simple, I do not mean that they could be easily drawn by just anyone, however. I believe that the pictures are meant to be simple to show an event in a little boy’s life (just like some of our own childhood events) that could happen to anyone. The same simplicity is shown with the island of the wild things. Yet here, when the wild rumpus begins, the pictures become full layouts and bleeds. That is one great rumpus party to be a part of! We could all slip off into a dreamland of wild things and resurface in the present with the simple act of awakening.