Book Review: Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

Stars: 3 out of 5
Pros: Beautiful pictures; potentially good message...

Cons: ...or potentially bad message; overly complicated writing for kids

The Bottom Line:

What is the message?

Ambiguous picture book

Confusing for kids

This is an Extremely Popular Kids Book.  Just Don't Ask Me Why

Growing up, Where the Wild Things Are was only in our home once.  We borrowed it from the library when my brother was little.  But after it was read once, it was returned and never checked out again.  With the movie coming out this year, my curiosity was renewed, so I decided to check it out again to see what I thought of it now.  Frankly, I just don't see what all the fuss is about.

The story is very simple.  Max is misbehaving.  After being sent to his room without dinner, he finds his room growing into a forest.  He sails away on sea and finds the Wild Things.  Will he be happy in his new home?

If I recall correctly, the reason the book was only read once all those years ago was because of Max's behavior.  At the beginning of the book, he is an absolute terror, chasing the family dog, destroying things, and talking back to his mother.  Then he heads off to this land in his imagination.  Considering when he returns from the trip, his supper is waiting for him, you could argue that he wasn't really punished after all.

Yet I have heard another interpretation.  Some people say that when Max gets lonely in his imagination, he learns that being bad isn't as much fun as being with those you love.  Frankly, I can see this argument, too.

Now, I can applaud a book that is ambiguous about the message.  But it seems like something should be more straight forward when it is aimed at kids.  They can't think through all the nuances that adults can.  Yes, the book can be explained to kids, but they may take their own interpretation with them anyway.

One place where I will not fault the book is the illustrations.  The artwork is absolutely beautiful.  There are detailed lines and full color added to every page.  The Wild Things might scare the very young, but I think they are kind of cute.

The writing, on the other hand, is another strike against the book.  Most of the time, there is a phrase on the left hand side with a picture on the right hand side.  But a single sentence can run on for 5 or more pages.  The thought gets lost in all the time it takes to turn the page and view the pictures.  And the wording is overly flowery.  Kids might not understand all the phrases, especially as they are broken apart.

Really, Where the Wild Things Are is an adult book masquerading as a picture book.  It really isn't a bad book, but it is also very highly over rated.