Where The Wild Things Are

Where the Wild Things Are is a children's picture fantasy book written and illustrated by Maurice Sendak in 1963. Sendak's illustrations are large, detailed, simple, yet life like, which helps spark the imagination of readers.

The story starts off with a little boy named Max, who is disobeying his mother and causing havoc so she sends him to bed in his wolf costume. Max creates his own little world in his bedroom with creatures called the wild things. Max transforms himself into this world and becomes king of the wild things. He goes on crazy adventures, has fun , and feels free. However, Max soon becomes homesick and misses his mother's food.

This story is good for children because it teaches them how strong your imagination  can be. Imagination can help children get through painful situations and opens up their world to unless possibilities. Children also have an easy time relating to this story because all children have done something that caused their parents to get mad at them. This story can help them learn new ways to cope with situations like that and help avoid arguments with their parents.
Discussion Questions:

• If you were in Max's shoes, what type of world would you create?
• If you did what Max did would you be sent to your room too?
• What type of animal mixture do you think the wild things are?
• Do you ever create your own world?

Motivational Activities:

• Have the students create an illustrations of their own world, that they would want to go to in Max's situation. And have the students act out scenes that could happen in their own world. This activity helps activate a students imagination and show them what they can create.

 Sendak, M. (2015). Where the wild things are. London: Red Fox.