Romper Stomper (Where The Wild Things Are - Maurice Sendak)

Member Name: Diaz

Product:	Where The Wild Things Are - Maurice Sendak
Date:	23/08/01 (195 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fun, Fun, Fun

Disadvantages: Could be scary, nah its too much fun for that

It’s difficult to know where to begin in writing this op, there are two ways of approaching it. I could either talk about the technical aspects of the book, the writing, the drawing and the educational merits. Or I could say just how much fun it is. Since its not a long book and I want to write at least a little bit more than a hundred words or so I’ll do both and maybe even throw in a bit of biographical information about the author too. Is that value for money or what!!! Am I doing a deal or am I doing a deal!!!

Now this is a bit tricky, do start off with the fun stuff or leave that until later, I clearly don’t want to scare you away but I want you to read until the end….. What a conundrum.

Well I’ll bite the bullet and tell you a bit about the book, written by Maurice Sendak, "the Picasso of children's books", “Where the Wild Things Are” received the Caldecott Medal in 1964. That doesn’t mean much to me but it is an acclaimed award for children’s writing and well deserved it is. In 1970 Sendak received the international Hans Christian Andersen Medal for illustration, the only American ever awarded this honor. And in 1983 he received the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award from the American Library Association, given in recognition of his entire body of work. He also received a 1996 National Medal of Arts in recognition of his contribution to the arts in America. That little lot surely establishes Sendak as one of the most influential children’s writers of the last century and the fact that “Where the wild things are” is one of the top ten best selling kids books of all time is icing on the cake.

I think it stems from an understanding the author has of children and the reading experience, he said this about reading to children, “I think it's an easy physical thing: When my father read to me, I leaned into him so I became part of his chest or h
is forearm. And I think children who are hugged, and children who are held on laps--nice yummy laps--will always associate reading with the bodies of their parents, the smells of their parents. And that will always keep you a reader. Because that perfume, that sensuous connection is lifelong.”

Sendak puts this understanding down to the fact he never really grew up, something I can sympathise with wholeheartedly, "I don't believe that the kid I was grew up into me, he still exists somewhere in the most graphic, physical way. I communicate with him--or try to--all the time."

This is what “Where the Wild Things are” is all about being a kid!! The story starts with Max putting on his wolf suit and being sent to bed for causing trouble of one kind and another…..

That night a forest grows in his room, and he hops in a passing ship and sails “in and out of days, through months and almost over a year” to where the wild things are……

When he meets them they “roar their terrible roars and roll their terrible eyes and show their terrible claws” (I think I got that right quoting from way too many readings of this) and Max says NO. I heartily recommend you roar, and roll and gnash along to the text great fun…..

Well not surprisingly Max gets on with the monsters like a house on fire and becomes king of all the wild things and has a rare old time romping around the island in his wolf suit and his crown. This is where the reading gets very raucous and James my boy goes off for a stomp and a roar around the house. I wont tell you how it ends, usually with a fair bit of tidying up on my part but that’s half the fun.

The art in the book is really complex lots of very fine etching and deep nighttime colours. The monsters are wonderful chimera of all that is scary, all scales and fur and teeth. The overall result though isn’t too scary f
or the little ones though.

I suppose if you want a take home message from the book, a moral if you wish, for the kids it is probably that there’s no place like home and no matter how bad you are your mum and dad will always love you. For adults the message is don’t ever grow up!! After there’s a bit of a wild thing in all of us and a bit of wild rumpus never hurt anyone.



If you want any more information about Maurice Sendak there is an interview with him at http://www.homearts.com/depts/relat/sendakf1.htm

"Where the wild things are" is published by Red Fox; ISBN: 0099408392

Paperback £4.79 Hardback 25th anniversary edition £11.99 @ amazon.co.uk

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