Product Description

The story of Max's adventures when he sails away to the land where the wild things are has become an acknowledged classic of children's books. This book is the winner of the Caldecott Medal for the Most Distinguished Picture Book of the Year, 1964.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #31 in Books
• Published on: 2000-05-04
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 48 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Where the Wild Things Are is one of those truly rare books that can be enjoyed equally by a child and a grown-up. If you disagree, then it's been too long since you've attended a wild rumpus. Max dons his wolf suit in pursuit of some mischief and gets sent to bed without supper. Fortuitously, a forest grows in his room, allowing his wild rampage to continue unimpaired. Sendak's colour illustrations (perhaps his finest) are beautiful, and each turn of the page brings the discovery of a new wonder.

The wild things--with their mismatched parts and giant eyes--manage somehow to be scary-looking without ever really being scary; at times they're downright hilarious. Sendak's defiantly run-on sentences--one of his trademarks--lend the perfect touch of stream of consciousness to the tale, which floats between the land of dreams and a child's imagination.

This Sendak classic is more fun than you've ever had in a wolf's suit, giggle-stiflingly funny at times, and even manages to reaffirm the notion that there's no place like home.

Customer Reviews

Best children's book ever.
It's hard to believe that this wildly imaginative book is 36 years old - definitely worthy of the description "timeless". Sendak is a highly-esteemed painter in a surreal style, and has made many superbly illustrated books. It must be said that not all are actually very accessible by children, but this is his masterpiece! I read this to my daughter EVERY SINGLE NIGHT for six months, and never tired of it. There is only a line or two of text on each page, and every word counts. It reads like blank verse, and there are intriguing internal rhymes, beautifully apparent when read aloud .... " 'Now stop!' Max said, and sent the wild things off to bed without their supper." Also wonderful is the typographical joke at the end, where the story appears to finish when Max returns from his dream journey to find his supper waiting for him. You turn the page, and then on an otherwise blank page, "And it was still hot". Sendak had always insisted that his books are never published in reduced format, or bowdlerised in any way, so, even when you buy paperback editions, you get a quality product.I have worked as a children's librarian for nearly 30 years, and in my view this has never been bettered - recommended for absolutely any age of child. It's so subtly satisfying that I never tire of talking about it!
PS - Buy the video too - it's wonderful!

A wonderfully imaginative book for young children
At first this book seems like it could be scary for very young children, but in fact the opposite is true. Both my children have loved it, especially the 4 year old who acts out the story after we have read it! It appeals to both girls and boys and really sparks their imagination. I would highly recommend it to any parent, the only problem is that they want you to read it so many times that eventually you will read it from memory!!

Spanning the generations
Last year my mum found my 1971 copy of this book in her loft. It brought back happy memories of her reading it to me every night at bedtime. It is now also a favourite for my 3 year old daughter, and I was extemely happy to find it still in print so I could get her a new copy as she is quite concerned about Daddy's favourite book falling apart.
A timeless children's story which really plays on the young imagination and if my experience is anything to go by, leaves a lasting impression.