"Where The Wild Things Are" by Maurice Sendak

Since the movie adaptation of "Where the Wild Things Are" just came out, I figured it was only fair that I a book review on it (considering it is one of my favorite children's books of all time). Although I haven't read this story in over a decade, everytime I see Sendak's illustrations it brings memories back. I absolutely love Sendak's stencil-like illustrations - and how he doesn't use too virbrant of colors. Any time an author dedicates an entire page to pure illustrations, I'm pretty content. It gives myself (and students) time to observe, think, and reflect on what is going on in the story, as well as relating their experiences to Max's. I don't know why some people consider this story controversial - except for the fact that Max "runs" away - thus some parents may think it is encouraging their children to rebel. Aside from that, I believe the movie did a fantastic job of adapting the story onto film.

In the movie, the director was able to creatively integrate Max's experience with monsters, to fit Max's personal experiences. Thus, when he went to "Where the Wild Things Are," the wild things represented people in his personal life - and his experience with the monsters reflected those with his family. I could see the movie being considered "controversial" by some parents, mainly because Max's mother is depicted as single working mother - opposed to the "typical" American family with a working father and a household mother. Overall, I believe the music in the movie, as well as the special effects and ideas expressed perfectly expanded on an already-classic children's short story to make it a phenominal movie.