Where the Wild Things Are – Maurice Sendak

cover Where the Wild Things Are
 

What is the key theme of the story?

The key theme of this story is where the child is where the child has been told off by his mum and sent to his room and he is not happy with what he has been told and he goes to his room and starts creating his own world in his imagination where he is able to go back to and do whatever he pleases and he makes up his own rules for the imaginary world. As the story progresses he realises that it is all fun and games making up his own rules and only being able to do what he wants all the time and he then goes back to his room not his imaginary world and he then realises what he had done wrong.

What I liked about the book?

I liked a lot about this book and the way it went from being in a frame with the images and having words to progressing to the royal rumpus and having no frame and no words to then going back to having a frame and words really shows us how the author and illustrator wants us to be looking in at the litt boy’s world and then by the royal rumpus he wants us to be joining in on the story and how it is a great story full of imagination. And then he wants us looking back in his world and how the world shows how he has realised his mistakes and what he needs to do to help him overcome and correct them. In the middle pages the pictures are taking over the entire page so it shows the illustrator and writer wants the reader to be a part of the story and almost join in with what is happening and the characters are also taking over quite a lot of the page and this shows they are the main focus of the story. We are almost stood next to the characters and we are doing the same movements as them. Through the book it shows us that the images fairly realistic showing the idea of the fur on the wild things and the etching or cross hatching in the illustrations almost show us that they are more real life which will lead children to be more intrigued in the story when they are reading it and the use of the cross hatching shows the image is not still and is not calm, however, they are not harsh lines they are very soft so not trying to put too much depth into the image but just enough to draw in the reader’s attention into what is happening. The pictures are facing left which means they have finished their journey and they have stopped and they are moving back to the other side and maybe even traveling back to the place in which they have stated

What I did not like about the book?

I liked all of the book but in my opinion there was a tiny improvement I would have made to make the book more enjoyable for children and that is maybe add a few more image pages to the story so that the children can feel a little bit more involved with the story and how it can help them with the understanding of the progression of the little boy called max’s life and imagination. I also believe this would help the children as they will be able to have more of a discussion with the teacher about what is happening in the story. This is because I feel that the use of no words is really interesting as it shows that there is more lee-way for the children’s imagination to run wild and let them free with creativity and looking further into the image which can spark conversation in the setting with the teacher or even at home with a parent or carer and this can then help spar their knowledge, understanding, creativity and imagination.

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What would I want answers to?

I would like answers to why the child (little boy called max) got into trouble in the first place and what made the author come up with the idea in which he had. I have also been wondering why the illustrator has created the images the way he has as images are curved so it shows they are not meant to be scary there is a large open space which is key for bringing in the children’s imagination and it also shows the distance and the way of adventure and creativity this will intrigue the children and it will mean they want to get involved more and I would also like to understand how the author and illustrator felt the way in which the words and stories are the way they are with small sentences, unfinished sentences and on a few pages with no words.

What was repeated throughout?

Throughout the story we are able to see their facial expressions show us joy and happiness being able to be in power with what they are doing throughout every page in which the illustrations are. The wild things seem really happy to be doing what they are doing throughout the story however the wild thing that has max on his back doesn’t seem to be too happy with the concept of having to carry max around when it is the last image of the royal rumpus and the way in which the images are shows repetition in the story. With max being on the wild things back is showing the idea of power and Strength over the wild things which also then shows us that they are able to follow him and he is almost the only figure in which they have to follow in order to do what they want to do. The images are quite intense with the way the illustrations are drawn on the page but at the same time it has got a lot of detail in to show the reader that there is a lot more happening than just the basic image. The body images and the way the wild things are standing on the right side of the page shows that they are happy and enjoying what it is they are doing they facial expressions show joy and also show they are intrigued by what the boy is doing. There is a mix of a few bright colours to show exhilaration and happiness and the rest of the colours are dull and it shows confusion and a possible sense of disappointment in the situation in which they are in and the colours are showing a repetition through the story as they always stay the same throughout with only some slight changes. the use of the colour’s help us see that there is a sense of familiarity with what is happening.

  • Goodreads rating – 4.23
  • REVIEW – Kayleigh

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