Where The Wild Things Are
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Introduction

Where the Wild Things Are is a 1963 children’s picture book by American writer and illustrator Maurice Sendak, originally published by Harper & Row. The book has been modified into other media many times, including an animated short in 1973 (with a modernized version in 1988), a 1980 opera, and a live-action 2009 feature-film accommodation. The book had sold above 19 million copies globally as of 2009, with 10 million of those in the United States. Sendak won the anniversary Caldecott Medal from the children’s administrators in 1964, identifying Wild Things as the previous year’s “most important American picture book for children”. It was declared the number one picture book in a 2012 survey of School Library Journal users, not for the first time.

“Where The Wild Things Are” by Maurice Sendak


The night Max wore his wolf suit and made mischief of one kind

and another

His mother called him “Wild things” and Max said, “I’ll eat you up” so he was sent to bed without eating anything

That very night in Max’s room a forest grew,

and grew,

and grew until his ceiling hung with vines and the walls became the world all around

And an ocean tumbled by with a private boat for Max and he sailed off through night and day,

and in and out of weeks and almost over a year to where the wild things are

And when he came to the place where the wild things are they roared their terrible roars, and gnashed their terrible teeth, and rolled their terrible eyes, and showed their terrible claws

Till Max said “Be still” and tamed them with the magic trick of staring into all their yellow eyes without blinking once. And they were frightened and called him the most wild thing of all

and made him king of all wild things “And now,” cried Max, “let the wild rumpus start.”

“Now stop,” Max said and sent the wild things off to bed without their supper. And Max the king of all the wild things was lonely and wanted to be where someone loved him best of all. Then all around from far away across the world, he smelled good things to eat so he gave up being king of where the wild things are

But the wild things cried, “Oh please don’t go we’ll eat you up we love you so” And Max said, “No.” The wild things roared their terrible roars, and gnashed their terrible teeth, and rolled their terrible eyes, and showed their terrible claws but Max stepped into his private boat and waved good-bye

And sailed back over a year and in and out of weeks and through a day,

and into the night of his very own room where he found his supper waiting for him

and it was still hot

“Where The Wild Things Are” Book Read Aloud YouTube Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkLal37ozoE

Conversations

So what conversation will you have with your child after reading this book?

Some questions you might like to ask are:

His mother called him what?

His mother called him “Wild things”

when he came to the place where the wild things are what they done with?

they roared their terrible roars, and gnashed their terrible teeth, and rolled their terrible eyes, and showed their terrible claws.

What other conversations or questions might you add? Please leave a comment below.

Next: Watch Dr Dolittle Book Read Aloud

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