Where the Wild Things Are
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| Author | Maurice Sendak |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Maurice Sendak |
| Genre | Children's picture book |
| Publisher | Harper & Row |
Publication date | 1963 |
| Publication place | United States |
| ISBN | ISBN 0060254920 Parameter error in {{ISBNT}}: invalid character |
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak is a children's picture book originally published by Harper & Row. The book is about the wild adventure of a boy named Max who is sent to his room without his supper by his mother as punishment for talking back. Max wears a distinctive wolf suit during his adventures and encounters various mythical creatures, the "wild things". Although just ten sentences long, the book is generally regarded as a masterpiece of American illustrated children's literature.
Written in 1963, it was awarded the Caldecott Medal in 1964.[1] It also won the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award and was an ALA Notable Book.
Story
The book tells the story of Max, who one evening plays around his home, "making mischief" in a wolf costume by chasing the dog with a fork and growling at his mom. As punishment, his mother sends him to bed without supper. In his room, a mysterious, wild forest grows out of his imagination, and Max journeys to the land of the Wild Things. The Wild Things are fearsome-looking monsters, but Max conquers them "by staring into their yellow eyes without blinking once," and he is made "the King of all Wild Things." However, he soon finds himself lonely and homesick, and he returns home to his bedroom, where he finds his supper waiting for him, still hot.
Background
The original concept for the book featured horses instead of monsters. Sendak said he switched when he discovered that he could not draw horses. [2] Originally the Wild Things did not have names, and are not individually identified in the book. They were later named after (and are presumably caricatures of) Sendak’s aunts and uncles (except “Goat Boy”, of course): Aaron, Bernard, Emil, Moishe and Tzippy. [3] [4] The characters have since been licensed as plush dolls and McFarlane toy figures under those names.
Analysis
Francis Spufford suggests that the book is "one of the very few picture books to make an entirely deliberate, and beautiful, use of the psychoanalytic story of anger" (The Child That Books Built, p. 60).
US President Barack Obama read the book to thousands of guests during the 2009 White House Easter Egg Roll and he told the crowd at the White House that it was "one of [his] favorite books."[5][6][7]
Adaptations
 | This section needs additional citations for verification. |
- A 1973 animated adaptation, directed by Gene Deitch (two versions were released: the original 1973 version, with narration by Allen Swift and a musique concrete score composed by Deitch; and an updated version in 1988, with new music and narration by Peter Schickele)[8]
- A children's opera of the same title by British composer Oliver Knussen. The first (incomplete) performance was in Brussels in 1980, with the first complete performance of the final version given by the Glyndebourne Touring Opera in London in 1984. This was followed by its first U.S. performance in Saint Paul, Minnesota in 1985. A concert performance was given at The Proms in the Royal Albert Hall, London in 2002.
- In 1983, Walt Disney Pictures began to produce a CGI version of the project with John Lasseter directing, but it never got past the preview/test.
- Metallica recorded a song of the same title for their 1997 album release ReLoad.
- In 1997, composer Randall Woolf and Maurice Sendak created a ballet version for the American Repertory Ballet, which subsequently toured the United States. Woolf's version employs electric guitar, digital audio processing, and drumset.
- In 2004 Chicago company, Emerald City Theatre Company produced a musical version of the book which also drew on material from two other books by Sendak, Hector Protector and Very Far Away.
- In 2006, the United States Postal Service issued a commemorative stamp depicting a Wild Thing in a series of "Favorite Children's Book Animals."
- A live-action movie version is currently in post-production, with Spike Jonze directing, due in theaters on October 16, 2009. Featuring Catherine Keener, and introducing Max Records as Max, the film also has Lauren Ambrose, Chris Cooper, James Gandolfini, Catherine O'Hara and Forest Whitaker providing the voices of some of the Wild Things. Adapted by Dave Eggers and Spike Jonze.
- In the pilot for the children's TV show Sesame Street, Bob reads Where the Wild Things Are to some children.[citation needed]
External links
- We Love You So the blog of Spike Jones and the film Where The Wild Things Are
- Where the Wild Things Are (1973) at IMDb
References
- ^ American Library Association: Caldecott Medal Winners, 1938 - Present. URL accessed 27 May 2009.
- ^ Maurice Sendak on Children
- ^ Maurice Sendak on Children
- ^ Wild Things: The Art of Maurice Sendak
- ^ Natasha Metzler, "Obamas host first White House Easter Egg Roll," USA Today, April 14, 2009, at 4A, found online at USA Today story. Accessed April 14, 2009.
- ^ Rebecca Tucker, "Barack Obama reads Where the Wild Things Are," April 14, 2009, National Post, found atNational Post. Accessed April 14, 2009.
- ^ Alyson Klein, "Arne Joins Celeb-Studded Story-Hour," Education Week Blog, April 13, 2009, found at Education Week website. Accessed April 14, 2009.
- ^ The Tennessean, Nashville Scene p. 46, 12 March 2009, "Bach in Black" by Russell Johnston