Where The Wild Things Are

Sendak, M. (1963). Where The Wild Things Are. Illus. Mauric Sendak. New York, New York: Harper Collins Publishers.

Brief Annotation: This is a story about a young boy named Max. His imagination runs wild in his bedroom after getting scolded by his mother. He is very creative and has a great adventure through a forest where he meets the wild things and becomes king.

Genre: Picture book

Grade Level: K-1

Readers who will like this: Readers who enjoy being creative and using their imagination. Readers who do a lot of daydreaming.

Response/Rating (1-4): 4. I surprisingly never read this book as a child. I finally know what all the rave is about. I really enjoyed this book and would love to do a unit on this book if I teach younger children.

One question you would ask before a read aloud: Have you ever dreamed of a faraway place where you rule all?

Reading Strategy Connection: A fun reading strategy connection for this story could be "Book Boxes" (Tompkins, p. 12). "Book Boxes" are collections of objects and pictures related to the story. The student decorate the outside of a box and place 3-5 objects related to the book in the box. The examples should be important understandings to the book. For Where the Wild Things Are the studets could decorate the outside of a box as the imaginary forest, and then create miniature characters, like the boy standing in his monster robe in his bedroom. This will enhance students' comprehension of the story. "Book Boxes" are also good for English learners because teachers can show book boxes before reading the story and build students' background knowledge and introduce key vocabulary.