Where the Wild Things Are (book)

Imagine the feeling of being held in a child’s hands, your cover smooth and cool. Listen closely. That soft rustling sound is my pages turning, whispering of adventures about to begin. Inside me, a whole world waits. A forest of tall, leafy trees grows right out of the walls of a boy’s bedroom. A little boat with a sail waits to carry him across a private ocean just for him, for a year and a day. And in the dark, you can just make out the big, yellow eyes of strange, wonderful creatures blinking back at you. I am a place where you can make mischief and still be the one who is loved most of all. I am a home for big feelings, both the angry ones and the happy ones. I am the book, Where the Wild Things Are.

My story really begins with a boy named Maurice Sendak. Long before he was a famous author and illustrator, Maurice was a kid who often felt like an outsider. He was sick a lot, so he spent many hours looking out his window, watching the world go by and drawing everything he saw. He didn't just draw what was real; he drew what he imagined, too. When he grew up, he wanted to create a story that was honest. He knew that kids weren't always sweet and silly. Sometimes they felt angry, misunderstood, and full of a wild energy they couldn't control. So, he took out his pen and ink and sketched a boy named Max, giving him a fuzzy wolf suit to wear. Then came the monsters. Can you imagine drawing creatures that looked a little like your own family? That’s what Maurice did. He said he based the Wild Things on his aunts and uncles, who would pinch his cheeks and yell, “We’ll eat you up!”. He made them a little scary, with terrible teeth and terrible claws, but also a bit clumsy and loving underneath it all. When I was first published on April 16th, 1963, some grown-ups were worried. They thought my monsters were too frightening for children. But kids like you knew the secret. You knew Max wasn't in real danger. He was just exploring his own big feelings, and he was brave enough to face them and become their king.

That understanding from children helped me go from a book people weren't sure about to a treasured classic. In 1964, I was given a very special award called the Caldecott Medal for my illustrations, which made Maurice very proud. My real magic, though, is the message that has been passed down through my pages for decades. I show children that it’s okay to feel angry or sad, and that you can travel to the wildest parts of your imagination but always sail back to the place where someone loves you best of all. My story has inspired plays, an opera, and even a big movie, letting new generations of children join Max in the ‘wild rumpus’. I have become a safe place for kids to see their own feelings reflected in a story. I am much more than just paper and ink; I am a reminder that even after the wildest adventure, you can come home to find your supper waiting for you, and it will still be hot.