Where The Wild Things Are - Picture Book Analysis Sarah Buckley

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Where The Wild Things Are

By: Maurice SendakCaldecott Winner

Click to Buy Where the Wild Things Are is a fiction picture book about a mischievous boy, Max, who's room turns into an imaginative forest after his mom sends him to bed without dinner. He travels by boat to a place where the wild things live, puts a magic spell on them, and makes them dance and perform crazy acts. Max becomes lonely on the island and sails back home to his room where dinner is waiting for him. The illustrations are a combination of paint and colored pencil, which leads them to become realistic. This book won the Caldecott Medal for its excellent execution in artistic technique, appropriateness of illustration to the story, excellence of pictorial interpretations of the story, and the presentation in recognition of a child audience ("Caldecott Medal-Terms and Criteria"). Where the Wild Things Are exceeded these criteria and truly deserved the Caldecott Medal.In Where the Wild Things Are, the author created a wonderful story with vivid imagery to support it. It was written with a child in mind, and allows a child's imagination to grow. The text is well organized and predictable because it repeats words and phrases that allow the reader to predict what may happen next. “…a forest grew…and grew…and grew…” (Sendak 8-13). This text was also spread out between six pages, which made the reader want to see what it would grow into. The images that go along with this text also allow the reader to predict what may happen on the next page. The rhythm is slower in order to create a more relaxed tone and allows the reader to understand what is happening. It is not too slow, however, in order to keep the reader’s attention. A sentence may be spread out among five or more pages, so there is not too much text per page. This keeps the reader engaged about what is to come, and not overwhelmed with too much text per page. With respect to the images, they are very intriguing and engaging. The texture shown in all of the images really brings the concepts to life. The images of Max, in addition to the monsters, trees, sky, water, boat, and other objects are more realistic because of their texture. The reader can relate them to real-life thoughts about forests and their bedroom and get more from the book. On pages 26-27, as shown below, the textures are realistic and the colors are unified. While the colors are fairly dull, they all blend well together and create a cohesive picture. The browns, yellows, dark green, dark blue, and dark red are all realistic, complementary colors that make the imagery easy for children to picture in their heads. Dominance plays a large role in making these pictures as beautiful as they are. The monsters are much larger and take up a large potion of each page. It draws the reader’s attention to the monsters and points out to the reader that it is unusual that such large creatures are in Max’s bedroom. This idea carries out throughout the entire book, and lends to the idea of harmony. The colors and sizing of all images carry on throughout the book. With only subtle changes in between the pages, it allows readers to make connections to previous parts of the book and form a deeper understanding of what is happening. Where the Wild Things Are is an incredible picture book that brings the text to life in such vivid pictures that the reader can’t help but remember them after reading.Where the Wild Things Are has no direct social justice issue, but instead hints on the relationship between parents and children. Max was mean to his mother, and, therefore, she sent him to bed with no dinner. He was angered by this and wanted to get away from his mom, so he imagined a forest grew in his room and pretended to live there. Once he got there, however, he became lonely and wanted to go home "where someone loved him best of all" (Sendak 30). He missed being home, and was happy when he returned home. Although the mother is never mentioned, it shows that even though Max was angry with his mother, he still wanted to come home to where he felt loved. The mother was never pictured and did not have any voice in the text, but influenced a lot of Max's decisions. She also sent him to bed with no food, so the story addresses the tension children sometimes feel with their parents. Although Max does not feel like his mother treated him fairly, he still wants to return home to her. The overall message is that, although you may not get along with your parents all of the time, they will always be there for you in the end. The frustration between parents and children is a problem that a lot of children can relate to and this book intertwines this idea with a great, imaginative story. Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates. Get Started

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