Where the Wild Things Are

Where the Wild Things Are

Maurice Sendak

Synopsis:

Our protagonist Max is a young boy with a bit of a wild side. After running around the house and making mischief of one kind, and another– he is sent to his room. Max’s imagination takes over and soon he is where the wild things are. But, he quickly learns being away from the people that love him is not worth being king of all wild things.

Response:

This Caldecott medal winning book combines simply text with gorgeous complex illustrations to create a story that is both heart felt and multi-layered. On the first surface we have a misbehaving boy who finds himself in a bit of trouble for making misguided choices. The boy is a very relatable character to any child who has misbehaved before. Because of this “relatablility“ the audience is able to draw upon life experiences to apply from their life to the story. This ability to relate with the character is crucial to creating an understanding of the text.

Below the first surface, we start to link our experience with the meaning of the text. Max is a boy with a strong imagination; kids will have to work hard to find the meaning between the island Max escapes to, and the realization that he arrives at once he is there. This epiphany is necessary to link with Stray Dog which we will get to soon. However, meaning is somewhat subjective. Is it necessary that the child links the two texts in this way, no, but finding meaning and linking to one’s own experience is the first step to intertextuality.

The deepest layer, the third layer, is the ability to see this book in other books. What that means is, kids are able to look at Where the Wild Things Are relate to the character or story (first level), attach their own meaning (the second level) and link it to another text or media piece and find a new meaning in this link. Intertextuality enhances the meaning of the text and creates a stronger bond between reader and reading.

Activity:

To link these books, we have to make a commonality between then salient after reading and before rereading. Have kids form small groups, call these “families.” Have the kids form bonds with there families and explore the different emotions and feeling that come along with being a member of family. Introduce a stuffed animal (the pet). How does the introduction of this animal effect the family? Next, have the one of the kids “leave the family.” Have the remaining members comment on what it feels like to miss someone you love. Have the “lost member” comment on what it feels like to be absent from a loving group or “family.”

This activity will take some time, however it will help the children learn how to form bonds? How to maintain bonds? And, explain these emotions in constructive way. Have the whole class discuss the experiment afterwards.