Where the Wild Things Are

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak, is the story of Max - a young boy with quite an imagination!  After donning a wolf suit, causing trouble, and being sent to his room with no dinner, Max imagines his room is a forest.  That forest soon turns into an ocean.  Then finally, a jungle...a jungle where wild beasts appear.  Max discovers that he can tame the beasts with a magic trick, and he becomes king of the jungle.  After some dancing and playing ensue, Max gets homesick.  The beasts plead with him to stay, but Max has made up his mind...he is going home.  So, into the jungle, over the ocean, and through the forest.  Max travels back to the safety of his room - where his dinner is waiting.

Teachers could use this book as a tool to aid in writing about imagination.  Students could write about their own “jungle.”  This project might also be good for younger students who might still be afraid of nighttime. This exercise could help students understand the elements of make believe.


Where the Wild Things Are. ISBN: 10-0060254920. Maurice Sendak. 1963. Caldecott. Age 4-8. Contemporary Fiction.  Fantasy.