I'll tell you one place they won't be for long!
THREE PROS
*Many people consider this the seminal work of American picture books
*As much as I have always hated looking at the wild things (probably the one set of characters I can remember never liking as a kid), I must admit that Maurice Sendak's illustration skills were superior to the vast majority of his contemporaries
*I'm toying with writing a book myself and the concept I have in mind has some parallels to this one
*I'm toying with writing a book myself and the concept I have in mind has some parallels to this one
THREE CONS
*One of the scarier-looking stories you will ever come across -- and one that focuses such a large portion of its time on Max's naughty side but then barely addresses his transformation back to normal kid
*A lot of the wording doesn't jibe cleanly from a cognitive standpoint... especially that first page (which caused both my wife and I to do a double-take in separate readings)
*A lot of the wording doesn't jibe cleanly from a cognitive standpoint... especially that first page (which caused both my wife and I to do a double-take in separate readings)
*Sendak admitted numerous times how he was driven toward the darker corners of storytelling because he felt like it helped children grow up -- I think he took this belief system way too far and, thus, have consistently been disappointed when his critics were swept under the rug (something that can be primarily attributed to this book winning the Caldecott so early in his career)
ONE DAD'S OPINION
So you know, I would have never checked this book out myself, because of my long-lasting bias towards it. Moreover, I don't think it's appropriate for a child under five years old (due to the potential for nightmares it may cause); so, since my oldest is not even four yet, that would disqualify it. But, lo and behold, look what was sitting on our ottoman when I came home one afternoon this week. Turns out my son got it from his school library. Its still unclear whether he chose it himself or if it was presented to him by the ten-year old boy who his teachers partnered him up with -- but what is clear is that he hadn't really read it yet. So we tackled it together. I'm happy to say that he wasn't that enthused by it and that my elementary suspicions were proven correct after all these years. Others may vehemently disagree, but if you trust me, please Donate this to some far-flung island smack dab in the middle of a world that is not our own.
Buy / Borrow / DONATE / Destroy
ONE DAD'S OPINION
So you know, I would have never checked this book out myself, because of my long-lasting bias towards it. Moreover, I don't think it's appropriate for a child under five years old (due to the potential for nightmares it may cause); so, since my oldest is not even four yet, that would disqualify it. But, lo and behold, look what was sitting on our ottoman when I came home one afternoon this week. Turns out my son got it from his school library. Its still unclear whether he chose it himself or if it was presented to him by the ten-year old boy who his teachers partnered him up with -- but what is clear is that he hadn't really read it yet. So we tackled it together. I'm happy to say that he wasn't that enthused by it and that my elementary suspicions were proven correct after all these years. Others may vehemently disagree, but if you trust me, please Donate this to some far-flung island smack dab in the middle of a world that is not our own.
Buy / Borrow / DONATE / Destroy
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