Max and the wild things

Max and the Wild Things

released April 6, 2011

All songs written by Aidan Traynor

Aidan Traynor- Lead vocals, guitar, banjo
Cole Traynor- Bass
Clint Wilson- Drums, BGV
Sam Stewart- Guitar, BGV
Mikie Martel- Trumpet, organ, BGV
Luc Nyhus- Dobro, guitar
Neil O’Neil- BGV
Yvonne Smith- BGV
Summer Hartbauer- BGV

Recorded & Mixed by Chris Mara @ Welcome To 1979
Assistant Engineers: Bert Stone & Brandon Jaehne
Mastered By Tommy Wiggins

Produced by Mikie Martel, Chris Mara, and Max and the Wild Things

Artwork by Alicia Waters

www. facebook.com/MaxandtheWildThings

www.welcometo1979.com

www.monkeyinkdesign.com

www.thestudioguymastering.com

Max and the Wild Things could not have made this album without:
John Traynor, Sara Sheehan, Jorma Kaukonen, Brendan Leahy, Mike Grimes, Jeff Miller, JoJo Mead, Tim Beneski, Chase Squier, Tim and Peg Plambeck, Joseph Lawrence, Cecily Sheehan, Ron Robare, Ann Marsh, JoAnn Tine, Don Cox, Travis Vance, Brady Surface, Joel Fridell, Melissa Magdziasz, Sean Maloney, Adam Gold, Joe Baine Colvert, Seth Graves, Clark Calvert, Adam Dalton, Kevin Garnett, Welcome to 1979, Cheer Up Charlie Daniels, The Coolin’ System, JMPD, T.I.P., The Pipeline, Moon Taxi, Kat Smo, Summer Hartbauer Band, The Basement, The End, Mercy Lounge, Magic Hat Brewing Company, Ajax Turner, SibLINGSHOT ON THE BLEACHERS, The Nashville Cream, MCAtv9, Music Society, Monkey Ink Design, The Rabbit, et cetera. Thanks!

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

Nathan

233 reviews186 followers

I have no doubt that this book damaged me, psychologically, as a small child. It is one of the earliest books I vividly remember reading aloud to myself, and I remember the first time my mother read it to me before she put me to bed. Here's the gist of the plot: A little boy named Max dresses up in a wolf costume, plays with a hammer, chases his dog with a fork, then threatens to cannibalize his mother. His mother, a master of irony, then puts him to bed with no dinner. Already, this story should start creeping you out. Then a forest starts to grow in Max's bedroom. And no, no chemicals have been ingested anywhere in the story. Though the bit about chasing the dog with the fork does imply a delusional state. Regardless, a fucking forest grows in the kids bedroom. So naturally he gets in a boat and sails off to the other side of the world, to where all these "wild things" are. And promptly subjugates everyone he sees. I'm a damn toddler, and my mom is reading me a book about a sociopath. So Max has a ball with this gang he's conquered and converted, and they howl at the moon and hop through trees. Then he gets hungry and goes home, where his mother, no doubt terrified of his new army of foreign creatures, has left his food for him, still warm. I thought, "This woman aims to do me harm." Yes, please, mother. Read me a story about my bedroom becoming a forest inhabited by monsters, then put me to bed. Think I slept that night? No, I hid out under my bed with a plastic baseball bat, a water gun and flashlight, hoping to God that if this was the night it all went wrong, I had the courage to look those monsters in the eye and pretend I wasn't wetting myself. I made a nest with a giant teddy bear and two pillows and didn't come out until the next morning, when I heard my mom coming down the hall. All day long I pretended nothing was different. But I asked her to read me Where The Wild Things Are again that night. And the next night. For months. I would ask her questions like "Do you think I will have my monsters get you if you don't make me supper?" And she'd smile, and say "Go to bed, Nathan. " Spooky shit, I'm telling you. I learned to read through fear and intimidation. A subversive masterpiece.

NC

fiction

fleegan

266 reviews28 followers

This book is crap, and let me tell you why. The kid is a jerk and is sent to his room without supper. He proceeds to go to some magical place where these monsters live and he bosses them around and is mean to them. Then he gets back home...having not learned that being a mean jerk is wrong...and there on his table in his room is dinner...and it's still warm. What's the lesson here exactly?
Hate the book.

uttercrap

Angie

203 reviews35 followers

"Mom. Mom. Mo-om. Mom. MOM!"

My mom whips around. "WHAT??!"

"CanIgetabook?"

"What?"

"Can... I... get... a... book...?"

"How much is it?"

"$8.50."

"What is it?"

I brandish a copy of Where The Wild Things Are from behind my back.

"Don't you already have that?"

"Nuh-uh."

"Aren't you a little... old for a book like that?"

I pout. "But Mo-om..."

"Okay," she sighs. "Put it in the cart."

--ten minutes later--

My mom leaves the car to go put the cart back.

I look around suspiciously, making sure the coast is clear.

I lean over the back seat and start digging through the bags.

Finding the book, I crawl back into the front seat with it.

My mom returns.

"Couldn't you wait until we got home?"

"Nope." I'm turning the first pages, reading everything slowly.

My mom starts the car. "Sometimes I can't tell if I have a twenty-four- or a four-year-old daughter."

I'm still immersed in the book. "At least I no longer pull up my skirt in the grocery aisle and show everyone my Barbie underwear."

"I certainly hope not!"

I grin mischievously.

2009 childrens

Written in 1963, this classic children’s story stands the test of time. Max is a young boy who is sent to his room without supper. He uses his imagination to create a magical land filled with wild things. Will Max stay in the land of the wild things?

The audiobook on this is very entertaining, and it was available with my Scribd subscription. This book far surpasses The Giving Tree because Max easily establishes healthy boundaries. My favorite page from the book, “But the wild things cried, “Oh please don’t go—we’ll eat you up—we love you so!” And Max said, “No!”” The next time someone is giving me grief, I am just going to say, “No!” with absolutely no explanation at all. I will let you know how that works out.

My little buddy reader and I give this “all the stars.” Translation: Five stars

This is one of James Mustich’s 1,000 Books to Read

2022 Reading Schedule
Jan Animal Farm
Feb Lord of the Flies
Mar The Da Vinci Code
Apr Of Mice and Men
May Memoirs of a Geisha
Jun Little Women
Jul The Lovely Bones
Aug Charlotte's Web
Sep Life of Pi
Oct Dracula
Nov Gone with the Wind
Dec The Secret Garden

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Read

October 20, 2022

My copy of this book is over fifty years old. It was read to me when I was tiny and I read it to my children when they were small.

When we lived in the States I discovered the play figures in a bargain bin in a toy store and bought them for my kids too. This guy was always my favourite!

He looks as if he's up to no good.

There are several key elements to the book's power.

1. The artwork is special.

2. It shows, graphically the power of imagination.

That very night in Max's room a forest grew
and grew until his ceiling hung with vines
and the walls became the world all around

3. It undermines the fear of monsters without taking away the wonder.

4. Even when you're bad, your mother loves you.

I can't see this book going out of print. It's timeless.

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Swrp

561 reviews94 followers

August 25, 2021

Brilliant!
so comforting, so wild, so much fun, makes you love life and imagination. ..

"The night Max wore his wolf suit and made mischief of one kind."


[Max in his wolf suit, scaring away the dog.]

Max has this incredible imagination... and he is also a good artist, do you see that artwork on the wall near the staircase? That was drawn by Max.

Where The Wild Things Are is about young Max. He dresses up in his wolf costume, and then scares the dog and creates a mess. Max goes to bed without having supper. He ends up in a jungle with terrible wild beasts (who roared their terrible roars and gnashed their terrible teeth, and rolled their terrible eyes and showed their terrible claws). But Max, as he is brave and smart, ends up intimidating the wild things and also becomes their king. Well, with time, he feels lonely and hungry, decides to leave his 'kingdom' and come back to his bedroom to find hot supper waiting for him.


[King Max and his wild subjects enjoying their wild rumpus.]

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April 14, 2022

Where the Wild Things Are, Maurice Sendak

Where the Wild Things Are is a 1963 children's picture book by American writer and illustrator Maurice Sendak.

This story of only 338 words, focuses on a young boy, named: Max who. after dressing in his wolf costume, wreaks such havoc through his household that he is sent to bed without his supper. Max's bedroom undergoes a mysterious transformation into a jungle environment, and he winds up sailing to an island inhabited by malicious beasts known as the "Wild Things."

After successfully intimidating the creatures, Max is hailed as the king of the Wild Things and enjoys a playful romp with his subjects.

تاریخ نخستین نگرش: روز سی و یکم ماه آگوست سال2005میلادی

عنوان: سفر به سرزمین وحشی‌ها؛ نویسنده و تصویرگر: موریس سنداک؛ مترجم: طاهره آدینه پور؛ تهران، انتشارات علمی و فرهنگی؛ سال1383، در48ص، مصور، رنگی، داستانهای تخیلی برای گروه ب و ج؛ شابک9786001212413؛ موضوع: کتابهای تصویری از نویسندگان ایالات متحده آمریکا - سده20م

عنوان اصلی کتاب «جایی که وحشی‌ها هستند»، که با عنوان: «سفر به سرزمین وحشی‌ها»؛ ترجمه و منتشر شده است؛ کتاب مصور کودکان که داستان آن هم، در مورد رویاهای کودکی است، که بدون خوردن شام، به رختخواب فرستاده شده بود، این کتاب مصور، به عنوان یکی از بهترین، و دوست داشتنی‌ترین کتاب‌های مصور کودکان، در تمام دوران‌ها ستایش شده است

نقل از پشت جلد: (شاید بتوان گفت که سفر به سرزمین وحشی‌ها مشهورترین کتاب تصویری سده بیستم میلادی، در سراسر دنیای غرب است؛ «موریس سِنداک» برای نشان دادن روانشناسی پسرک نافرمان در داستان خود، از صفحه آرایی کتاب سود می‌برد؛ هم‌چنین صفحه‌ آرایی او به منظور نشان دادن بازگشت این کودک از نافرمانی به خانه و محیطی امن است؛ نقل از پیتر هانت)؛

تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 20/03/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ 24/01/1401هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی

20th-century animals childrens-young-readers

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jessica

2,492 reviews30.2k followers

December 24, 2018

‘‘and now,’ max cried, ‘let the wild rumpus start!’’

i babysat the other night and, i swear, i read this book at least 30 times within a 4 hour time span (kids, eh?). i never read this story as a child and i cant help but feel like i missed out on something special.

but luckily, this is one of those timeless classics that still has something for everyone, no matter the age.

this story is for everyone who yearns for wild adventure, for the lovers and attendees of every wild rumpus, for each person who wildly believes in magic, and for those who are wild at heart.

this story is for the wild things in all of us.

↠ 3.5 stars

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December 4, 2020

FINISCE SEMPRE COSÌ


Il film omonimo diretto da Spike Jonze, 2009.

Sì, per fortuna finisce sempre così.
E meno male che c'è qualcuno che ce lo ricorda, aiutandosi con splendidi disegni come fa Maurice Sendak.

Questo libro è ormai un classico, non solo perché ha cinquanta e passa anni di vita, ma per il suo successo e la sua diffusione (videogiochi, composizioni musicali, teatro, cinema).


Ancora il film diretto da Spike Jonze.

Da piccoli la paura è un sentimento utile, perfino salvifico.
È crescendo che diventa letale.

Se qualcuno volesse far approfondire l'argomento al proprio bambino, consiglio caldamente La Grosse colère – Che rabbia! di Mireille d'Allancé del quale segue questa immagine:

americana graphic-novel-fumetto

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June 2, 2022

It is often difficult to review a book that was and still is one of my favorite all-time picture books. I adore everything about Maurice Sendak's

Where the Wild Things Are

, from the brilliant text to the expressive accompanying illustrations. And I also with all my heart appreciate the message the author promotes here, a message of unconditional love, a message that even if one misbehaves, there will be supper waiting on the table (Max does get sent to his room, but no matter how much he has misbehaved, his mother will always love him and cherish him). Of course, that particular message is only one of many. As essential as the concept of universal love is the philosophy, is the attitude that children's emotions and tantrums are to be taken seriously and not ever simply dismissed. Max might be seen and chastised as a "wild thing" by his mother, but his emotions, his actions are described as an integral part of his being, maybe not quite appropriate, but also not completely inappropriate, rather as a living, breathing part of Max's being. And it is these emotions, these feelings that are the impetus to Max's adventures in the realm of the Wild Things. However, once Max's emotions have been allowed and have flourished to the maximum, he retreats from the realm of the Wild Things and is happy to return home to his room, his waiting supper and his mother's love.

I guess I should really mention that one of my more recent rereads of Where the Wild Things Are (in 2011 for the Picture Book Club in the Children's Literature Group) was the first time I had actually read this book in English. Prior to 2011, I had only ever read it in German translation, and I have to admit that I actually like the translated German version somewhat better than the original English. For those who know me, this is quite a contrary attitude, as I am as a rule very much in favour of original texts and keeping any translated narratives as close to the original as possible. In this particular case, I think that I appreciate the German translation more because it is the narrative that I had repeatedly read to me when I was a child, that I later read for myself (and in 2005 read to my young nieces). The German translation of Where the Wild Things Are therefore has a nostalgic hold on me that the Maurice Sendak's original text, no matter how ingenious, not matter that it is the master, the primordial, will simply never have (and for me, the ultimate version of this book will always, always be the German translation, Wo Die Wilden Kerle Wohnen.

book-reviews childrens-literature emotions

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November 22, 2016

I have read the story of Max about 1,000,000 times and my kids love it too. The illustrations are magical and the text is beyond wonderful. It is one of the most fun and rewarding books for a parent to read to a kid (lots of fun making dancing sounds and monster sounds!) and features joyful plot. A must!

american-20th-c classics favorites

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James

Author 17 books3,500 followers

October 24, 2017

I loved this so much, I begged to star in it in an elementary school play. I won the lead role but had to share it with another classmate as we were doing 8 performances and couldn't be out of classes for rehearsals that often! I got to be rowdy... even though I was the quietest child possible. And who doesn't love to act like an animal, parade through the jungle and revisit their roots! But what do we love even more. .. our family and those who love us. Sometimes we can be too much and need to done it down. And that's the lesson this little one teaches us.

About Me
For those new to me or my reviews... here's the scoop: I read A LOT. I write A LOT. And now I blog A LOT. First the book review goes on Goodreads, and then I send it on over to my WordPress blog at https://thisismytruthnow.com, where you'll also find TV & Film reviews, the revealing and introspective 365 Daily Challenge and lots of blogging about places I've visited all over the world. And you can find all my social media profiles to get the details on the who/what/when/where and my pictures. Leave a comment and let me know what you think. Vote in the poll and ratings. Thanks for stopping by. Note: All written content is my original creation and copyrighted to me, but the graphics and images were linked from other sites and belong to them. Many thanks to their original creators.

1-fiction

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Alex

1,418 reviews4,305 followers

October 5, 2018

I didn't realize this was The Odyssey for so long. It seems so obvious now! It's the Cyclops part. Polyphemus.




Which makes Max's mom a stand-in for Penelope, keeping his dinner hot for him as he sails "in and out of weeks and almost over a year," and that's a little weird but there's always something a little weird about Maurice Sendak, isn't there? Have you read In the Night Kitchen? It's fuckin' weird, man. None of this knocks Where the Wild Things Are any lower on the list of Great Children's Literature, where it is #1.

It's everything, right? The way Sendak writes - everything is a little effortlessly different. He starts in media res, "The night Max wore his wolf suit..." I like to evolve the way I say wild things - in the beginning I put the emphasis like "wild Things," and then I switch it up to the Hendrixian "Wild things" as we build to this:


“And now,” cried Max,
“let the wild rumpus start!”

Which honestly, can you think of a better sentence in all of literature? I'm being serious! I can't. This is my favorite one.

You ever notice how the pictures get bigger? Max making mischief of one kind and another is just a little picture on the page, but by the time the wild rumpus gets going it's full page spreads, there's not even room for any words. And those creatures! You've probably heard how Sendak modeled them on his family. Look how awesome they are.


Which one is your favorite? I like the hippie in the back.

And of course it's great because, like the best children's books, it takes children seriously. Max is being an asshole. Dude chased the dog with a fork, what the fuck. His mother punishes him and he learns zero lessons, he just plays in his room until she gives in. That's a plot a kid can dig! Children can tell when a book is written for them and when it's written at them. This is for children. It has magic in it, and so do they.

children

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March 21, 2021

I can still remember reading this for the first time in my grade school library. The pictures and illustrations can be a little scary at times, but they still remain incredible to me. I love children's books that are adventurous and take you places. This is one of them.

5*****

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Lisa

974 reviews3,329 followers

March 23, 2020

May I suggest this little cherished gem as a perfect inspiration for all of you who are locked away in private isolation somewhere on this globe? (Wow, by the way: we all share this experience, across towns and countries and continents - or does anyone need a reminder what I am referring to?)

With our imagination, we can travel from our claustrophobic reality to Where the Wild Things Are. And my guess is that those wild things will be quite a comfort and relief from news and coughs and worries...

Cheers to the Imagined Wild! Nothing Beside Remains...

children

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Mrinmayi

155 reviews572 followers

November 1, 2020

All This little Bratty jerk needed was a flying chappal

I am NOT joking!! He was a total brat. .and all his mother did was send him without supper!!
If I behaved that way with my mom..you won't be reading this review today😂

Been there, done that dude!! Thank you very much!!😒
[image error]
EVER BEEN IN THIS SITUATION??!
I am sorry but my little brown heart just can't RELATE!!!
The most " lenient " parents can get is this way..

BUT even that comes with a side effect!!

I pity this☝ kid😂
So you mean to say... he disrespected his mom, gave BRATTY replies...and threatened her
STILL his momma gave him his dinner??

(Translation: I will slap you)
You know what?? Even I wont read this book to my niece !!
What if she takes inspiration from THIS book??!! Then MY parents will beat the crap out of me for "spoiling" her😭😂😶

This book was indeed "FANTASY" aka a "FANTASY" for brown kids
The worse thing is we even benefit from it xD
There's a saying in Hindi...
लातों के भूत बातों से नहीं मानते
translation:
Rude people do not understand soft language

This basically applies to bratty kids
Sometimes you need to use chappal to stop them from getting spoiled


I mean. .GOOD LUCK to his mom!! Try handling this satan spawn WITHOUT giving "ACTUAL" punishment😂Good luck with that lady..Good luck😂🤣😆


My moms gonna KILL me if she saw this review
Mrin rn


bleach-my-mind bonfire-material boring

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Gabriel

429 reviews563 followers

June 27, 2022

Se lo vi a mi hermanita y me dije porqué no. Pues fue un ni fu ni fa.
Aunque evidentemente no soy el público al que va dirigido.

infantil

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Kirk

Author 25 books107 followers

June 19, 2012

Where the Wild Things Are

What's the moral of this story? Some might say Sendack's work is a testament to the unbridled powers of a child's imagination. Others would posit that the true virtue of Where the Wild Things Are stems from the reversal of a timeless power dynamic in which monsters frighten children. In Sendack's carefully rendered world, monsters submit to the whims of children, which appears to suit Max well enough. I assume it works well for other children as well. If you can't convince snot-nosed brats that monsters don't exist, at least you can convince them that monsters are friendly. Children, after all, are like neo-conservatives. You can only reason with them on their own delusional terms.

Here's the summary:

Max is an asshole. His mother calls him a monster, so he flies into a cannibalistic rage. She sends him to his room without dinner, which doesn't seem to be the best of ideas since he just threatened to eat her f*&% face off, but whatever. This book isn't heralded as a classic because of its promotion of high-quality parenting techniques. I'll get to that in a moment.

I couldn't help but notice the parallels between the story of Max and the early years of Siddhartha. Both starve themselves until they hallucinate. But the similarities end there. Siddhartha realizes that his approach to transcendentalism is misguided, and he eats once more. Max, on the other hand, starves himself for a night and trees grow in his room. Then he proceeds to get on a boat and fast for an entire year, at which point he starts seeing giant monsters.

The fact that these monsters cater to his delusions of grandeur--cowering in his presence and sharing his flesh-eating inclinations--lets us know that Max has externalized his fantasy world through strict fasting. On one hand, I respect this kid. I can rarely push through four days without wheat before the weekend starts and I pack in 80lbs of corporate-grown meat and bleached bread. On the other hand, what the hell is this book teaching our children? I'll tell you.


That middle finger means "I was raised on Sendak!"

Aside from self-imposed starvation, the book teaches children to give up on their aspirations as soon as the slightest temptation arises: "he smelled good things to eat so he gave up being king." It sends the message that those who love you would just as happily rip your entrails out and feast upon them as soon as you decide to leave: "Oh please don't go-we'll eat you up-we love you so!" And, finally, it shows them that parents' threats are temporally limited, and eventually love will cause them to cave in. At the end of the story, Max returns to his room "where he found his supper waiting for him." Way to be strong, mom. Pushover.

I bet Satan loves this book.

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G

27 reviews5 followers

March 16, 2008

The classic. I would take this on a desert island. So much to explore and interpret in the words and the pictures. I'm afraid my girls don't like the book as much as I do. But sooner or later, they'll come around.

I see quite a few people complaining about Max being a little shit and not learning a lesson in "Where the Wild Things Are." Well, guess what, a lot of kids are little shits. And I believe Max did learn a few things on his journey. Sometimes it's not so good to be the king. Even with all his power over the wild things, he still missed home. And even when he's bad, he can count on his Mama. That's a lesson in appreciating what you got. It's too bad people have to be so one-dimensional about children's books -- but given the amount of 4 & 5-star reviews this book gets on Goodreads alone, I'm certain the naysayers are way off the mark. .. Anyway, just had to say that.


kids-books-that-don-t-make-me-yawn

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June 10, 2013

Like a gremlin crouched in the back of a dim cave, Where the Wild Things Are lay on my cousin's bedroom floor. My cousin was in kindergarden and I was being babysat by my aunt, busy in the kitchen downstairs - might as well have been miles away. The bedroom shades were drawn, the house quiet, the room empty. That book with its-its things in it called to me. I'd never seen anything like it. My books had colorful, happy animals that didn't make me feel this way....what was this feeling? Was this what was known as fear? And what were those things? Were they, maybe, those things called monsters? I'd not fully experienced fear before, perhaps because I'd not put a face on it. I crept closer. Those faces looked mean, ferocious. I stopped in the middle of the room, neither advancing towards the book, nor fleeing. I was terrified...and I loved it!

Appendixed!: It's Maurice Sendak's birthday today. (Thanks Google!) If he hadn't died last year, he would be 85 now....85 crusty old years. Right around the time he died NPR was playing archival interviews of him. It was the first time I'd heard him speak. I could've done without the experience. I have nothing against his voice, rather the things that come out of his mouth. The man was curmudgeonly to the core it seems. I can be a bit of a pill myself sometimes, so I should cut him some slack, but I was surprised by his grouchiness. I suppose I always assume children's authors are bright, cheerful sorts. Heck, they write happy little stories about colorful, good-hearted characters that usually come out on top. How could such stuff come from a sourpuss? Well, Sendak was proof that it can. Hm. That's funny. I'm 40 and I'm still learning things from children's lit.

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January 19, 2021

I just cannot believe what I just read!
Totally amazed me with the unusual illustrations!
I haven't read a children's book with such kind of illustration depicting the wild imagination of a kid with such innocence.
It is just suitable for very young kids.
Less words.
More pictures.
The sequential art is the highlight of this one.
But...
I just felt it was too short. Just too short!
I need more.

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August 10, 2018

3.5 Stars

Small fry was utterly enchanted, and I think we both loved Max’s unbridled excitement. The whole story reads like a love-letter to childish imagination.

But Max was also a mean little snoot who threatened to eat his mother and was a little tyrant to the Wild Things... jussaying

Kid Lit Experiment 2018 #7

with-dalton-kid-s-books

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June 9, 2008

Another 5 star! Man, I'm getting generous. You guys just keep bringing up stories that KICK TRASH! This is the greatest children's book in the history of time as far as I'm concerned. And I'll tell you something WICKED AWESOME about it that I figured out when I researched it for a play adaptation I wrote. **GET OUT THE COPY OF YOUR CHILDREN'S BOOK RIGHT NOW**... Flip through the pages, and notice that on the first page the artwork is a small rectangle... then it grows larger and larger on every page, until the forest takes up one entire side by itself... then as Max sails on the ship it begins to creep into the other half of the page... and grow... and GROW... getting wilder and wilder until the Wild Rumpus Dance (made up of six solid pages of GORGEOUS artwork, NO WORDS)... then Max decides he misses home... and the artwork shrinks... and shrinks... until the last page, which contains no artwork at all, but simply the words, "and it was still hot." Subconsciously, your mind goes on this fantastical journey into the extreme creative right brain where there are no concrete thoughts or language, just drug-trippy monsters and mayhem... then it returns just as abruptly. IS SENDAK A FRIGGIN' GENIUS OR WHAT???? Man, I love that guy.

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July 12, 2011

Through a Child’s Eye
(A Book Review of Maurice Sendak’s Where The Wild Things Are)

I’m glad that I recently scored a vintage 1963 edition (pictures here) of Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are in Booksale during one of the mini Meet Ups with my Goodreads-The Filipino Group friends. I breeze through the book in a matter of minutes while waiting for them, and right there and then something just hit me. Without a doubt, it certainly earns its place as a classic storybook of Children’s Literature.

Where the Wild Things Are tells the story of the rascal Max, who dresses up in his wolf suit and causes trouble enough to make his mother order him to go to bed without supper at all. As the title alludes, the picture book shows a child’s unbound and limitless wild rumpus of an imagination exhibited when Max reaches deeper within his imagining and sees his room transformed into a forest inhabited by the Wild Things — roaring and gnashing monsters with yellow eyes, sharp teeth and horns — where he, by a mere stare, can tame and be the king of them all.

I think what endears every child who reads Sendak’s picture book is that most of them can identify with Max’s feeling of resentment, that though he had had his share of fun out of it, he eventually grows weary and lonely, permitting him later on to go back to the place where he most wants to be and appreciate the most important thing he left behind: the need to feel loved.

At home, after a tiring yet fun-filled day with friends and before hitting the sack, I’m still at it, staring mesmerized by Sendak’s impressive work of art with its muted colors and cross-hatchings, that looks like sketches, add further magic, energy and excitement to every kid who reads it they would love to be in the shoes of Max, playing with the Wild Things on their “wild rumpus” where they can howl at the moon and swing from tree to tree in bold celebration of all the wildness they possess.

I rue the fact that I stumbled upon this picture book well into my manhood, but it definitely touched something in me — the book has this uncanny ability to enchant itself to the nostalgic memory of childhood, rekindling its innermost emotions. It’s as if I’m seeing the world again through a child’s eye.

Nevertheless, this is a book worth keeping — for every reading always brings a new perspective, a nuanced view of the book’s message — which I will one day read to my future children and let them discover for themselves a world of their own creation; a world where the wild things are, where only they has the power to tame.

_________________________
Book Details: Book #24 for 2011
Published by Harper & Row, Publishers
(Hardcover, 1963 First Edition)
42 pages
Read on: June 15, 2011
My Rating: ★★★★★

[See this review on my book blog Dark Chest of Wonders and for many others.]

2011-reads adventure award-winning-books

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Brad

Author 2 books1,677 followers

March 22, 2009

Of all the books I read my kids, and there are many, this is my favourite to perform.

It is so easy to turn Where the Wild Things Are into a a big, rollicking tickle fest, and I am never able to resist the urge. When those Wild Things show up with their "terrible roars" and "terrible eyes" and "terrible claws," I attack my kids with everything I've got until they are reduced to quivering masses of giggled out jelly.

And Max, the King of the Wild Things, is one of the coolest kids in any kids book ever. Sure he's being too much of a "Wild Thing," which gets him sent to bed, but he's not your modern kid. There's no brattiness and entitlement. Just a cool kid getting a little crazy on fun before being sent off to bed and a great adventure in his dreams.

And when he comes back from his adventure he finds his dinner waiting for him...and it's still hot.

Super cool fun for you and your kids.

children faves

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March 18, 2016

So not my normal choice of read. But it was a me and little one book, where I read and he listens or pretends to...hopefully we can nail down the 'pretend to listen' game with the kid. (But not with me, because I'm the favorite aunt--duh.)

Anyway, the story was...meh to me. I remember when I was younger and saw this book. I bypassed it then. Apparently, I was onto something because I totally would bypass it now, especially after reading.

I couldn't stand Max. Why would the awesome beasts/monsters be tamed by him? He didn't do anything but show up even if he's the one pulling the strings.

But the pictures were nice.

What did the kid think? Fucking enthralled! Seriously glued to the pages.
Or it could have been the sound of my voice. *shrugs*

If he could speak, he'd rate it: 10/10 would read again.

So...

Me: 2 stars
Kid: 5 stars

Let's meet middle ground and average, 3.5 stars. I'll round up because...ugh...we'll be rereading.


classic clean-pg-read cookies-and-milk-kiddo-book

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March 22, 2017

I didn't want to add any children's books - but this one was just too cool...

Update: Saw the movie - the book was much better!

childrensbooks fiction isadora

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Hayat

570 reviews169 followers

March 8, 2016

My kids weren't so keen on this beloved children's story but I loved the illustrations, although, the story was a little bit disturbing if you pay close attention to what the little boy is doing or threatening to do. Hmmm?


award-winner children-s-classics

Who knows how to enjoy life is invincible: a collection of books by Max Fry

Favorite books, read and re-read a hundred times as best friends, will always find the right words to console and cheer. The works of Max Frei are just one of those. Pay attention to the cycle "The Heavy Light of Courtein" : in it, the beloved characters, now and then flashing on the pages of "Tales of Old Vilnius" , live the best days in the city born from a dream, discuss the most important things in the world, laugh, they get to know each other, drive them crazy and return to their secret homeland the hearts of everyone who once followed in their footsteps.

In addition to the books of the cycle, collections of short stories and notes from recent years are waiting for you in the selection. And below are the editors' favorite quotes from Max Frei's books.

🔸 The life that you have chosen for yourself is beautiful and amazing, even when you get tired of it.
("New Wild Hunt")

🔸 Girls are exactly what we need. They know how to love recklessly and dream passionately. And to believe in the completely impossible, provided that it is at least theoretically capable of marrying them. Girls are a terrible force, the secret sweet salt of this funny land.
("New Wild Hunt")

🔸 Neither our mistakes nor devastating defeats diminish the value of being itself. And the tragic death does not mean that the deceased should not have been born at all. The meaning is not in a triumphal procession across the playing field, not in success, not in triumph over an opponent, but only in the joy of the game. Who knows how to enjoy it in any circumstances, he is really invincible.

("Too many nightmares")


🔸 Decisions made should be carried out, even such trifling ones, not about business, but about pleasure; actually, trifling - first of all. It’s ridiculous to say, but it is thanks to such optional nonsense that the human will gains real strength: if for some time you fulfill absolutely all your decisions (and simply don’t make impossible decisions), over time, decisions become so accustomed to be fulfilled without fail that little by little they begin to be implemented almost on their own, almost without asking anything from you.

("Courtain's Heavy Light Yellow")


🔸 You just have to do what you can. Exactly as much as you can. Even when you can't do almost anything.
("Tales of old Vilnius")

🔸 Good weather is enough for happiness, but in bad weather you can, for example, bake an apple pie. And no additional meaning is required. As in childhood.
("Yellow Metal Key")

🔸 They say you should drink green tea when it's hot. Nonsense. When it's hot, you have to drink coffee. Coffee, however, should be drunk always and everywhere, at every opportunity, it turns existence into life.
(“Tales of Old Vilnius”)

🔸 Man is a vessel filled with love and fear. The more of one substance, the less of the other.
(“Full NyapiZding”)

🔸 City coffee houses always seemed to her like temples or gas stations, where people go not so much for coffee and muffins, but for strength and meaning to live.
("Tales of old Vilnius VII")

🔸 That's right, breathe with pleasure, walk a lot without getting tired, look around with constant interest, enjoy sounds, smells, taste - in a word, take everything you can, from bread and spectacles, exactly everything that is possible, and not bite and quit, as is customary with us.
("The same book")

🔸 If there is one thing that should be done right now (and it would be better the day before yesterday) for each of us, it is to stop spreading fear around us. Well, at least reduce the intensity of crops - for starters.
("Full NyapiZding")

🔸 Loneliness - this in most cases means "more free time for your affairs. "
(“Full NyapiZding”)

🔸 Meaning, it is always inside us, and the books we read are just a clever hook to pull it to the surface.
("The Big Cart")

Max's story - Vitaly Bianchi, read online

A mathematician dog sits on a desk and solves addition and subtraction, multiplication and division problems. A hunting dog with a gun and a bag walks on its hind legs, leads a tiny dog ​​on a leash - a hunting dog. Dogs race on a small shaggy horse.

The cat plays a funny scene with rats and does not touch them.

Cheerful, sleek sea lions play ball with each other.

A gigantic kangaroo boxing with a man.

What is it: a fairy tale, a dream?

Neither.

This is a circus - a performance by Vladimir Grigorievich Durov Jr. with his four-legged performers.

Vladimir Grigorievich speaks with his animals in a kind, calm voice. And all the animals - from a tiny, pocket dog to a huge, clumsy Max - willingly and cheerfully carry out his orders.

Max is an elephant. In fact, he is not an elephant, but an elephant. Durov called her Maxi. But everyone sees - an elephant; if an elephant, then it’s not her, but he is Max. And so it went: Max yes Max.

Durov received Max as a completely wild, uneducated nine-year-old baby elephant.

Now Max is almost an adult. He knows how to sit on the pedestal, like on a chair. He plays the harmonica and dances to his own music. To the sounds of the orchestra, he dances a waltz. He is a wonderful artist and plays a whole scene with a huge razor in his trunk: he shaves, just like a real hairdresser. Then they put a red cap on his head, a revolver holster on his side, a whistle around his neck, and Max goes on stage as a policeman.

He takes home a recalcitrant little pony.

But Max's most beautiful number is at the end of the show. The elephant enters the arena and, like some kind of knight, kneels before his master. All in silver and sequins, the owner comes up to him. The mighty beast gently embraces him with its trunk, rises, lifts the brilliant figure of a man high into the air and solemnly carries him out of the arena to the enthusiastic applause of the audience.

Max Durov learned all this without hitting an elephant once.

Max's favorite friend is the beautiful camel Ekaterina. Friends enter the arena together. From under the dome, the smooth sounds of the orchestra rush. The elephant picks up the thin tail of the camel with its trunk, and the clumsy couple begins to slowly and importantly whirl in a waltz.

But then the music stopped, the dance ended. Max and Ekaterina approach the barrier, bend their hind legs and sit down to rest.

Out of boredom

Max hates to be separated from Ekaterina, and when Durov moves from city to city, the elephant and the camel always go side by side.

Once Durov with all his four-legged artists arrived in the city of Perm. Max was taken out of the car, brought to the circus and put in the stable, but they did not have time to bring Ekaterina, they left her on the train until morning. Durov spent the night in a hotel. In the morning he comes to the circus and sees: a large crowd of boys has gathered on the street, and in the middle of it stands an elephant waving its trunk merrily.

It turns out that Max got bored without Ekaterina. Having nothing to do, the elephant at night dismantled the entire wooden wall of the stable and put all the boards in a pile; then he smashed the bricks of the foundation with his trunk - and went free.

From the moment they separate Max from the camel, he goes crazy for sure. With his trunk, he opens stalls, doors, and stomps with his feet so heavy that he breaks through the floor. Can't live without Catherine!

Max is naughty

Max is a big joker. And it weighs one hundred and fifty pounds, in other words, almost two and a half thousand kilograms, which means approximately the same as a crowd of fifty people weighs. So it is not surprising that his jokes are somewhat ponderous.

In Sverdlovsk they took Max to bathe. Max went into the water, felt free and cheered up. He lowered his trunk into the water, rummaged it along the bottom. He lifted his trunk, looked back at the people and how he would blow on them!

What happened here! Rain on sand, a hail of pebbles showered those standing on the shore with grapeshot. All the people rushed in all directions.

And Max is pleased: you know, he launches his trunk into the water, draws water and, like from a fire gut, waters to the right, to the left, in all directions.

What to do here? How to appease the mischievous? How to approach it when whole cobblestones are rushing through the air with sand and pebbles?

But Durov made up his mind.

He boldly entered the water. Stones whistled past him. Each of them could break his head.

Durov came up behind the naughty elephant and grabbed him by the ear.

An elephant is a thousand times stronger than a human. An elephant can break a man in half with his trunk, like a light reed, can crush him with his feet with the same ease as a cockroach's horse. But the elephant submits to a fearless man, like a small child.

As soon as Max felt that someone grabbed his ear, he chickened out. He was afraid - and modestly lowered his deadly trunk.

So by the ear Durov led him to the shore. And the huge elephant with a guilty look allowed himself to be led away to the stable.

The case of the artist

Max is curious, oh, how curious! Come close to him - he will immediately put his trunk into your pocket: is there anything tasty there? He needs to feel everything with his trunk, taste it.

One artist came to paint Max in Leningrad. It was very warm in the menagerie. The artist took off his fur jacket and hung it next to him on the wall.

This artist had a strange way: he always started drawing animals from the tail.

The elephant is great. Time passed while the artist drew the tail, drew the left hind leg, the right hind leg and moved to the back. Then he suddenly needed a rubber band. And he had an elastic band in the pocket of his fur jacket.

The artist turned around, extended his hand to the wall, but the jacket was not there.

- Guard! the artist shouted. - Hold on! The thieves!

At his cry, Durov's servants ran to the menagerie.

- Close all exits! shouted the artist. The thieves took my fur jacket!

"Wait, citizen," said one of the employees. - There it is, your jacket: Max has it in his mouth. Max, you slacker, aren't you ashamed? Now give me your jacket!

The thief was about to chew on the soft fur thing. But, seeing that his trick had been noticed, he took it out of his mouth with his trunk and handed it over to the owner.

We barely managed to calm the artist down.

Elephant and mice

Oftentimes, Max removes caps and hats from visitors and tastes everything. Once he snatched from the hands of some dandy an expensive ebony cane, all in silver. In an instant, he broke it and also put it in his mouth.

And just recently in Moscow, his mischief almost brought him to a big trouble.

But first, let's talk about Max's amazing fear.

It would seem - whom should the huge elephant be afraid of? True, elephants themselves do not attack anyone. These are peaceful, good-natured animals. Wild elephants in the dense forests of their homeland politely give way to all oncoming animals, even small ones.

But the one who angers the elephant and attacks him will not do well.

Even the most powerful and ferocious predator - the tiger - will not resist him.

But here's the strange thing: all elephants are afraid of small weak animals. So weak that even a cat can easily cope with them.

Elephants are afraid of mice and rats.

If mice and rats get into the menagerie, Max will never go to bed. So it will doze off standing, even for a whole month in a row. And it's very bad for his health.

Of course, an elephant can kill a mouse or a rat with one blow. But it's not always the case.

When you see an elephant, pay attention to its legs.

His legs are like pedestals. But each in front ends with hooves, as if with nails. There are five such hooves on the front paws of the Indian elephant, and four on the hind legs.

These are indeed nails or claws. After all, the elephant also has fingers: five fingers on the front foot, four on the back. Only they are inside him, under the skin, and they are not visible.

The legs of an elephant are covered with thick, strong skin from top to bottom. Only on the foot between the fingers the skin is thin, tender.

When the elephant is standing, his feet are protected. When lying, feet out. Any mouse can climb into the recess between the fingers, tickle there or even gnaw through the delicate skin with teeth. And then the elephant will bleed out.

That's why elephants are afraid of small rodents - mice and rats.

Max is having fun

Max obeys the owner. The owner brought Max to the stable, put him next to Ekaterina and said:

- Stay here!

Max and worth it.

Of course, it doesn't cost him anything to dismantle a wooden partition or break down a stable door. Then you can stagger around the circus, climb higher, look for a place where there are no rats. They - nasty - just scurry underfoot here in the stable. Brr!..

But the master said:

— Stay here!

And Max doesn't move. It stays in one place all night long.

Good for other animals - they are not afraid of small rodents. Lie down and sleep. They do not hear the desperate screeching under the floor.

I'm a good watchman: here you can hear him snoring behind the wall.

Max is also trying to sleep. But nothing comes of it: he will doze off a little, - a sensitive ear will catch a rustle in the corner. Max will startle and wake up.

No, it's better not to sleep at all!

Of course Max doesn't think so. So a person would think in his place, and Max is an elephant.

He doesn't think about anything, he just stands there and gets bored. Out of boredom, he tries different things around: is there something to have fun with?

Here is a wooden partition. It is forbidden to break it. Here is the castle. A tender finger at the end of the trunk feels the unpleasant chill of iron. No, not interested...

There is nothing interesting on the wall either: a smooth, slightly damp wall.

And what is that down there, by the wall, just above the floor? It also seems to have the same unpleasant chill, only big, long - and inside there are some sounds. This is interesting! It is necessary with a trunk ...

Max does not sleep: he has found entertainment for himself.

All the animals are sleeping. The watchman snores behind the wall.

* * *

The watchman woke up from the noise in the menagerie. Strange sounds were coming from there.

Barking and squealing, roaring, squeaking, wheezing, snorting, coughing, meowing were heard. And some other incomprehensible, loud, squelching sounds.

The watchman jumped out of bed. And slap! - both feet in the water. Where is the water on the floor from?

The Moscow River burst its banks and flooded the city? But it's winter.

Quickly raise everyone to their feet - and to the animals!

The watchman was efficient. Half a minute later he gave the alarm and ran into the menagerie.

What was going on there! A lake of water stood on the floor. The gigantic kangaroo jumped up on a tall box in the corner of his cage and was trembling all over. Camel Ekaterina groaned, snorted and climbed onto the wall. Fifty dogs howled in unison behind the partitions.

And the culprit of all this commotion, the elephant Max, was calmly standing knee-deep in water, collecting water with his trunk and watering his back.

It's him, it's Max, for the sake of boredom, bent and broke with his trunk a water pipe that was led through the stable near the wall, just above the floor. And he was very happy when water gushed out of it like a fountain, flooded the floor and drove away all those terrible rats. With great difficulty, the guards managed to stop the water, to prevent it from flooding all the cages and all the animals.

Dispute with the director of the circus

It happened in a southern city a long time ago. Food was scarce in those days. Bread and all other products were given out on cards. It was very difficult to feed a whole horde of animals. And Durov concluded an agreement with the director of the circus that the circus would supply food to the entire menagerie.

Every day the director signed a piece of paper, according to which Durov's employees received bread, vegetables, meat, fish for all four-legged artists in the cooperatives. And these artists have a particularly good appetite. One Max eats daily 27 kilograms of white bread and a whole mountain of vegetables.

But one day the director of the circus, a man who came to this place by accident, took it and refused to supply the animals with food.

Upon learning of this, Durov became terribly worried. He immediately went to the director to talk to him himself.

The circus director's office was located on the second floor of a stone building. Durov quickly ran up the wide steps of the marble staircase and burst into the office like a bomb.

— Sign the food order for my artists now! he shouted to the fat man at the table. You are obligated to do so by contract.

“I don't think so,” said the fat man. It was the director of the circus. “I break the contract and pay you a penalty. With this money you can buy food for your animals yourself.

- But understand, - Durov got excited, - it's not about money, but about cards! Without your paper, the cooperatives will not release food to me.

- Buy at the market.

— But there is nothing in the bazaar!

— That doesn't concern me.

- You doom all my animals to starvation. Do you understand this? Here is the outfit. Sign it now!

And Durov handed the director a piece of paper across the table.

— I won't sign, — the director said.

— No, sign! You can't sign.

— No, I won't sign!

— No, sign!

All around, the faces of employees rose above all the tables, even curious heads poked out through the half-open doors. Everyone was eager to see how Durov's dispute with the obese director would end.

- I'm telling you - sign it! Durov shouted.

But suddenly pulled back the hand that had been stretched across the table, put the paper in his pocket, and quickly left the office.

— That's it — changed his mind! The director said in a pleased voice. He himself knew that he was doing very badly. And he was glad that Durov no longer reproaches him.

"I suppose he'll get along even without my outfits," the director added to himself as a consolation.

— What are you going to do? he suddenly attacked his servants.

Faces dropped again over the tables, curious heads disappeared from the doors, the doors closed.

For half an hour in the office, only the pounding of typewriters and the sniffling of the corpulent director could be heard.

Suddenly the director raised his head and listened.

Someone's footsteps were heard from the stairs. Very strange steps: heavy, rare. Top! - then silence. Top! - and again silence. Top!

"Listen," said the director to one of the employees, "look, who's stomping up the stairs over there?"

The employee jumped out of his seat, jumped out from behind the table. But at that moment the door opened of its own accord, and the employee froze to the floor: a flexible gray snake emerged from under the jamb, behind it appeared a head with huge burdock ears - the head of an elephant with a snake-trunk.

Top! - and half of the huge body of an elephant poked through the door.

“Carr!..” the director said. He wanted to shout “guard!”, but his tongue was taken away from his fright and his voice became like that of a crow.

An employee who left the table suddenly felt cold, rushed to a corner and crawled under a chair.

Top! Once again - top! And the whole elephant was in the office. Durov's calm figure appeared behind him.

— Carr!.. — shouted the director of the circus again. His tongue still did not obey him.

The elephant took another step, and its heavy head hung over the director's desk.

— Che-what, — the director murmured with difficulty: — what are you ho-ho-ti-te?

Durov stepped forward and stood next to the elephant.

“Max,” he said calmly. “Tell the Citizen Director what we all want from him. On the!

At this short word, the elephant's trunk reached out to Durov's hands, took a piece of paper from them and handed it across the director's desk, just as Durov himself had done recently.

— D-get that animal away! the director said in a trembling voice. - Please, take it away, Vla-Vladimir Grigorievich!

“Max won’t leave until you sign the grocery order,” Durov said firmly.

The elephant's trunk reached out to the director's head, blew on it, and the sparse hair on the head of the director immediately stood on end.

The director closed his eyes in fear. But immediately he opened them again: he felt that the trunk was rummaging around in the side pocket of his jacket.

— Max thinks, — Durov explained, — can you find an apple for him? He loves apples very much and eats two poods of them at once. Well, sign the outfit: Max is waiting.

The director grabbed a pen and wrote his name on the paper in trembling handwriting.

Here, from behind all the tables, from behind the half-open doors, even from under the chair in the corner of the office, stifled chuckles were heard.

“Thank you,” Durov said politely. “Now I am sure that you will continue to refuse us food. Max, let's go!

The elephant slowly turned his head towards the door—there was just enough room between the tables in the office for him to turn around—and followed the owner out of the room.

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