Tonight the prof of my cake class (i.e. Children's Lit, an undergrad survey course) discussed Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are, and it brought back memories of reading this book while teaching for the IRD last summer. One of the best moments of pure-joy teaching was when I had 20 first graders holding up their wild thing masks and "rumpusing," roaring their terrible roars and showing their terrible claws. Almost ten years ago, I remember a tiny little blond girl I waitressed with whose petite little back was covered with huge tattoos of the wild things.
280 undergraduates amuse themselves during Children's Lit
I worked on a paper while taking notes, my ears perking up when she mentioned WTWTA. She distinguished it as a prime example of good children's literature, that it met through the story and the illustrations the needs of children in an enjoyable way:
- need for security
- need to love and be loved
- need to belong and be accepted
- need to achieve and be confident in what we do
- need to escape
- need for intelligence
- need for beauty and order
Clearly, these needs don't diminish upon exiting childhood.
Go ahead. Get a popsicle and watch:
Curious as to who Sendak was and what context he wrote this book in, I found this:
"With the publication of Where the Wild Things Are in 1963, Sendak felt that he had ended his apprenticeship. His childhood experiences, years of illustrations for other authors' books, and psychoanalysis came together in the fantasies of Max, the boy in the story who is sent to bed without his supper, and the monsters he encounters in the world of the wild things. The story is rooted in the very real fears that children have of being left alone or not cared for by their parents. Many critics and child psychologists, such as Bruno Bettelheim, felt that the book was too scary for sensitive children. Sendak was vindicated when the book won the Caldecott Medal in 1964. In his acceptance speech, he said, "… from their earliest years children live on familiar terms with disrupting emotions, fear and anxiety are an intrinsic part of their everyday lives, they continually cope with frustrations as best they can. And it is through fantasy that children achieve catharsis. It is the best means they have for taming Wild Things."
Just as Sendak's life appeared to finally be on track, disaster struck. In 1967, he learned that his mother had developed cancer, he suffered a major coronary attack, and his beloved dog Jenny died. In spite of his troubles, he completed In the Night Kitchen in 1972. This book generated more controversy because he showed a boy in full frontal nudity. Librarians drew diapers over the child. "It's as if my book contains secret information that kids would be better off not knowing. This whole idea, of course, is ridiculous." Sendak moved to Ridgefields, Connecticut, in 1972. There he worked ten-hour days on other authors' books as well as his own. Outside Over There, which he considers one of his more significant books, was written during this period."
Then I was thinking, didn't I hear something about Spike Jonze making a movie out of this? More searching:
My doubts are balanced by the fact that Paul Dano is in it. We'll see.
