(Chosen as a book with similar tension to The Cat in the Hat)
This is the story of a little boy, Max, who puts on a wolf suit and goes wild, eventually telling his mother he’ll eat her. When he gets sent to bed, his imagination takes over, and his room turns into an overgrown forest. An ocean forms and a boat is there at the coast. He hops on and sails for years to a place where the wild things are. He tames them, and they make him their king. They have a lot of fun, but eventually, Max misses his mom, and even though the wild things don’t want him to, he decides to sail home to his room, where his mother has left him dinner on a table by the bed.
This book appeals to children because of its use of imagination. Children love to pretend they are in places that they are not. As a child, I routinely turned my bedroom into a fort. Others turn theirs into a castle or into a dragon's lair. It's just part of what little kids do.
While there are many things this book does not have in common with The Cat in the Hat, I believe there is a similar tension. Specifically, both stories have the idea of a child deciding between their civilized home, in the house, with their mother, and a wild, adventurous life with an untamed animal. Both little boys spend some time in the company of the animals, but eventually decide that the animals must go.
Where the Wild Things Are is currently under film production. It will be directed by Spike Jonze. The movie trailer is below. This video was embedded from youtube.com, and can also be found on the official website for the movie, which is
http://wherethewildthingsare.warnerbros.com/ .
Sendak, M. (1963). Where the wild things are. New York, NY: Harper
Collins.
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