One of my favorite things about this children's book is that the way adults respond to it is a great litmus test for how much they get kids.
At it's core, Where the Wild Things Are is a book about a tantrum. Max misbehaves, is sent to his room without supper, imagines a world where he gets to be in charge and let all his monstrous rage out, but when he's had his fun? "Max the king of all wild things was lonely and wanted to be where someone loved him best of all" he says goodbye to the beasts and makes his way back home where "he found his supper waiting for him. And it was still hot." It's still hot. The book describes his journey into and out of Where The Wild Things Are as taking "years, weeks, days" that he can smell his supper "far away across the world" but that's because everything feels so big when you're a kid. Your tantrums feel like they last an eternity but by the time you're back from it, your supper is still hot.
Deep down, Max understands that his mom sent him to bed without supper because she cares about him. Because when he's out having a wild rumpus with the beasts that follow his every command, he still sends them to bed without supper. Max might not understand why, but he sure does repeat that action to the beasts he watches over as king. Supper is still waiting for Max when he returns because his mom understands that even though Max misbehaves, it's not coming from a place of malice. It's a tantrum, and kids come back from that. They don't mean the cruel things they say or do.
So when I see grown ups read this book and go "what the heck?' This book is about a spoiled jerk who gets to boss monsters around and come back home to a nice meal? Where's his punishment??? He didn't learn a thing! What's the lesson?" I'm just amused. "he threatens his mom and she lets that slide??" Dude, the mom calls him a "WILD THING!" and he responds "I'LL EAT YOU UP" a child can't threaten you. "what if this book influences my child to act out, thinking they'll be rewarded??" Kids are going to act out no matter how you raise them.
This book has stayed with me because it's pretty to look at, it scared me, understood me and as I grew older I learned that the author, Maurice Sendak was queer. Sendak was also the son of Polish-Jewish immigrants escaping the Holocaust. He never told his parents he wasn't straight. "All I wanted was to be straight so my parents could be happy. They never, never, never knew." Adults constantly demand moral closure from kids' media. To them, kids have to be taught and disciplined and influenced into the right behaviors. But Where the Wild Things Are isn't that kind of book. This book gave me a space to let out my messy, ugly, tantrum feelings without being judged or punished for it. I didn't have to learn a lesson. I got to go to Where the Wild Things Are and come back when I'm ready.
I'm a children's book author now, and there's something so special about being able to connect to another queer creator through their work like this. My book also talks about how important it is to have the space to just feel and make sense of change. A lot of queer art is inherently challenging. To know that even the stuff we craft to nurture kids can still confound and challenge their parents? "What if this book influences our kids??" some things about queer art never change.
this is relatively minor compared to the above, but something i love about this book is the way max is portrayed. unlike almost all media for kids, he's almost never happy or cute, he almost always looks michievous at best. it's just a very good accurate portrayal of an actual child, a gremlin. i often think about how the "cute child" is for the parents a lot more than for kids.
also the way the illustrations are claustrophobically small at the start of the story (when he is acting up/being punished), then grow to span the entire page, then entire 2 page spreads during the wild rumpus, then, as he calms down, shrink down to exactly 1 page again. feels like such a wonderful metaphor for his emotional journey and ending up in a calm, more grounded place. also the smile he has at the very end (as portrayed above) feels like, oh yeah he has a loving family, he is secure even if he acts up in the moment. as a parent i think all these things are relatable, i see them in my child all the time (max is supposed to be a fair bit older than my kid but i see the same raw emotional building blocks).
a lot of children's entertainment either talks TO children, or is wish fulfillment for parents. where the wild things are is one of the shining examples of a child mind portrayed in a wonderful way, without pretense about teaching anything to child or adult. and in doing that it captures something fascinating. also the wolf suit is awesome
