Where The Wild Things Are

I've just read the book "Where The Wild Things Are," by Maurice Sendak. I just wanted to start off my post by noticing how intricately the illustrations are drawn. I enjoyed reading this book and I can see why it is an award-winning piece. As I read, I began to see where the underlying issue was as I saw a young child stray to a land far away from the misunderstanding of his parents; a land filled with things wilder than he. Just as a child would like to assume candy for every meal would be amazing, consequences would follow as the child became sick and needed nourishment. In the story, Max goes to a place where he believes he can behave the way he wants to without fear of punishment. Unfortunately, as with most childhood dreams, the moment comes to pass as Max realizes he is not only hungry, but missed his family. Although Max portrays the story over the time period of more than a year, the entire event is miscontrued through childhood exaggeration and it becomes obvious at the end of the book that in reality the events take place in a matter of hours. Max comes to realize that even though his parents punish him, they love him very much and there really is "no place like home." I couldn't help but put in that cliche when I read that he missed the people that cared about him most. In a way, this book could easily be a message to children thinking of running away, or also just a resource for parents who want their children to understand the reason they are punished and that there will still be a "meal" waiting when they come around.