Where the Wild Things Are CD [Audiobook, Unabridged] [Audio CD]

Maurice Sendak (Author), Tammy Grimes (Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 29, 2007 | Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are was published in 1963 to great critical acclaim. Brian O'Doherty of The New York Times said that Mr. Sendak's work, "disguised in fantasy, springs from his earliest self, from the vagrant child that lurks in the heart of all of us."

Where the Wild Things Are is the first book in a trilogy that includes In the Night Kitchen, published in 1970, "a profoundly engaging fantasy that ought to become a classic" (The New York Times) and Outside Over There, published in 1981, which Newsweek called "extraordinary... triumphantly moving."

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Where the Wild Things Are is one of those truly rare books that can be enjoyed equally by a child and a grown-up. If you disagree, then it's been too long since you've attended a wild rumpus. Max dons his wolf suit in pursuit of some mischief and gets sent to bed without supper. Fortuitously, a forest grows in his room, allowing his wild rampage to continue unimpaired. Sendak's color illustrations (perhaps his finest) are beautiful, and each turn of the page brings the discovery of a new wonder.

The wild things--with their mismatched parts and giant eyes--manage somehow to be scary-looking without ever really being scary; at times they're downright hilarious. Sendak's defiantly run-on sentences--one of his trademarks--lend the perfect touch of stream of consciousness to the tale, which floats between the land of dreams and a child's imagination.

This Sendak classic is more fun than you've ever had in a wolf suit, and it manages to reaffirm the notion that there's no place like home. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Review

The illustrations work brilliantly to bring the story to life and this is a great book to read with a younger child, or for an early reader to try on their own. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Audio CD
• Publisher: HarperFestival (May 29, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061227404
• ISBN-13: 978-0061227400
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (549 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #303,770 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #2 in Books > Books on CD > Authors, A-Z > ( S ) > Sendak, Maurice

More About the Author

For more than forty years, the books Maurice Sendak has written and illustrated have nurtured children and adults alike and have challenged established ideas about what children's literature is and should be. The New York Times has recognized that Sendak's work "has brought a new dimension to the American children's book and has helped to change how people visualize childhood." Parenting recently described Sendak as "indisputably, the most revolutionary force in children's books."
Winner of the 1964 Caldecott Medal for Where the Wild Things Are, in 1970 Sendak became the first American illustrator to receive the international Hans Christian Andersen Award, given in recognition of his entire body of work. In 1983, he received the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award from the American Library Association, also given for his entire body of work.
Beginning in 1952, with A Hole Is to Dig by Ruth Krauss, Sendak's illustrations have enhanced many texts by other writers, including the Little Bear books by Else Holmelund Minarik, children's books by Isaac Bashevis Singer and Randall Jarrell, and The Juniper Tree and Other Tales from Grimm. Dear Mili, Sendak's interpretation of a newly discovered tale by Wilhelm Grimm, was published to extraordinary acclaim in 1988.
In addition to Where the Wild Things Are (1963), Sendak has both written and illustrated
The Nutshell Library (1962), Higglety Pigglety Pop! (1967), In the Night Kitchen (1970), Outside Over There (1981), and, We Are All in the Dumps with Jack and Guy (1993). He also illustrated Swine Lake (1999), authored by James Marshall, Brundibar (2003), by Tony Kushner, Bears (2005), by Ruth Krauss and, Mommy? (2006), his first pop-up book, with paper engineering by Matthew Reinhart and story by Arthur Yorinks.
Since 1980, Sendak has designed the sets and costumes for highly regarded productions of Mozart's The Magic Flute and Idomeneo, Janacek's The Cunning Little Vixen, Prokofiev's
The Love for Three Oranges, Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker, and Hans Krása's Brundibár.
In 1997, Sendak received the National Medal of Arts from President Clinton. In 2003 he received the first Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, an international prize for children's literature established by the Swedish government. Maurice Sendak was born in Brooklyn in 1928. He now lives in Connecticut.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

81 of 86 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Story for the Ages, December 12, 1999

By 

Donald Mitchell "Jesus Loves You!" (Thanks for Providing My Reviews over 110,000 Helpful Votes Globally) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Where the Wild Things Are (Hardcover)

My two sons absolutely loved this book. They liked the idea of going 'where the wild things are' and the book inspired a lot of play in our house. The book nicely balances the child's need for imaginative thinking with a sense of limits, and the pleasures of home. The illustrations clearly make this book great, because they provide a launch pad for this imaginary place. This is one of a handful of books that will bond you with your child for the rest of your lives. Don't miss that opportunity!

Unlike some children's books which are a little boring for the adults to read after the 350th time, I always enjoyed this one because I could think new thoughts each time I read it.

I think this is one of the best five books for children.

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inside The Mind Of A Child, November 30, 1999

By 

Lisa Forrest (Sunman, IN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Where the Wild Things Are (Hardcover)

My mother first bought this book for my oldest son. It has endured as a beloved favorite to all three of my boys. I think that children can really identify with Max and his thoughts. When he is sent to his room for misbehavior, his imagination helps him to run away to where the wild things are and collect his thoughts. I believe that the author must remember what its like to be a child and feel like no one understands, and not quite understanding yourself. Ruling the wild things helps Max understand that he just wants to feel loved, and helps parents to keep in mind that such outbursts from children are generally cries for attention--for someone to love them best of all. Mr. Sendak understands children! When you read this book it will transport you back to your own childhood and you will remember that lost feeling of being a child. Bravo, Maurice! You are my hero!

41 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must-Have!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, December 5, 2007

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Where the Wild Things Are (Hardcover)

This is a story of a very bad boy's day of imaginative roll playing and final acceptance of his place in the real world. I love reading it to my little siblings and watching as their little faces lit up in recognition of adventures they had endured during their own periods of bad behavior... Check it out and get it for your brother or your listtle sister. Another MUST HAVE for older kids is the series Why Some Cats are Rascals, Book 2 by Nowiki. Very captivating and touching stories showing the world with cats eyes