Stephanie Zvirin (Booklist)
Starred Review* This simply written but subtle book became a classic not only because it legitimized children’s angry feelings—and their ability to use their imaginations to deal with those feelings—but also because it showed punishment and love coexisting in a parent-child relationship. When mischievous Max, wearing his wolf suit, romps around the house and drives his mother to distraction, she calls him “Wild Thing” and sends him to bed without his supper. But in the quiet of his room, a forest grows, where claw-footed monsters with horns, Wild Things just like Max, lurk and leap. Max joins their “wild rumpus” and is made “king of all wild things,” but still he misses his home. When he finally returns, he discovers his supper waiting, and it is still hot. Where the Wild Things Are, which was awarded the Caldecott Medal in 1964, has never gone out of print and is now available in several editions including paperback and a twenty-fifth anniversary remastered version. The year 2008 is sure to bring even more attention to this beloved children’s book: Dave Eggers will publish an adult novel based on the 338-word story at the same time that a combination live-action and animatronic movie, scripted by Eggers and directed by Spike Jonze, is released. How Jonze will translate Sendak’s exceptional crossed-hatched-watercolor artwork to the screen remains to be seen. Preschool-Grade 2

Mary Quattlebaum (Children's Literature)
Sendak presents an image of children not as sentimentalized little dears but as people coping with complex emotions such as anger, fear, frustration, wonder, and awareness of their own vulnerability. Max feels anger at his mother, acts out his aggression in a fantasy land as he becomes "king" of his wild and ungovernable forces, and returns hungry, sleepy, and peaceful to the real world, where his porridge is still hot. This is a well-earned and reassuring happy ending for all children wrestling with human nature's darker emotions. It is also available in Spanish. 1988 (orig. 1963), HarperCollins, $15.00, $14.89 and $4.95. Ages 3 up.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Fall 2003)
This fortieth-anniversary edition of the beloved Caldecott-medal-winning book is a reissue of the 1988 edition, which was reprinted from new engravings made from the original art. Category: Picture Books. 2003 (orig. 1988), HarperCollins, 40pp, $16.95. Ages 4 to 9. Rating: 2: Superior, well above average.