Where the Wild Things Are is a controversial book in children's literature. It is criticized as being too violent and scary for young readers. I agree that several of the illustrations may frighten children -- they picture monster-like creatures with fangs, claws and yellow eyes. The child is also shown doing violent activities, like hammering a nail into the wall (something children should not be allowed to do) and chasing his dog with a sharp fork. Sendak also includes some hints of child abuse in this book. The boy is naughty so he is sent to bed without his dinner and his mom calls him "Wild Thing". I believe that children should not have meals taken away as a punishment and it really bothers me that that is the way the child is treated in this book. This is probably not a book that I would like to have in my future classroom, simply because it is violent and I would not want my students to feel frightened/threatened in any way in my classroom.
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