Bring on the tough stuff - there’s not just one right answer.
- In the first two pictures in the book, we see that Max has hammered nails into a wall, knotted up a bunch of sheets, used a couple of books as a step stool, strung up his teddy bear, terrorized the family dog, and made a general mess. Is Max a bad kid or is this normal behavior?
- If Max was your child, how would you handle his mischief? Was his mother right to send him to his room? Why or why not?
- Can you remember a time when you got in trouble the way Max does at the beginning of the book? Have you ever been sent to your room or punished in a similar way? Explain what you did and if your punishment was fair.
- Where the Wild Things Are is a picture book. How important are the pictures? Could the story be told just with text? Could it be told just with pictures? Explain.
- When Where the Wild Things Are was first published, some people thought it would be too scary for kids. Can you see why? Do you think they had a point? Is this a scary book? Why or why not?
- Traveling to the land of wild things helps to calm Max down. Why? What do you think the wild things represent?
- Max's mom sends him off to bed without dinner, but then she delivers his dinner to him, still hot. What do you make of that? Why does she bring food to him if going to bed without dinner is his punishment? How will Max learn his lesson if his mom goes back on her word like this? Is this bad parenting? Good parenting? Explain.
- This book is more than 50 years old, but people still love it. Why do you think that is? Does it feel like a book that was written that long ago? Why or why not?