King of the Wild Arts

     

(please excuse the damages, this book survived a flood)

(please note my wild thing laying in the back, Maxwell, my dog)

         As famous as the combinations of the realistic story line with the surrealistic images, along with the muted colors and wonderful use of line are, it may come to a surprise that I had never read this story. I've hear of the title before, and have seen countless murals, posters, and copies of the book everywhere still, I had never read the book. I know, I know, impossible! I can guarantee you that it is not that impossible to not read. To be honest, I was never drawn to the images. They looked too gloomy, and I always wondered why it had a medal on the cover, surely it had to be for the story. If you know the book well, you can imagine my surprise when I realized that the medal it won is a Caldecott (awards the illustrator for his/her work).
     I had finally put this book in the back burner and when I was to read a Caldecott winner as an assignment, I had to read Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. It is needless to say that my feelings towards the book have changed.
     I still think the illustrations are a bit gloomy, though. Max, the main character, is a very energetic and imaginative boy who gets into trouble. When in his room, he creates a whole new world where the wild things are. He is made king of the wild things, and alas he returns home for supper.

 The usage of lines is very present and help guide the reader's eyes focus on where Sendak wants us to focus. For example, when Max became the King of the wild things. The curbs of the monster along with the curbs of the hill in contrast to the straight lines in the background forces your eyes to look at Max.

The details the lines create on the monsters, make the fur realistic and the monsters themselves almost 3 dimensional. 

The lines also create movement in the water as Max is sailing. The movement the lines create bring the smell of salt and the sound of the waves crashing against the boat.



 After reading the whole book and looking at the images, I noticed that the colors were not as pale as to when we get to the scene where Max sends the monsters to bed. I realize that the muted colors of this scene, on the monsters to be exact, depict the feeling Max is experiencing, sadness.

 Last but not least, I noticed that the images get larger and larger as the story progresses. The enlargement of the images, I suppose are correlated with Max's feelings as well. The images enlarge as Max goes to where the wild things are, and begin to reduce at the time where Max sends the monsters to sleep and he begins to miss home.

 

 


     For so long, I ignored this book. For so long, I pushed this book further down in my reading list. For so long, I did exactly what I tell my kids not do; judge a book by its cover. I will not do the same mistake twice. Now, I have a recent example of why not to judge a book by its cover only; Also, how sometimes a book we don't think we'll like, becomes one of our favorites.