*Maurice Sendak wrote and illustrated the children’s book, “Where The Wild Things Are”. It was originally published by Harper & Row in 1963 and

quickly gained success. It 1964 “Where The Wild Things Are”

was awarded the Caldecott Medal for its rich illustrations and is well known to many as a

classic even today.*Caldecott Illustration

AnalysisBy: Holly Manns

*Style and Media

According to our text, “Where the Wild Things Are” is widely credited for starting the age of realism within children’s literature. The context deals with strong realities such as misbehaving children and heated exchanges that can occur inside the family dynamic. (Tunnell, p.49). However when analyzing the illustrations of this now classic text in their own entity another rather distinct artistic style emerges; surrealism.

Surrealism is defined as a skewed version of reality. It varies from a realistic depiction of everyday life in subtle differences the mind

might find in a dreamlike state. (Tunnel, 33). The following illustrations display this artistic style

in several unique ways. In the uppermost picture we notice a fairly realistic scene. The main character, Max, is wearing a costume and

causing fairly normal little boy chaos in his pursuit of the families dog. The second image is far from realistic however. It displays imaginary monsters with varying defining features dancing with Max in the moonlight. The indicating factor

that makes this text surrealism is concealed in the background of the first picture. There is a

small and almost hidden drawing of Max’s that looks erringly similar to the monsters he

encounters so far away from home. Without the illustrations this clue would have not been

presented and the conclusion that this adventure was only a rather vivid figment of a little boy’s imagination would have been hard to justify.

*Line

*Line can be a useful artistic element when used correctly to set a mood, advance a story, or to draw the reader’s attention. Maurice Sendak manages to skillfully use

line in his text to achieve all of this and much more.

Lines are used in the first image to direct the viewers eye. The curved lines of the monster as well as the slanted curve of the hill seem to

draw the viewers eye naturally to Max in this scene.

In the second image we see the use of lines to convey movement and

excitement. The curved flag seems to be rippling in the wind. The bow of

the boat is at a angle suggesting rapid movement. The sea is bursting with small curved lines that suggest

rough waters. All of these minuet details add danger and adventure to

Max’s journey.

*Shape

*A unique aspect of “Where the Wild Things Are” is that the story takes place in two different settings. The first that

we glimpse slightly at the beginning and the end of the text is the boy’s home and the second of course being the

home of the wild things. The illustrations in the book cleverly use shape to help bring these rather distinct

places to life for the reader.

This image depicts Max in his real home. Angular shapes are often used ,as in this image, to suggest human made objects.

This is seen in several places throughout this image such as the tent, hanger, and

the stool. They are all harsh and unyielding shapes compared to those

used in the rest of the text. However, they also add a sense of reality to the setting. These are all shapes we are accustomed

to seeing in our own every day life.

In contrast the second illustration portrays many more curved shapes to

suggest something found in nature. The monsters all have rounded forms. They

have smooth noses and their bodies are all lacking distinctive definition. The abstract and oblique shapes add a sense of fantasy

to the story as well as credibility to the theory that the place Max visits is only his

imagination running wild.

*Color

*The use of color can change the meaning of even the most meticulously detailed illustrations. They can be

manipulated into creating an impression of intense action or overwhelming joy. Maurice Sendak was able to use the

adaptable nature of color to his advantage when illustrating “Where the Wild Things Are”.

* The visual above showcases a perfect example of Maurice Sendak’s technique with color. He created a rather gloomy

atmosphere by choosing muted hues of red, yellow, green, and blue. The excitement of the wild things has reached a all time

low at this point in the text and loneness as set in for Max. The lack of bright colors and almost monotone of dark values

reinforces this depressing feeling to the reader.

*Texture

*Texture is defined as the tactical impression communicated by an artist. (Tunnel, pg. 36). It can give

images a three dimensional quality such as in “Where the Wild Things Are” that makes illustrations all the more

real.

*The use of texture is very apparent throughout “Where

the Wild Things Are”. It is perhaps most prominent in

the almost life like fur of the monsters that can be found in

the following images. The illustrator strategically used a

cross hatching technique to replicate a seemingly course

texture.

*Composition

*A lot goes into creating a great and memorable children’s book. Perhaps the most crucial of this is the art of composition.

Composition at its most basic is the unification of all of the other elements in a text such as shape, texture, color, and so on.

By carefully considering these elements as well as their arrangement on a page a author/illustrator can deliver their

story in the most effective fashion possible.

One of the most interesting aspects of composition that can be found in “Where the Wild Things Are” is arguably the unique way Maurice Sendak has arranged and sized his illustrations. Notice in the images above how the pictures start out relatively small but quickly enlarge as the story progresses. This trend continues

on the next slide as well.

The pictures continue to expand until reaching a set point within the text. At that point a reversal seems to occur and the illustrations begin to gradually become smaller in size. The purposeful arrangement of illustrations in this order seems to correlate with Max’s emotions in addition to his imagination. The initial enlargement symbolizes the depth of imagination Max experiences. While he is at his home in the beginning of the story the pictures are relatively small in stature because Max is still in the real world. Then as his adventure begins and grows the illustrations

do as well until the moment Max realizes he misses his home. The dwindling illustration size that occurs at that moment represents the fading of Max’s imaginative world in pursuit of the real one

with his family who loves him best of all.