• Is it age appropriate?

  About our ratings

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  Not age appropriate for kids under 0, age appropriate for kids over 0; suggested age 2.

• Is it any good?

  5.0

• Common Sense says

  Classic all-ages masterpiece with a wild imagination.

Why We Rated This for Ages 2 and Up

The good stuff

• Educational value:

  A good lesson in the power of imagination.
• Messages:

  Strong themes of unconditional parental love and imagination.
• Role models:

  Max is a great model of a boy using his imagination. He misbehaves around the house and is sent to his room without any supper. He also sends the wild things to bed without supper. Perhaps his behavior toward the monsters means he understands why he was punished, making it a touching gesture when his dinner is waiting for him in his room.
• Illustrations:

  There's a reason why this won the Caldecott Medal. Sendak's giant monster characters are iconic. While they are described as scary in the book, their faces and lumbering frames make them appear almost jovial. You can almost feel the room shake when you watch them cavort in the forest. Max and his new friends dance and cavort through six pages of some of the most whimsical, enchanting, and unique artwork in children's literature.

What to watch out for

• Violence & scariness:

  Max threatens to eat up his parents and the wild things. The wild things gnash their teeth and pretend to be scary but they have rather goofy, kind faces and Max isn't afraid of them.

What Parents Need to Know

About Where the Wild Things Are

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