Describing the illustrations of the book “Where the Wild Things are”

1. WHERE THE
WILD THINGS
ARE.
Michelle Martinez

2. ◦ Title: Where the Wild Things Are. Author: Maurice Sendak. Publisher: Harper &
Row
◦ Received the Caldecott Medal in 1964

3. ◦ I believe the style in the illustrations of this book are a
mix of realism and cartoon art. The fact that the little
boy Max looks realistic and the bedroom looks like a
traditional room is where the realism comes in play. But
on the flip side it is full of cartoon art. The “wild
things” are obviously not real life forms. The style
contributes to the message of the book because it
shows us the imagination is important. Everyone needs
to be able to escape the reality of things sometimes.
Although the need to control it and know right time
and right place.

4. ◦ The illustrations help communicate that you need to make sure that when you chose to
use your imagination make sure it is the right time and right place for it. The line does
show this because Max told his mom that “I’m gonna eat you up” ad got sent to his
room. In his room is where the wild things came into play. One of the monsters shows
sharp teeth a little mean looking. Some of the viewpoints from this book can be a little
scary because of the way the wild things are drawn. It also comes of creative and not so
scary as well.

5. ◦ The shapes of these illustrations are simple and supple. I believe that the shape contributes to
the message because it shows that this little boy is leading and the wild things are listening and
following along. Yes the size and shape does matter in this because the wild tings need to look
big and mosterish. The fact that Max is courageous and tame those big old wild things.

6. ◦ The hue and saturation of the illustrations are vivid but muted. The color of the pictures are
monochromatic. The color shows that the mood is very intruding and creative. The feeling of the
fact he is in the forest. The gold of the crown helps show that he is the leader of the wild things.
The green signifies nature. Meaning the trees and plants throughout the book.
◦

7. ◦ The type of tactile impression that I see in these illustrations are subtle and calm even
though the wild things look like monsters. From what I can tell is that te pictures in this
book are two dimensional. When I look at te pictures I can imagine that the wild thing
are bumpy or scaly. The brush strokes make the sky look calm and peaceful.

8. ◦ The illustrations are balanced by the vivid yet subtle tones used throughout. They made some of
the wild things with sharp teeth to be scary but yet they made them smile looking not so scary.
The background is all about being in the forest and it shows that. There is no border that I see the
pages with the illustrations are fully colored. There is some white space only on the pages that
have the words to the story. The proportion of the book is very well done. In Max’s rom there
was a bed that looked like it would fit Max if he were to lie down. The Wild things are bigger than
Max to give the illusion that they are monsters. The composition of the illustrations help the texts
mood well. Max got mouthy with his mom which got him sent to bed. He chose to deal with this
consequence by creating an imanagitive forest where he was a king and tamed the Wild Things.