A prominent psychiatrist said the book would cause fear of desertion, and that Max throwing a tantrum is unacceptable behaviour which appeared to be glorified in the story. Upon its release, many psychologists thought that the book would be very traumatising for young children. Maurice revealed that he too sometimes went to bed without any supper, but for a very different reason – he hated his mother’s cooking! 7. Like Max, Maurice often went to bed without his supperĪfter dressing in his wolf costume and causing chaos in his house, Max is sent to bed with no supper as a punishment. He focused on their appearance as entertainment when he was younger, and this is what inspired the ‘Wild Things’. He soon realised his inventions were similar to his Jewish relatives from his childhood, who came for Sunday lunch each week and often told him he “looked so good we could eat you up”. Maurice began to draw his ‘Things’, which he wanted to be personal creations rather than stereotypical and traditional monsters. The ‘Things’ in the book were based on Maurice’s relatives In the book, when Max’s mother call’s him a “wild thing!” he retorts with “I’ll eat you up!”, which is why he is sent to bed with no supper.Īn image from the 2009 film adaptation of Where The Wild Things Are. When Maurice was a child, his mother often used to call him a “vilde chaya”, meaning ‘wild animal’ in Yiddish. Although his editor loved the idea, Maurice realised he was unable to draw horses, and the idea of the ‘Wild Things’ was born. Max soon finds, though, that ruling his kingdom is not so easy and his relationships there prove to be more complicated than he originally thought.
The initial working title of the book was ‘Where The Wild Horses Are’, and the story was supposed to be about a child who escapes to the land of the wild horses. Where The Wild Things Are was not the original title He continued to illustrate other people’s children’s books, before he was given the chance to write and draw his own. Maurice’s first published work were illustrations for a textbook titled Atomics for the Millions in 1947. Max Pfeifer, Madeleine Greaves, Joshua Jay and Ryan Corr as Claires friends. Maurice actually began his career as an illustrator
President Obama and First Lady Michelle read Where The Wild Things Are Photograph: Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images 2.