27 July 2024

Maurice Sendak wrote and illustrated a controversial book for children in 1963 entitled, ‘Where the Wild Things Are’. Some parents objected to it because his illustrations of the monsters were considered grotesque.

Max is mischievous . His mum called him a ‘Wild Thing’. And Max said, ‘I’ll eat you up!’ So she sent him to bed without his supper. That’s where the adventure begins. Max sails off to the land of the Wild Things.

They roared their terrible roars and gnashed their terrible teeth and rolled their terrible eyes and showed their terrible claws until Max said, ‘Be still!’ And he tamed them by staring into their yellow eyes without blinking.

They called him the most wild thing of all and they made him king of the wild things. ‘And now,’ cried Max, ‘Let he wild rumpus start!’ And it went on and on until Max said, ‘Now stop!’ and sent the wild things to bed without supper.

Countless children wrote to Sendak and he always made reply.  To Jim, he sent a card and he drew a Wild Thing on it. ‘Dear Jim, I loved your card.’ he wrote. Later on Jim’s mother wrote Sendak a reply. ‘Jim loved your card so much he ate it!’

‘That to me was one of the highest compliments I’ve ever received. He didn’t care that it was an original Maurice Sendak drawing or anything. He saw it, he loved it, he ate it.’ said Sendak. Jim was just like  Jeremiah who ate the scroll. And so we ‘read, mark and inwardly digest’ the Word of God.