Where the Wild Things Are

This article is about the 1963 children's picturebook. For the film adaptation, see Where the Wild Things Are (film). For other uses, see Where the Wild Things Are (disambiguation).

Where the Wild Things Are
The book cover is an illustration of a sail boat coming into a forested shore. On the shore, sleeping against a tree, is a giant furry monster with bare human feet and the head of a bull. Above the illustration, written in uneven block capital letters against a white background, is the title of the book "Where the Wild Things Are" and below the illustration, "Story and pictures by Maurice Sendak".
First edition cover
AuthorMaurice Sendak
IllustratorMaurice Sendak
Cover artistMaurice Sendak
LanguageEnglish
GenreChildren's picture book
PublisherHarper & Row
Publication date
November 13, 1963 [1]
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (wide-format hardcover)
Pages40
ISBN0-06-025492-0 (25th anniversary ed., 1988)
OCLC225496
LC ClassPZ7.S47 Wh[2]

Where the Wild Things Are is a 1963 children's picture book written and illustrated by American author and illustrator, Maurice Sendak, originally published in hardcover by Harper & Row. The book has been adapted into other media several times, including an animated short film in 1973 (with an updated version in 1988); a 1980 opera; and a live-action 2009 feature-film adaptation. The book had sold over 19 million copies worldwide as of 2009, with 10 million of those being in the United States.[3]

Sendak won the annual Caldecott Medal from the children's librarians in 1964, recognizing Wild Things as the previous year's "most distinguished American picture book for children".[4] It was voted the number one picture book in a 2012 survey of School Library Journal readers, not for the first time.[5]

  1. ^ "Where the wild things are". Heritage Auctions. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
  2. ^ Where the wild things are. Catalog Records. Harper & Row. 1963. Retrieved June 17, 2013 – via Library of Congress.
  3. ^ Turan, Kenneth (October 16, 2009). "Where the Wild Things Are". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 12, 2012.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference caldecott was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference SLJ was invoked but never defined (see the help page).