Why I MUST see Where the Wild Things Are

I don't know about you, but I didn't care much for being a kid. Most folks idolize their childhood experiences and comment about happy they were as a tike, free of worries and obligations. Uh-uh, not me. I hated being told what to do all the time and living under someone else's rule. In fact, I'm convinced I started writing as a silent protest against whatever my parents were making me do at the time. I found my own escape.

Max, a character in the book, Where the Wild Things Are, became my hero sophomore year of college when I took a Children's Lit class. We learned in this class, why some children's books are so highly regarded and popular. Max's story is entertaining, not didactic, and loaded with key illustrations. Whatever! The kid was bad-ass, kicking it with big monsters and telling them what to do. He wasn't happy with the redundant life he was living, so he went ahead and made it the way he wanted! It's classic, and now Spike Jonez is making a movie of it. (See, I'm not the only adult who loves a kid book.)

Though I never wanted to rule a kingdom of monsters in my escapes, I never really did outgrow the moments of imagination. Seeing this book-turned-movie will strongly reinforce what happens when you never stop dreaming, even if you are an adult.