Where the Wild Things are by Maurice Sendak and published by Red Fox Picture Book is a story about a boy who is banished to his bedroom without supper for being too wild and ends up sailing to meet some monsters. There are a few words on each page so you might want to make time to look at the detailed pictures. Some pictures don't have any words so you or your child/children can make up their own.
Activities
Melon boat
Croissant monster
Croissant claw
Supper discussion
King of Wild Things crown
Paper late monster masks
Playdough monsters
Dressing up
Double sided board
Monster body parts pairs
Imaginary journey around the garden
Make a boat
Make a den
Simon Says (monster version)
Cooking/Food
Max is sent to bed without any supper for being too wild but he sails away on a boat so you could cut some melon into pieces and make a melon boat. Your child/children could make their own flag to go in by using a small square of paper and either an ice lolly stick or a cocktail stick and then stick this in the melon boat. You could make some monster croissants by cutting the croissant along the edge and put some ham and salami in for the tongue and then put raisins, olives or grapes on top for the eyes or if you didn't want them to be monsters they could be monster claws. You could have a discussion with your child about what supper is if they don't know (we don't have supper in our house) and what they think about Max's adventure.
Indoor
When Max meets the monsters they make him the King of All Wild Things so you could make a crown with your child/children using card. Get a strip of card and do one side zigzag and then get them to decorate it with felt tips, sequins, coloured paper and other art and craft bits. Then when finished stick the two ends of the card together with tape, a stapler or glue. Your child/children could create their own monster masks using paper plates and art and craft materials, wool or paint and then you could cut two slits out for the eyes. An ice lolly stick could be attached or string. I hope your child/children don't act too wild like Max! They could create their own monsters using playdough. If you don't have any available you could make some. The recipe I use is 2 cups of flour, 1 cup of salt and 1 cup of water with food colouring in. Mix altogether. If it is too wet add more flour or too dry add a bit more water. If you want to store it and save it for another day put in an air-tight container or bag and store it in the fridge (make sure everyone knows not to eat it). Your child/children could do dressing up and pretend that they are monsters or if you are feeling creative they could make a double sided board using some card with Max's bedroom on one side and the forest on the other side using felt tips, crayons or paint. You could also make a monster body parts pairs game. The monsters have different noses and feet so if you draw them on some card and then draw them again then you could play pairs. Turn them all over and take turns trying to find the pairs. The person with the most pairs at the end wins.
Outdoor
The story is set outside so you could encourage your child/children to do an imaginary journey around the garden. How are they going to react when they see the monsters? They could make a monster den or boat using what is in the garden or a big cardboard box. For something a bit more active they could play Simon Says (monster version). Simon says: roar, march, growl, gnash, jump. You could discuss how the different monsters move and how they feel when Max leaves them.
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