English 2F - Children's Literature

Discussion #3 - Analysis of a Picture Book

Most people know about Max and the night he wore his wolf suit. I'm willing to bet many of you have this on your bookshelves, or did at one point. Others may have memories of a loved one reading it to them as children.

Directions:

Within the next few days, find a copy of this book, either at the library, in your home, at a preschool or in a bookstore.  (You won't have any trouble locating one, but if you are pressed for time and are on the Gilroy campus, I will put one on reserve in the library. You won't be able to check it out, but you will be able to look at it for an hour, which is more than long enough to complete your analysis.)

Read the book and identify the assumptions it makes about children, what they need and what they are like, and how they perceive the world.  Take another look at the web resources in Module 3 for tips on how to consider the illustrations in your analysis.

Look at this web resource to get you started: http://www.northern.edu/hastingw/wildthings.html

Think about the following questions as you read Where the Wild Things Are:

• What messages is the autho/illustrator sending to the children who read this book? Think not only of the overt messages (i.e. the importance of imagination, the unconditional love of a parent, etc.) but also the more hidden, ideological messages.
• What messages is he sending to the adults who read the book to their children? 
• How does Sendak use illustrations and text together to emphasize his main points?
• Why do you think he has a few pages without text? 
• Why do you think this book is so enduringly popular?

Write a brief (1-2 paragraph) response to one or more of those questions. 

Post your paragraph using the "New Topic" button - think of a creative title for your post, one that reflects your main ideas about the book.

Postings will be due by Thursday, Sept. 21 at midnight.

Respond to at least two of your classmates' paragraphs, remembering that a response is more than just "I agree" or "I disagree". Responses are due by midnight Sunday, Sept. 23.