“The night Max wore his wolf suit and made mischief of one kind and another, his mother called him “WILD THING!” and Max said “I’LL EAT YOU UP!” so he was sent to bed without eating anything.” – Maurice Sendak, Where the Wild Things Are

What is it that makes wild, stubborn, grumpy, characters so much fun to read about? Is it that they say and do exactly what we want to when we’re feeling bad? Or that they throw out the rules and hold a wild rumpus instead? Or is it the end of the story that we like, when despite their atrocious behavior, someone still loves them enough to leave supper for them. “And it was still hot.”

I think it’s D. All of the above.

There’s nothing I love more than a character who’s a little bit unlovable. I admire their fearlessness. I want to romp around in Max’s wolf suit and be queen of the Wild Things. Here are a few of my other favorites Wild Things.

No, David! by David Shannon
The sheer energy and out-of-controlness of ‘David’ bursts out through David Shannon’s wild illustrations. David’s monstery grin and inability to listen, make him both impossible and fantastic. Despite the havoc David wreaks, we still want to hug him along with his mother at the end of the story.

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day written by Judith Viorst and illustrated by Ray Cruz
Poor Alexander. He wakes up with gum in his hair, gets no toy surprise in his cereal, has to eat lima beans (he hates lima beans), has to wear his railroad-train pajamas (he hates his railroad-train pajamas!), his mickey mouse night light burns out, and even the cat decides she likes his brother better. And that’s barely the beginning of his terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. Who hasn’t had days like this? How could you not feel sorry for this very grumpy boy? The best part of this book is its clever and perfect ending. Judith Viorst brilliantly side-steps the sappy ending trap. But I’m not going to ruin it for you.

I’d Really Like to Eat a Child written by Sylviane Donnio and illustrated by Dorothee De Monfreid
This is a slightly outrageous book about a alligator who, you guessed it, wants to eat a child. He refuses sausages and bananas, and sets off to reach his goal. Only when he finally meets a child, do we realize how small he really is. Does he learn his lesson about eating children??? Guess you’ll have to read it to find out.

“I’m not cute!” by Jonathan Allen
This fluffy owl chick despises being called cute by the forest animals around him. He insists instead that he is “a huge and scary hunting machine with great big soft and silent wings.” Not quite yet, but you gotta love his gusto!

Honorable Mention: Olivia by Ian Falconer
Though Olivia is incredibly likeable, she still loves to create a mess and do what she likes. Ian Falconer takes a softer tone on the classic stubborn, unbeatable spirit.

Don’t forget to check out what else I’ve been reading!

Posted in Books, Books of the Week, Characters, I heart this book, Picture books, The Great Picture Book Read

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