- a boy is disrespectful to his mother and sent to his room without supper
- he imagines himself sailing to a land where monsters roam
- he does a magic trick to make the monsters behave
- upon “sailing” home, he discovers his supper is in his room and still hot
Type: picture book
Ages: 4-7
Author: Maurice Sendak
Every few years, I try again to give this book a chance. I just can’t like it, I’m sorry (but not sorry). The kid is mean, and the parents apparently don’t parent. Strangely, it has become a classic and certainly gives us insight into how culture had shifted by the 1960s (it was originally published in 1963), but, overall, it has no positive lesson to draw from.
There are other discussions out there, if you’re looking for a rabbit hole, which compare this book’s illustrations to demonic literature/history, but even if those inferences weren’t true, I still wouldn’t recommend the book.