What is the big deal with "Where the Wild Things Are"?

The language is poetic. Each word adds to the story.

The writer respects his readers. He knows that they understand Max and his rebelliousness. He also trusts them to understand Max's mom, and her need to get some control over him.

When the forest grows in Max's room, it is an image that every person I've ever talked to has had - what if my room as the jungle? What if this was the wildest of places?

Max goes on a Quest, part of the Hero's Journey. He meets the Wild Things and is their king. Hundreds of stories go this way. Even Jack Sparrow tells this story: "And then they made me their king..." We all dream of being the King of a Far Land.

But Max wants more. Because he is more than a wild thing. He respects the order that his mother tries to impose on him. He is more than "wild" So he respects himself, grows as a person, and goes home.

And his mother respects his wildness, and leaves him his dinner. And it is still hot (warm, like mother's love)

The child rebels, goes on a journey, indulges his wild nature, then comes home, now understanding his parents better. And his parents understand him, and accept his journey and his need to be his own person. It's the whole story of growing up, all in one picture book.

Pretty Cool.