No Cover
Harold and the Purple Crayon
Crockett Johnson
Like Max, Harold makes his own adventure from nothing but imagination, drawing a whole world and finding his way back to bed, a gentle classic with the same journey-and-return shape.
12 books to read next
Books Like Where the Wild Things Are
If you loved Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
Where the Wild Things Are captures a child's big feelings, anger, mischief and the need for comfort, in very few words. Readers love how Max's imagination turns a bedroom into a forest and a tantrum into an adventure, how the monsters are both scary and lovable, and how the story circles home to a warm supper. Sendak's lush, wordless spreads, the rhythmic read-aloud text and the respect it shows for children's emotions make it a bedtime favourite.
Imagination takes over
Journey
Aaron Becker
A wordless book where a lonely girl draws a door into a lavish fantasy kingdom, echoing the moment Max's room turns into a forest and his sea voyage begins.
Flotsam
David Wiesner
Wiesner's detailed, nearly wordless paintings reward the same lingering looks that Sendak's big spreads do, opening a hidden, wondrous world from an ordinary day at the beach.
Lovable monsters
The Gruffalo
Julia Donaldson
A rhyming read-aloud with a monster who is scary yet funny, perfect for children who loved roaring with the Wild Things and enjoy a clever small hero.
Go Away, Big Green Monster!
Ed Emberley
Die-cut pages build and then banish a monster, giving little ones the same sense of control over fear that Max shows when he tames the Wild Things.
Leonardo, the Terrible Monster
Mo Willems
A monster who can't manage to be scary leads to a tender friendship, sharing the funny, affectionate view of monsters that makes the Wild Things so loved.
Big feelings, safe return
When Sophie Gets Angry - Really, Really Angry
Molly Bang
Sophie storms out in fury, finds calm in nature and comes home to her family, mirroring Max's tantrum, escape and return to a waiting supper.
The Color Monster
Anna Llenas
A gentle way to talk about the jumble of emotions Max feels, helping young readers name anger, sadness and calm with a friendly monster guide.
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
Judith Viorst, Ray Cruz
Another classic that takes a cross, misbehaving child seriously, with humour and honesty about bad moods that parents and kids both recognise from Max.
More Sendak-era classics
In the Night Kitchen
Maurice Sendak
Sendak's own dreamlike night adventure, where Mickey tumbles into a baker's kitchen, has the same bold art, rhythmic text and bedtime fantasy feel.
Goodnight Moon
Margaret Wise Brown
A quieter bedtime classic whose cozy room and soothing rhythm match the comforting home Max returns to, ideal after a wild night's reading.
The Snowy Day
Ezra Jack Keats
A mid-century classic that, like Sendak's book, sees the world fully from a child's point of view, following Peter's small, wondrous adventure and return home.
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