Literature I Practical Work 08/09/2014

Alvarez, Ana Paula.

Carossini, Lujn.
Merli, Eugenia.
Analysis of childrens literature
We think that they had in mind writing a book for children, although Sendak
says in an interview that he doesnt write for a specific audience, he just writes for
whoever is willing to read his books. We can tell that these stories are mainly for
children because their vocabulary is simple and the whole stories go hand in hand
with pictures which show what is being narrated. Theres another important
characteristic that Nodelman talks about in The Hidden Adult and refers to this
action of always going back home after being away as we can see in both stories,
when Max returns to his actual bedroom to find safety; or when Peter goes back
home after playing outside all day.
As regards the language used, as we said, its simple, there is not much
detailed description and theres a focus in actions. Also, the books are in the thirdperson narrative, which is a common characteristic in childrens literature. There
are lots of pictures which are essential for the narration of the stories, they act as a
graphic background and often show the emotions and the descriptions of things,
people or situations words dont explain. One example is in Where The Wild Things
Are, when the narrator says Max made mischiefs but doesnt explain what he
actually did, but the pictures clearly show it.
In relation to the strange events in Sendaks book, we can see that he tried
to put emphasis in the situations, making the reader sense what the protagonist
feels. Maybe the strangest event is the forest growing in his tiny bedroom, but we
think what the narrator tried to do there, was to make natural the fact that a child
can imagine and even create a real world.
The protagonists in Where The Wild Things Are is Max and in The Snowy
Day, a boy called Peter. In our opinion, these characters were chosen because
they represent children in general, their personalities, innocence, lack of
knowledge, physical features, their points of view of the world and childish
manners.
The adults that appear in the books are two mothers and their roles are that
of being protective as well as authoritative and influential over their children. In our

opinion, these parents always stay at home and which it represents a safe place
where they can be safely childlike (Nodelman, P. The Hidden Adult. p. 78)
In both books, innocence plays a central role, as well as imagination. In the
case of The Snowy Day, it clearly shows when Peter puts a snowball in his pocket
thinking it was going to stay like that. Later, he feels really sad when he looks into
his pocket to find nothing. This scene also invites the readers to think what it feels
to be nave and to possess that lack of knowledge only kids have. Theres also an
example of imagination, when Maxs mother punished him for misbehaving and
called him wild thing. This wild world he created in his bedroom was a way of
escaping the reality his mother had put him into. Nodelman talks about how
protagonists in fairy tales seem to create a space where they can get what they
want and be happy with it (Nodelman, P. The Hidden Adult. p. 81)
Personally, we think the children are not the same at the end of the stories
although the narrator says nothing about it. Theres a change as regards the things
they had experienced, like the adventures of Peter, or Max realizing the importance
of coming home after being away for so long, he started to miss the love of his
mother and her protection, two things he didnt find in his imagine world.