And Gnashed Their Terrible Teeth

The first time I was told I was going to be making a blog I thought of Jenna from the TV show Awkward. For those of you who have not seen it it's about a girl who is struggling her way through high school with boy drama, mean girls, and crazy friends. Once I started reflecting on that it got me thinking about how much I miss being a little kid. All teenagers lives have this type of insanity on a daily basis, and what all of us wouldn't give to go back to how things used to be.

As a teenager, you're expected to enjoy young adult books like Twilight and The Hunger Games. While these books are fun to read sometimes, the book that I miss reading the most is Where the Wild Things Are. This book is not just a favorite of mine, but helped me learn how to read. It's simplistic sentences eased me into reading and did not overwhelm me with too many words on a page. I am assuming that this book did not only help me, but other English speaking kids as well. Considering that this book has been turned into a movie I think it is appropriate to infer that other kids are enjoying this book.

I am slightly biased towards Where The Wild Things Are because I have countless amounts of fond memories reading it. As I grow older and look through it again it always reminds me of my dad making funny voices for all of the characters and describing each scene that's illustrated on the page. These kinds of memories I have that connect me with this book may make me enjoy it more  than other people. Too often I am asked what one of my favorite books and I struggle to think of one that does not have a childhood memory attached to it. It is possible that these memories are the ones I hold the most dear so that is why I can enjoy book associated with them more.

Not only do I associate this book with good writing techniques, I also believe that it is very well written. "They roar their terrible roars and gnashed their terrible teeth and rolled their terrible eyes and showed their terrible claws." This quote is an example of how this book uses repetition. Other qualities of good children's books are use of good language that is not too advanced that kids will not understand it and great illustrations to associate words with images; both of these devices is used in Where The Wild Things Are.

While children's books are challenging enough to made a high school student's reading list, they are good to pull out once in a while and reminisce about. The book Where The Wild Things Are is one of my favorites because it brings back fond childhood memories, makes me notice how good writing techniques are used in simple stories, and helps other children learn to read in a similar fashion that I did. Because of these three characteristics, this book would have to be classified as one of my favorite children's books of all time.

Don't forget to vote in the poll about YOUR favorite type of book!