My heart almost skipped a beat yesterday when I saw the trailer for the new Where the Wild Things Are film, perhaps because the classic children's book by Maurice Sendak was one of my first encounters with the idea of running away - a concept that I still so closely associate with travel.
For those of you who don't know the premise, it's the story of Max, a bad little boy who was sent to bed without any supper. When he arrives in his bedroom, he finds it transformed into a magical forest, one inhabited by tremendous beasts who crown him king. But Max eventually grows homesick and returns back home, where his supper is waiting for him, still hot. The book was only 10 sentences long, but it won a Caldecott Medal and is considered a literary classic (did you know that Sendak named many of the beasts after his aunts and uncles?); its adaptation was written by Dave Eggers and directed by Spike Jonze. Mark your calendars for October 16, 2009, when the film will be released.
Is there a children's book that inspired you to travel? Let us know in the comments, or email us your favorites.
Read More: Cinematical has some fantastic still images from the film. Read more about Sendak's life and work in the notes from "Wild Things: The Art of Maurice Sendak" which was exhibited at the Jewish Museum in 2005.
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I and my daughter love Where the Wild Things Are! Can't wait! When does it come out? I totally love the trailer! Of course, I am very fond of Spike Jonze as well!
Children's book that inspired me to travel? Polar Express. Every time I read it, I'd get butterflies the moment the boy stepped on the train.
i LOVED that book growing up. the trailer is fantastic and great music. also love that the screen play was adapted by dave eggers.
thanks for sharing!
anne
The book that inspired me to travel as a child was The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pene DuBois. The far out nature and adventure of travel in that book made me want to see it all!