The story is an offshoot of the original children's book, Where the Wild Things Are, written and illustrated by Maurice Sendak. This book is aimed at preschool age children so it has simpler sentence structures, less scary monsters and more bright colours in the illustrations compared to Maurice Sendak's work.
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The storyline follows Maxine's first encounter with the monster under her bed, whom she runs away from until she gets tired of it and eventually just wants to go back home and go to sleep - only to find out that the monster is actually very lonely and all he wants is a hug.
This story has underlying themes of being scared of the dark, trust, being afraid of the unknown, overcoming fears and realising that not everything is as scary as you think it is. |
The entire book engages with the concept of interactivity.
Upon opening the first page of the book the reader is introduced to Maxine, who is pocketed in a small pouch along with her introduction. Maxine can be tucked into her bed on the following page which remains in the centre of each spread as the pages are turned and different sceneries unfold above her. A tab and slits on the side of the Maxine doll allow her to interact with her environment as well!
This book aims to create that immense sense of wonder and surprise that only kids are capable of experiencing as each page turns. |
Max's Dream Entire Book from Freya Wilson on Vimeo.