My 6-year-old nephew recently spent the night at our house.  At bedtime, we were picking out books to read, and he kept saying that he wanted his "favorite monster book."

It took me a little while to realize that he was talking about Where the Wild Things Are.  The funny thing is, I know he doesn't have that book at home.  He hadn't been over to our house in a while, but when he was younger I used to read it to him when he'd come over -- perhaps a handful of times -- calling it my favorite book.  Imagine my surprise that he'd not only remembered it, but also referred to it as his favorite book.

What is it about Where the Wild Things Are that makes this such a memorable classic?  Heaven knows how many kids have grown up with this book as a staple in their homes, classrooms, and libraries.  Is it the way the story flows easily from page to page, or that the way it's written provides adults with plenty of opportunity to dramatize their reading of it (e.g., "roared their terrible roars" etc. -- how can you not read that dramatically?)?  Or is it the illustrations, which are colorful and take up entire pages?

I think it's probably a little of everything.  Most kids get the idea pretty quickly that Max is escaping to a fantasyland inside his head, and I think that's something they can really relate to.  Add in the illustrations, the flow of the story, and the way it's impossible to read it without being dramatic about it, and it's easy to see why kids love it so much -- and why preschool and kindergarten teachers design whole lesson plans around this book.

So once I realized what my nephew was asking for, did I read it to him?  Of course.  After all, it's my favorite too!