Then all around from far away across the world
he smelled good things to eat
so he gave up being king of where the wild things are.

But the wild things cried, "Oh please don't go—we'll eat you up—we love you so!"
And Max said, "No!"

The wild things roared their terrible roars and gnashed their terrible teeth and rolled their terrible eyes and showed their terrible claws but Max stepped into his private boat and waved good-bye.

Max has drifted off to the wonderful realm of the Wild Things, but when he smells food, he decides he wants to go back home. (Freshly baked cookies—works every time.) The Wild Things? They aren't having it.

Wait, you've never met a Wild Thing? Oh right—that's because this is a fantasy book. The protagonist of the story, Max, is a young child (another hallmark of children's lit) exploring an unknown world (and another). Yep, it's about as kid-ish as you can get. (Just don't forget that Sendak had more up his sleeve than fantasy creatures—most of his stories recall the Holocaust and are way more meaningful than a hungry kid might imply.)

What do you think—are these things terrible? The repetition of that word helps kids remember it. Ever ask a kid, "what do you say?" They know the answer is "thank you." Now if you ask a kid, "what's a Wild Thing like?" they'll hit you back with a big fat TERRIBLE.