Skip to My Lou's create a Wild Thing how-to..fun for your mini-monsters

Beloved children's author Maurice Sendak has had a busy year. He celebrated his 80th birthday, revealed some major personal tragedies and came out of the closet. Adored and loved by young readers and their parents raised on his kooky stories and moving illustrations his books are treasured classics.

In honor of this celebrated author and because my own kids love, love, love him so, especially "Where the Wild Things Are" and "In the Night Kitchen" I thought it would be fun for them to create a few "Wild Things" of their own. Besides I can't resist a good book/craft project. I borrowed this great little make your very own "Wild Thing" How-to from the clever and most crafty Skip To My Lou because it just seemed like it lends itself to some major flowing of creative juices.

This very easy project was meet with much excitement by my 2 year old and 9 year old as they illustrated their funny monster friends after a reading of "Where the Wild Things Are." Granted ours didn't turn out quite as nice as the ones posted on Skip to My Lou's site given my kids were ten minutes past their bedtime when they completed theirs. However, I still loved watching their tiny hands sketching out their very own wild things while their brains were busily concocting wonderful background stories for their funny creatures.

When their wild things were all stitched together and ready for cuddling the kids took turns telling us their magnificent stories.

Our 2 year old daughter explained her wild thing's name was "Rarrr" because she likes to growl and she'll "eat you up, but loves you."

While our 9 year old's story was a bit more involved. His wild thing was named Jack (which didn't surprise my husband and I one bit seeing how most of his stuffed "friends" either are called Alex, Jack or Tommy) and that Jack was a most sincere monster who wears the head of an evil monster around his neck because he was told it would keep him safe. He told us that his monster was very concerned about global warming but was doing something about it by "getting rid of all the evil monsters, eating up all the trash and turning all cars into solar powered cars just by touching them." He also mentioned, this is my favorite part, that his monster has "very meaningful tattoos on his back" and that Jack "has two butts one of which had two eyes just like his brothers."

Oh, and their new friends both earned coveted spots safely cuddled in our kids arms for a good night's sleep.

Link: Wild Things How-to