Prekindergarten students may have some of the same fears as the little boy in the book. After reading "Where the Wild Things Are" to the class, pass out plain, white drawing paper and crayons to the class. Instruct them to think of a creature or object that they fear. Have students draw the creature, color it and then share the drawings with one another during a circle time meeting.
After reading the book, take another look at the illustrations and the features of the creatures with the children. Use paper bags, yarn and paper to create puppets that mimic the creatures in the book. Prekindergarten students can independently glue objects to the bags if you provide them with precut paper features, lengths of yarn and glue. Have children use markers to add additional details to the puppets.
In the story, the main character Max gets into trouble and is sent to his room. Once there, he imagines going to a place where wild things live. Have prekindergarten students think of a place they would like to go in their imaginations. Discuss the concept of imagination with children. Afterward, have the children draw a large picture illustrating an imaginary place they would like to go.
"Where the Wild Things Are" is a short picture book. After reading it aloud, have students retell the story as you write their sentences on chart paper. Write one or two sentences on each chart, leaving plenty of room for students to draw a picture to illustrate the sentence. Once the class has retold the story, give each student or pair of students a chart with one or two of the retelling sentences on it. Instruct them to draw a picture from the story that goes with that sentence. Hang the class' version of the book on the wall to share. Allow students to use the hanging charts as a literacy center and participate in retelling the story again with a classmate while using the charts.