Oblong small quarto. 20ff. Illustrated throughout in color. Sendak's breakthrough book - winner of the Caldecott Medal and now firmly established as a modern classic of children's literature. Its narrative follows Max, whose spat with his mother leads to a fantasy escape to a remote land of "Wild Things," the inhabitants of which deem him "the most wild thing of all" despite their "terrible eyes" and "terrible claws." In making anger and darker emotions the center of the story, this book moved children's literature away from traditional stories of virtue rewarded and bad behavior punished. Despite a sizable print run of 25,000 copies, first editions in dust wrappers approaching collectible condition are fairly uncommon. Text block slightly shaken, upper rear corner rubbed. A very good or better copy in the first issue dust jacket with all relevant points: jacket shows a large chip to rear panel, a small chip to spine head, and a couple of small closed tears. (Hanrahan A58).