Where the Wild Things Are.

A triumph of children's story telling, in correct first issue jacket

First edition, first printing, first issue. Criticized at the time of publication for its darker elements, Where the Wild Things Are was soon acclaimed as a triumph of children's storytelling and book design; it has remained a classic of 20th-century children's literature, and was adapted into a film in 2009.

There were multiple issues of the first edition, but this copy is the earliest, distinguished by the Library of Congress number 63-21253 to the title page, the codes 40-80 and 1163 to the front flap, and the absence on the rear flap of the mention of the Caldecott Award bestowed upon the book on publication - the winning of such a prestigious prize compelled the publishers to recall the entire edition and change the text on the dust jacket to include the achievement.