In 1963, author Maurice Sendak wrote a children's picture book about a boy's imaginary journey to while away a supper-less detention. Decades after its publication, the award-winning "Where the Wild Things Are" is a well-remembered treasure. For me, its even more special because I've read Dr. Seuss, Charlotte's Web, Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys... and yet I think there's a special difference in reading "Where the Wild Things Are."

Filmmakers today are on the lookout for the next hot movie that could attract those into fantasy or hero comics. So it was a matter of time before filmmakers trained their sites on "Wild Things." The highly anticipated live-action movie version, with Spike Jonze at the helm, is due in 2009.

But this is not really the first time attempts were made to take on this classic. In 1983, Walt Disney Pictures tried, but never got past previewing and testing the CGI. Another effort was the 1988 7-minute animated adaptation, directed by Gene Deitch and narrated by Peter Schickele, who also composed the music.

Fact: Did you know that the names of the "Wild Things" monsters (yup, they were named!) were derived by Sendak from his uncles' and aunts' names? Now, everybody already knows about the Wolf Suit and the Striped Yeti (or Moishe). You may also recall the Ox (or Bernard; right, they have names!), the Rhino (Aaron), the Griffin (Emil), the Lion (or Tzippy; it was on all fours when it met Max for the first time) and the Goat.

To the right are photos on the best Wild Things costumes on the Web: