Where the Wild Things Are - Vinyl Collector Monster Dolls

Where the Wild Things Are monsters make great vinyl toy dolls for collectors and children. They're cute. They have a built-in movie tie-in. They're characters in an award-winning picture book by Maurice Sendak that has delighted teachers, parents, and kids for more than a generation. They have history. Kids love them.

Why wouldn't you want to collect them? Read on for more on vinyl doll collecting, Where the Wild Things Are book and the movie. See which character you like best.

The lure of movie merchendise

For every toy there is a collector. With some toys, it's easy to see why a collector exists. But for others it may not be as obvious. Take vinyl collectible dolls. No, not the baby dolls or those strange "reborn" dolls. Look at dolls that are more toys, more monster than doll. Remember Godzilla? What about all those T-Rex vinyl toys that filled shopping carts several decades ago? Those are the vinyl "dolls" I'm talking about.

I remember vinyl as being cheap. Definitely not collectible. Today those same toys are prized by collectors worldwide. But for some people, vinyl is, well, almost an aphrodesiac. As artist Pete Fowler says, when asked to explain his fascination with toys and molded plastic,

I love the smell of plastic.

It's vinyl in particular, I remember the smell of a Lone Ranger action figure I had as a kid and it was strangely pleasing and comforting. The same goes when I open the box of a new toy or a record for that matter. I think maybe kid's that grew up in the 80s had a plastic appreciation that has been hard wired early on.

For more on Pete Fowler, see video below and check out Monsterism

Are you a collector? Is there something you just have to have? Maybe it's not monsters or vinyl dolls but there's something that gets your heart beating faster and causes you to have a major impulse-buying attack. What is it?

Do you collect toys or some other item? Or is it all a ridiculous habit to you?

Monsters: Max, Goat Boy, Tzippy, Aaron, Bernard, Moishe and Elmo

Here's your chance to collect all the monsters from Maurice Sendak's classic book Where the Wild Things Are.

In the forty years since Max first cried "Let the wild rumpus start," Maurice Sendak's classic picture book has become one of the most highly acclaimed and best-loved children's books of all time. Now, in celebration of this special anniversary, introduce a new generation to Max's imaginative journey to where the wild things are.

1984 Winner, Caldecott Medal

Notable Children's Books of 1940-1970 (ALA)

1981 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Illustration

1963, 1982 Fanfare Honor List (The Horn Book)

1963, 1982 Best Illustrated Children's Books (NYT)

A Reading Rainbow Selection

1964 Lewis Carroll Shelf Award

1981 Children's Books (Library of Congress)

1981 Children's Books (NY Public Library)

100 Books for Reading and Sharing 1988 (NY Public Library)

Kevin Lanre catches up with acclaimed UK illustrator Pete Fowler for Hot 110