Disagree with consensus
I'm puzzled why this book won a Caldecott award and garnered almost universal praise. It is certainly not an improvement over Harold and the Purple Crayon and Where the Wild Things Are, both of which I thought were of the highest quality. Some suggest the book for 3 year olds and up. The book may be appropriate for a ten year old, but I think the drawings while beautiful are much too cluttered for young children.
I bought the book for a 3 year old and was very disappointed.