Maurice Sendak, celebrated author and illustrator was born on June 10, 1928 in Brooklyn, New York. His parents were Jewish immigrants from Poland.

As a child, Maurice was often unwell and had to stay in bed.  He started drawing to pass the time.  He discovered that it was something he loved to do and he became very good at it.

Even before graduating from high school, Maurice had a job drawing comic strip backgrounds for All-American Comics. As a young man, he had a job working on window displays at New York’s famed toy store F.A.O. Schwarz. 

It was there that he met legendary children’s book editor, Ursula Nordstrom. Nordstrom had worked with authors like Margaret Wise Brown, E.B. White and Shel Silverstein. She helped Sendak land his first job illustrating children’s books.

Sendak illustrated dozens of books by notable authors and then began writing his own. In 1956 he published the first book that he had written and illustrated. It was called “Kenny’s Window.”

A few years later, he published his masterpiece, “Where the Wild Things Are.” This book changed the world of children’s literature and was awarded the Caldecott Medal in 1964 for the most distinguished American picture book for children.

It was a massive commercial and cultural success. An estimated 20 million copies have been sold worldwide in over 30 languages. “Where the Wild Things Are” is still ranked as one of the best-selling picture books of all time.

What made this book so different?  At the time, most of the characters in children’s books were sanitized, aiming to teach children manners or morals.  Sendak embraced more realistic and darker emotions like anger, fear, wildness and disobedience.

He didn’t romanticize children. He saw them as emotionally rich and he acknowledged that childhood was full of negative emotions and well as positive.  His text was very short and his illustrations were rich and carried the story.

Maurice continued writing and illustrating.  He had a prolific and decorated career.  He wrote and illustrated many of his own books and illustrated more than 80 books written by others.  He was the recipient of the 1970 Hans Christian Andersen award, the 1983 Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, and the 2003 Astrid Lingren Memorial Award.  President Bill Clinton presented him with the National Medal of Arts in 1996 in recognition of his contribution to the arts in America.

Maurice Sendak died at the age of 83 on May 8, 2012, in Danbury, Connecticut, due to complications of a stroke.  In his life, he didn’t just write and illustrate children’s books, he redefined what they could be. His stories endure because they speak the truth.

They have influenced and entertained children for generations in the past and will for generations to come.  Thank you for your legacy.  One could almost imagine his world-wide fans echoing the words of the wild things, “Oh please don’t go — we’ll eat you up — we love you so!”