Image: Wikimedia
“And sailed back over a year
and in and out of weeks
and through a day
and into the night of his very own room
where he found his supper waiting for him
and it was still hot”
Maurice Sendak passed away Tuesday due to complications from a recent stroke. He was 83. Sendak wrote and illustrated dozens of children’s books, which earned plenty of recognition, and he won the prestigious Caldecott Medal, the Hans Christian Andersen medal for illustration and the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal. In 1996, President Clinton awarded him a National Medal of the Arts for his work. His characters were often difficult and bossy, but always a pleasure to read about. He was best known for his book, Where the Wild Things Are.
In this classic story, Max gets in trouble for being rambunctious and decides to run away to a land where he can express his wild side. However, he soon grows tired of the chaos and decides he “wanted to be where someone loved him best of all,” so he returns home. For many, this book is a reminder of what our imaginations are capable of. Sendak’s ability to capture both the bittersweet difficulty of young children and the warmth and loving care of parents made Where the Wild Things Are a bedtime favorite for millions of children.
Rest in peace, Mr. Sendak.
