Maurice Sendak passed away today from complications of a recent stroke, at the age of 83. Sendak was one of the most acclaimed and important children’s book authors of the 20th century.
Sendak was specifically known for more than a dozen picture books that he illustrated himself, the most famous being Where the Wild Things Are, published in 1963. Sendak turned the picture book genre-upside down by exploring the darker side of the human spirit.
But the wild things cried, “Oh please don’t go-
we’ll eat you up–we love you so!”
And Max said, “No!”
Max stepped into his private boat and waved good-bye.
— Excerpt from Where the Wild Things Are
We here at GeekMom are mourning a truly great storyteller.
Maurice, please don’t go, we love you so. However, we know for you, the Wild Rumpus has already begun.
Please do yourself a favor and check out the two Colbert/Sendak interviews!
http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/406796/january-24-2012/grim-colberty-tales-with-maurice-sendak-pt–1
http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/406902/january-25-2012/grim-colberty-tales-with-maurice-sendak-pt–2
Katje – they are contained in one of the linked articles above, GeekMom covered the Sandak/Colbert interview in Janruary.