Tribute: Maurice Sendak

A sad farewell to children’s book author and illustrator Maurice Sendak, who has died at age 83. Where the Wild Things Are is one of my favorite books for any age, from its magnificent first line “The night Max wore his wolf suit and made mischief of one kind and another, his mother called him WILD THING” through the grand rumpus and the terrible teeth to the perfect conclusion: “he found his supper waiting for him, and it was still hot” it is a story of endless depth and poetry.  I love the Nutshell Library with “Alligators All Around” to teach the alphabet, “One Was Johnny” to teach the numbers, “Chicken Soup with Rice” to teach the months, and the best of all, “Pierre” to teach children never to say “I don’t care.” There are superb animated versions of his work, especially Where the Wild Things Are…and 5 More Stories by Maurice Sendak and the Carole King versions of the Nutshell stories, called “Really Rosie.”  The live-action version of Where the Wild Things Are is a brilliant exploration of childhood for grown-ups.

Adults will enjoy his salty interview with Steven Colbert. May his memory be a blessing.