Introducing...Maurice Sendak

“And now,” cried Max, “Let the wild rumpus start!”

On Monday it was announced that children's author, Maurice Sendak, had sadly died from complications of a stroke. The New York Times named him "the most important children’s book artist of the 20th century" and it's not hard to see why.

Sendak was born in 1928 in Brooklyn, New York to Polish Jewish immigrant parents. Sendak said that the Holocaust in Europe when he was just a child was very difficult as much of his extended family were killed. Once you have read his children's books, the fact that he was affected so early on by something so awful does come as much of a surprise, you might think. His books were brilliant and have been read across the world for decades but there's definitely a darkness to them that you don't always expect from children's books.

His most famous book that brought him international fame was Where The Wild Things Are. That's not to say there weren't concerns to start with. Many parents thought the monsters illustrated in the book were too scary.


That said, the book went on to have almost cult success when it was released in 1963. Although Sendak did illustrate and write other stories, it was another seven years before he saw again the kind of success that Wild Things generated. The Night Kitchen was one of my favourite books as a child and did very well internationally but, once again, some parents had some concerns. This time with the young boy at the centre of the story being depicted naked.

What is brilliant about Sendak's stories is their originality. You won't find a story even close to The Night Kitchen or Where the Wild Things Are and they can be enjoyed by both adults and children:

Where the Wild Things Are (1963) - One night Max puts on his wolf suit and makes mischief of one kind and another, so his mother calls him 'Wild Thing' and sends him to bed without his supper. That night a forest begins to grow in Max's room and an ocean rushes by with a boat to take Max to the place where the wild things are... I won't tell you any more in case you haven't read it but it's a lovely book. Terrifying and touching.

The Night Kitchen (1970) - Mickey falls through the dark into the Night Kitchen where three fat bakers are making the morning cake. So begins an intoxicating dream fantasy, described by the artist himself as 'a fantasy ten feet deep in reality'.

Now get reading!