Maurice Sendak
Maurice Sendak
Maurice Bernard Sendakwas an American illustrator and writer of children's books. He became widely known for his book Where the Wild Things Are, first published in 1963. Born to Jewish-Polish parents, his childhood was affected by the death of many of his family members during the Holocaust. Besides Where the Wild Things Are, Sendak also wrote works such as In the Night Kitchen, Outside Over There, and illustrated many works by other authors including the Little Bear books by Else...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionChildren's Author
Date of Birth10 June 1928
CityBrooklyn, NY
CountryUnited States of America
The magic of childhood is the strangeness of childhood — the uniqueness that makes us see things that other people don't see.
I do not remember any proper children's books in my childhood. I was not exposed to them.
I remember my own childhood vividly...I knew terrible things. But I knew I mustn't let adults know I knew. It would scare them
William Blake really is important, my cornerstone. Nobody ever told me before he did that childhood was such a damned serious business.
Why is my needle stuck in childhood? I don't know why. I guess it's because that's where my heart is.
I had a brother who was my savior, made my childhood bearable.
Childhood is a tricky business. Usually, something goes wrong.
I said anything I wanted because I don't believe in children I don't believe in childhood. I don't believe that there's a demarcation. 'Oh you mustn't tell them that. You mustn't tell them that.' You tell them anything you want. Just tell them if it's true. If it's true you tell them.
Childhood is cannibals and psychotics vomiting in your mouth!
Children surviving childhood is my obsessive theme and my life's concern,
I've convinced myself - I hope I'm right - that children despair of you if you don't tell them the truth.
People from New York have been calling, to see if I'm still alive. When I answer the phone, you can hear the disappointment in their voice.
Do parents sit down and tell their kids everything? I don't know. I don't know.
It dawned on me that art was the way I could survive.