Who was Maurice Sendak?

Former President Bill Clinton called him “the King of Dreams.” A critic dubbed him “the Picasso of children’s literature.” In his more than 60 year career, Maurice Sendak illustrated more than a hundred picture books. Some of his most famous books include Chicken Soup with Rice (1962), Where the Wild Things Are (1963), and In the Night Kitchen (1970).

Maurice Sendak was born in 1928 in Brooklyn, New York, to Jewish immigrant parents from Poland. As a child, Sendak loved listening to stories told by his father and uncle. He illustrated his first stories on cardboard and shared them with his family and friends. He loved to create stories and draw the people he saw around his neighborhood. Outside of a few art classes, Sendak was a self-taught artist.

Maurice Sendak won numerous awards for his books and illustrations, including the Caldecott Award, the Hans Christian Andersen Award, the National Book Award, and the National Medal of Arts. His books have been translated into dozens of languages for children and adults across the world.

Still, after his death in 2012, Maurice Sendak’s books bring much joy and pleasure to millions of children and adults.