010. Maurice Sendak

Bringing the Wild to Life: How Maurice Sendak Redefined Childhood, Fear, and Imagination Through Art

James Keyser, Time Life Pictures / Getty Images.

Introduction

Maurice Sendak was an American artist and writer best known for his illustrated, genre-bending children’s books.

“I get a kick whenever I see a child react to something I’ve drawn or written. I like getting the letters children write me, and I like having a chance to meet one who has enjoyed a book of mine. Not that I write basically for children. I really do these books for myself. It’s something I have to do, find it’s the only thing I want to do. Reaching the kids is important, but secondary. First, always, I have to reach and keep hold of the child in me.”

— Maurice Sendak

Maurice Sendak transformed children's literature, not by telling simple bedtime stories, but by embracing the raw, complicated emotions of childhood. His books, filled with mischief, longing, and imagination, broke away from the sanitized tales of the past and instead reflected the real fears and desires of young readers. Where the Wild Things Are made him…