Obit of the Day

Obit of the Day: Children’s Author Maurice Sendak

According to the New York Times, Maurice Sendak author of children’s classics Where the Wild Things Are, In the Night Kitchen, and the Nutshell Library (Alligators All Around, Pierre, Chicken Soup with Rice, and One Was Johnny) has died at the age of 83.

Sendak who decided to become an illustrator after seeing the Disney film Fantasia, published Wild Things which was awarded the Caldecott Medal for best illustrated children’s book. He would next illustrate Isaac Bashevis Singer’s Zlateh the Goat which would earn Singer the 1966 Newbery Award. He would go on to publsih a total of 16 of his own works and lillustrate over 70 other children’s books.

Over the next five decades Sendak would work with the Children’s Television Workshop and Jim Henson on Sesame Street, Carole King on the television special Really Rosie, and playwright Tony Kushner on the opera and children’s book Brundibar. His last book, Bumble-Ardy was published 2011.

Sendak’s last televised interview was with Stephen Colbert in January 2012. You can watch part 1 here.

Additional source: wikipedia.org

(Image is copyright of Maurice Sendak and courtesy of wikimedia.org)