Maurice Sendak, “Where the Wild Things Are” Author, Dead at 83

DAPs Magic Disney News – by Mr. DAPs

The author of Where the Wild Things Are, Maurice Sendak is dead. The American author died as a result of a stroke he recently had. “We are terribly saddened at the passing of Maurice Sendak. He was a glorious author and illustrator, an amazingly gifted designer, a blisteringly funny raconteur, a fierce and opinionated wit, and a loyal friend to those who knew him. His talent is legendary; his mind and breadth of knowledge equally so,” said President/Publisher of HarperCollins Children’s Books Susan Katz.

Sendak has been called the Picasso of children’s books and illustrated his first book in 1951. Twelve years later in 1963 he created Where the Wild Things Are. This book brought him international acclaim. Through the years he has won countless awards from queens, presidents, library associations and more. His contributions to children’s literature will endure for many years to come.

Here is a list of his awards and honors:

• Caldecott Medal for Where the Wild Things Are, 1964
• Hans Christian Andersen Award for children’s book illustration, 1970
• National Book Award in category Picture Books for Outside Over There, 1982
• Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal, 1983
• National Medal of Arts, 1996.
• Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, 2003 (shared with Christine Nöstlinger)

Sendak was honored in North Hollywood, California, where an elementary school was named after him.

He authored these books: 

• Kenny’s Window (1956)
• Very Far Away (1957)
• The Sign on Rosie’s Door (1960)
• The Nutshell Library (1962)
  • Alligators All Around (An Alphabet)
  • Chicken Soup with Rice (A Book of Months)
  • One Was Johnny (A Counting Book)
  • Pierre (A Cautionary Tale)
• Where the Wild Things Are (1963)
• Higglety Pigglety Pop!, Or: There Must Be More to Life (1967)
• In the Night Kitchen (1970)
• Ten Little Rabbits: A Counting Book with Mino the Magician (1970)
• Some Swell Pup or Are You Sure You Want a Dog? (written by Maurice Sendak & Matthew Margolis, and illustrated by Maurice Sendak) (1976)
• Seven Little Monsters (1977)
• Fantasy Sketches (1981)
• Outside Over There (1981)
• Caldecott and Co: Notes on Books and Pictures (an anthology of essays on children’s literature) (1988)
• We Are All in the Dumps with Jack and Guy (1993)
• Maurice Sendak’s Christmas Mystery (1995) (a box containing a book and a jigsaw puzzle)
• Mommy? (Sendak’s first pop-up book) (2006)
• Bumble-Ardy (2011)

He illustrated the following books: 

• Atomics for the Millions (by Dr. Maxwell Leigh Eidinoff) (1947)
• The Wonderful Farm (by Marcel Aymé) (1951)
• Good Shabbos Everybody (by Robert Garvey) (1951)
• A Hole is to Dig (written by Ruth Krauss) (1952)
• A Very Special House (written by Ruth Krauss) (1953)
• Hurry Home Candy (written by Meindert DeJong) (1953)
• The Giant Story (written by Beatrice Schenk de Regniers) (1953)
• The Tin Fiddle (written by Edward Tripp) (1954)
• The Wheel on the School (written by Meindert DeJong) (1954)
• Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle’s Farm (written by Betty MacDonald) (1954)
• Happy Hanukah Everybody (written by Hyman Chanover & Alice Chanover) (1955)
• Little Cow & the Turtle (written by Meindert DeJong) (1955)
• Singing Family of the Cumberlands (written by Jean Ritchie) (Oxford University Press, 1955)
• What Can You Do with a Shoe? (written by Beatrice Schenk de Regniers) (1955 recolored in 1997)
• Seven Little Stories on Big Subjects (written by Gladys Baker Bond) (1955)
• I Want to Paint My Bathroom Blue (written by Ruth Krauss) (1956)
• The Birthday Party (by Ruth Krauss) (1957)
• Little Bear, written by Else Holmelund Minarik and illustrated by Maurice Sendak (there was also a TV series based on this series of books)
  • Little Bear (1957)
  • Father Bear Comes Home (1959)
  • Little Bear’s Friend (1960)
  • Little Bear’s Visit (1961)
  • A Kiss for Little Bear (1968)
• Along Came a Dog (written by Meindert DeJong) (1958)
• No Fighting, No Biting! (written by Else Holmelund Minarik) (1958)
• What Do You Say, Dear? (written by Sesyle Joslin) (1958)
• Seven Tales by H. C. Andersen (translated by Eva Le Gallienne) (1959)
• The Moon Jumpers (text by Janice May Udry)(1959)
• Open House for Butterflies (by Ruth Krauss) (1960)
• Best in Children’s Books: Volume 31 (various authors and illustrators: featuring, Windy Wash Day and Other Poems by Dorothy Aldis with illustrations by Maurice Sendak) (1960)
• Best in Children’s Books: Volume 41 (various authors and illustrators: featuring, What the Good-Man Does Is Always Right by Hans Christian Andersen with illustrations by Maurice Sendak) (1961)
• What Do You Do, Dear? (written by Sesyle Joslin) (1961)
• The Big Green Book (written by Robert Graves) (1962)
• Mr. Rabbit and the Lovely Present (written by Charlotte Zolotow) (1962)
• The Singing Hill (written by Meindert DeJong) (1962) (Harper Row)
• Dwarf Long-Nose (written by Wilhelm Hauff, translated by Doris Orgel) (1963)
• The Griffin and the Minor Canon (written by Frank R. Stockton) (1963)
• How Little Lori Visited Times Square (written by Amos Vogel) (1963)
• She Loves Me…She Loves Me Not… (written by Robert Keeshan AKA Captain Kangaroo) (1963)
• McCall’s: August 1964; VOL XCI, No 11 (featuring The Young Crane by Andrejs Upits and Illustrated by Maurice Sendak)
• The Bee-Man of Orn (written by Frank R. Stockton) (1964)
• The Animal Family (written by Randall Jarrell) (1965)
• Hector Protector and As I Went Over the Water: Two Nursery Rhymes (traditional nursery rhymes) (1965)
• Lullabyes and Night Songs (written by Alec Wilder and edited by William Engvick) (1965)
• Zlateh The Goat (written by Isaac Bashevis Singer) (1966)
• The Bat-Poet (written by Randall Jarrell) (1964)
• A House of Sixty Fathers (written by Meindert De Jong) (1966)
• The Saturday Evening Post: May 4, 1968; 241st year, issue no. 9 (features Yash The Chimney Sweep by Isaac Bashevis Singer and is illustrated by Maurice Sendak)
• I’ll Be You and You Be Me (written by Ruth Krauss) (1973)
• The Juniper Tree and Other Tales from Grimm: Volumes 1 & 2 (Translated by Lore Segal with four tales translated by Randall Jarrell) (1973 both volumes)
• King Grisly-Beard (by Brothers Grimm) (1973)
• Pleasant Fieldmouse (by Jan Wahl) (1975)
• Charlotte and the White Horse (by Ruth Krauss) (1955)
• Fly by Night (by Randall Jarrell) (1976)
• The Light Princess (by George MacDonald) (1977)
• Shadrach (by Meindert Dejong) (1977)
• The Big Green Book (by Robert Graves) (1978)
• Nutcracker (written by E.T.A. Hoffmann) (1984)
• The Love for Three Oranges (The Glyndebourne Version written by Frank Corsaro based on L’Amour des Trois Oranges (by Serge Prokofiev) (1984)
• Circus Girl (by Jack Sendak) (1985)
• In Grandpa’s House (by Philip Sendak) (1985)
• The Cunning Little Vixen (by Rudolf Tesnohlidek) (1985)
• Dear Mili (written by Wilhelm Grimm) (1988)
• Sing a Song of Popcorn (by Beatrice Schenk de Regniers with various illustrators including Maurice Sendak) (1988)
• The Big Book for Peace (by various authors and illustrators, cover also by Maurice Sendak) (1990)
• I Saw Esau (edited by Iona Opie and Peter Opie) (1992)
• The Golden Key (by George MacDonald) (1992)
• We Are All in the Dumps with Jack and Guy: Two Nursery Rhymes with Pictures (traditional nursery rhymes) (Harper Collins) (1993)
• Pierre: or, The Ambiguities: The Kraken Edition (by Herman Melville) (1995) ISBN 978-0-06-118009-5
• The Miami Giant (written by Arthur Yorinks) (1995)
• Frank and Joey Go to Work (by Arthur Yorinks), also has additional illustrations by Ky Chung (1996)
• Penthesilea (written by Heinrich von Kleist and Translated and Introduced by Joel Agee) (1998)
• Dear Genius: The Letters of Ursula Nordstrom (by Ursula Nordstrom – Author, Leonard S. Marcus – Editor)
• Swine Lake (written by James Marshall) (1999)
• Brundibár (written by Tony Kushner) (2003)
• Sarah’s Room (written by Doris Orgel) (2003)
• The Happy Rain (written by Jack Sendak) (2004)
• Bears! (written by Ruth Krauss) (2005)