Who is Maurice Sendak?
Brought up in Brooklyn, with parents who left a Poland of virulent anti-Semitism, little Maurice absorbed his parents’ fears for safety and the somber, frightening characters of their shtetl stories and later, the Holocaust. Sendak, who had serious childhood illnesses, admits readily that he was not “out playing stickball in the street” or engaging easily with others. So when Sendak talks about “my first frightened child book,” he says, “It was sad, but they were in for it.” Sendak says he never forgave an uncle for scaring him witless and then denigrating him as worthless after the kidnapping and death of the Lindbergh baby. Little Maurice couldn’t sleep at night unless his father slept on the bedroom floor clutching a baseball bat to safeguard his children. “This is where my insomnia started,” Sendak said. “If they could take a blond, blue-eyed baby with nannies and guard dogs, how much more easily they could take me.” But his uncle said to Maurice’s father, “Philip, who would want y
Maurice Bernard Sendak, born June 10, 1928, is an American writer and illustrator of children’s literature who is best known for his book Where the Wild Things Are, published in 1963. The book won the Caldecott Medal the following year, in 1964. Sendak was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Polish-Jewish immigrant parents. He decided to become an illustrator after viewing Walt Disney’s film Fantasia at the age of twelve. His illustrations were first published in 1947 in a textbook titled Atomics for the Millions by Dr. Maxwell Leigh Eidinoff. He spent much of the 1950s working as an artist for children’s books, before beginning to write his own stories. Sendak continues to write and illustrate today and has even made significant contributions to television and Broadway over the years. He is 80 years old.
Maurice Sendak, a beloved children’s books author and illustrator, was born 10 June 1928 in Brooklyn, New York. As the child of Polish-Jewish parents who immigrated to the US, Sendak lived his childhood virtually shut-in, closed off from the world outside, due to illness. Books were his primary source of entertainment, and they proved to be his best companions throughout his childhood. His imagination blossomed during this time, due to his limited exposure to the world. The Walt Disney movie, Fantasia, which he first saw at 12 years of age, would be one of his biggest influences. Sendak illustrated throughout childhood. His first published illustrations appeared in Atomics for the Millions, which was a textbook published in 1947. As a young adult, Sendak worked for F.A.O. Schwartz, dressing windows, while attending night class at the New York Art Students League. Early illustrating jobs include The Wonderful Farm by Marcel Ayme and A Hole is to Dig by Ruth Krauss. As his style develope
