Maurice Sendak: Picture Books and the Wild Things
Maurice Bernard Sendak (10 June 1928 – 8 May 2012) was an American author and illustrator of children’s books. He achieved international acclaim with Where the Wild Things Are (1963), a work that fundamentally changed how picture books could engage with a child’s inner emotional life.
Early Life and Education
Sendak was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Polish-Jewish immigrants Sadie Schindler and Philip Sendak, a dressmaker. His childhood was marked by the death of extended family members during the Holocaust, an experience that introduced him early to mortality. Confined to bed as a child due to health issues, he found solace in books and became enthralled by Mickey Mouse, American comics, and the bright lights of Manhattan.
He was the youngest of three siblings, born five years after Jack Sendak and nine years after Natalie Sendak. Jack also became a children’s book author, and Maurice illustrated two of his works in the 1950s. At age twelve, after watching Walt Disney’s Fantasia (1940), Sendak decided to become an illustrator. He studied at the New York Art Students League under John Groth, who taught him the potential for motion and aliveness in illustration.
Career and Achievements
Sendak began his professional career in 1947 with illustrations for Atomics For the Millions. At twenty, he created window displays for the toy store FAO Schwarz, where the children’s book buyer introduced him to Ursula Nordstrom, an editor at Harper & Row. This connection led to his first children’s book illustrations for Marcel Aymé’s The Wonderful Farm (1951).
His work appeared in eight books by Ruth Krauss, including A Hole Is to Dig (1952), which brought wide attention to his artwork. He illustrated the first five books in Else Holmelund Minarik’s Little Bear series and made his solo debut with Kenny’s Window (1956). In 1962, he published the Nutshell Library, a collection of four small books: Alligators All Around, One Was Johnny, Pierre, and Chicken Soup With Rice.
Sendak’s career extended beyond illustration. He designed sets for operas, notably Mozart’s The Magic Flute. He also illustrated works by other authors, including The Bat Poet (1964) by Randall Jarrell and Zlateh the Goat and Other Stories (1966) by Isaac Bashevis Singer, the latter receiving a Newbery Honor.
Notable Events and Milestones
Where the Wild Things Are (1963) was Sendak’s breakthrough. The book features Max, a boy who rages against his mother for being sent to bed without supper, and explores his fantasy world of wild creatures. The title derives from the Yiddish phrase vilde chaya, meaning “wild beast”—a phrase Sendak said Jewish parents commonly use with their children. Though some parents initially objected to the fanged monsters’ grotesque appearance, the book won the Caldecott Medal, the highest honor for picture books in the United States.
The success of Where the Wild Things Are was followed by two more acclaimed works: In the Night Kitchen (1970) and Outside Over There (1981), forming a trilogy. Where the Wild Things Are was later adapted into an opera by Oliver Knussen and a film by Spike Jonze. Higglety Pigglety Pop! or There Must Be More To Life (1967), inspired by Sendak’s dog Jennie, was his personal favorite among his books.
Awards and Honors
Sendak received the Caldecott Medal for Where the Wild Things Are. In 1987, he was the subject of an American Masters documentary titled “Mon Cher Papa.” He received the National Medal of Arts in 1996. His career was chronicled in Lance Bangs’s documentary Tell Them Anything You Want: A Portrait of Maurice Sendak (2009).
Additional Resources
Sendak’s influence on children’s literature and illustration remains substantial. Critic Margalit Fox described him as “the most important children’s book artist of the 20th century,” noting that he “wrenched the picture book out of the safe, sanitized world of the nursery and plunged it into the dark, terrifying and hauntingly beautiful recesses of the human psyche.” More detailed information about his life and work is available through Wikipedia and other biographical archives.
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