Tuesday 8 May 2012

Goodbye Maurice Sendak

Sad news today.
Possibly the most influential writer and illustrator of children's picture books died today.

Seminal work from the brilliant Mr Sendak

 
Maurice Sendak, who was 83, will forever be remembered for his brilliant, groundbreaking Where The Wild Things Are.
I read it at primary school, probably at the age of five or six, so in about 1973 or 74 and I have never forgotten it. I felt from the start that this was a book about me and my imagination. I had no problem identifying with Max. I WAS Max. I'm sure every child who read it felt exactly the same.

Maurice Sendak and his creation

  
I was a child who stared out of the window a lot. I daydreamed a lot, spent much of my time scribbling stories and scratching pictures on paper with crayons and pencils.
And I see, from the New York Times's obituary, that Maurice Sendak was exactly the same as a young boy. And he never forgot what it was like to be a child with his head in the clouds.
Thank you, Maurice Sendak, brilliant daydreamer.



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