Maurice Sendak gave voice to young children’s feelings. Why do kids have tantrums? Because life isn’t fair and they can’t argue with it or control it.
Where the Wild Things Are gave us an outlet for anger.
Little Bear which he illustrated gave us a reflection of love and growing up. I think the stories by Elsa Holmelund Minarik were sweet, but the pictures I examined while the story was read gave it life and helped me make the connections I needed.
Chicken Soup with Rice was not only the title of a fun book that reviewed the months, it became the comfort food of choice when I was little and feeling poorly.
It would be a poor classroom library (at any level) that didn’t have at least one of his books on hand for inspiration.
Here is the BBC article on Mr. Sendak, who passed away in the wee hours this morning.
And a link to Amazon.com’s page on Maurice Sendak, with a short bio and bibliography.
I know from the many stories on the radio and in the news that Mr. Sendak said he was an author and artist, not a “children’s book author and illustrator.” I would say that he was one of the most powerful generators of imagery and meaning for people of my generation (the first to grow up with his work) and for my children. Yes, a true artist, who understood the power of pen and brush.