Discovering Wild Things Are, Thanks to Sendak
Maurice Sendak, the writer who gave us a most honest view of childhood, died today at the age of 83. Click here for the lovely write-up of his life by AP reporter Hillel Italie: 'Where Wild Things Are' author Maurice Sendak dies.
However, I made a special trip to Manhattan during the summer of 2005 to spend most of a day in the Jewish Museum, peering into the life-size world of Wild Things and more. I left with a few books (imagine that) — but not the ones everyone else seemed to favor (imagine that, too). I didn't want his round, soft monsters, but his dark, illustrated folks tales and fables. What I was most glad to take with me from the museum was a new appreciation of an author I finally took the time to meet. I thought much about him as I meandered through the city, munching on an H&H bagel and wondering if the night sky would be the same color now that I had been in his world.
I am grateful for his vision and respect for children, to trust them enough to tell them what he really thought. I wish him, his family and his fans peace. May we continue to appreciate his vision and how he gallantly recorded it — but most of all, how he generously shared it.
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