Meet the wild things

Bendigo Weekly | Bendigo Weekly | 10-May-2012

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This week, Maurice Sendak died.
Has any other writer-illustrator had as much impact on children’s publishing?
The magic brilliance of Where the Wild Things Are made it possible to embed danger and fear within picture books while at the same time putting hope, courage and faith in humanity at its very core.
The facts of Sendak’s life are well-documented: his American Jewish upbringing, his decision to become an illustrator when he saw the amazing Walt Disney film, Fantasia, his apprenticeship illustrating picture books during the 1950s.
Then came Where the Wild Things Are, which he wrote and illustrated.
What Sendak has done for us, time and time again, is challenge us. When he wrote and illustrated a book called In the Night Kitchen in 1970, he caused one of those painful but perhaps necessary debates about how to protect children. The little boy in the story was naked, and many American states decided that wasn’t acceptable and banned the book.
Sendak lived with psychoanalyst Eugene Glynn for 50 years and when Glynn died in 2007, what Sendak said was revealing and sad: “All I wanted was to be straight so my parents could be happy. They never, never, never knew.”
He was grumpy, apparently, but also, as you see in the books, wonderfully wise, and caring. He was a campaigner for justice and fairness, and, most importantly, he was kind.
We are All in the Dumps with Jack and Guy, published in 1993, is an example of how Sendak combined humour with the bleakest observations of cruel and foolish human beings.
Sendak had a stroke, which caused his death on Tuesday.
He published a book last year, Bumble-Ardy, and it looks like a final book will come out posthumously, next year.
If your child hasn’t had the opportunity to meet the wild things, now is the time. – Rosemary Sorensen
iris commented on 15-May-2012 01:36 PM5 out of 5 stars
Here here!. Sendak's books say YES to the real child not the ichild, in us all. This is from Higglety Pigglety Pop! - written for his Sealyham Terrior - Jennie. "Hello. as you probably noticed, I went away forever. I am very experienced now and very famous.
I am even a star. Every day I eat a mop, twice on Saturday. It is made of salami and that is my favourite. I get plenty to drink too, so don't worry. I can't tell you how to get to the Castle Yonder because I don't know where it is. But if you ever come this
way, look for me." By now, Sendak may well be in Castle Yonder too and there'd be worse things to do with your life than looking for that very place.

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