Maurice Sendak

I didn’t grow up with Maurice Sendak books strewn all over my room. As a matter of fact, I didn’t really know anything about Where the Wild Things Are until I was an adult…an older adult. I know, what was I reading as a kid? Steve Canyon books. Dog books such as  Lad a Dog and its sequels by Albert Payson Terhune (I still have those books) or Greyfriars Bobby. Biographies of all sorts.

So, it wasn’t until I was a grown up that I began to appreciate Maurice Sendak. My favorite Sendak book is In the Night Kitchen. I have a copy, of course, and a poster of it in my kitchen.

His interviews with Stephen Colbert just solidified his standing in my eyes. A man with talent and a sense of humor. He seemed so understated.

As it is with so many artists, he was underappreciated (by me, anyway) until his passing. So, now I will begin my reading of all of his books. I’ll be searching antiquarian bookstores for his works. I will begin to appreciate, even more, his talent.

My daughter talks about him all the time. I’ll miss those conversations. Maurice, I will miss knowing that there’s another Sendak book in works.