Maurice Sendak
| Maurice Sendak | |
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Sendak in 2009
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| Born | Maurice Bernard Sendak June 10, 1928 Brooklyn, New York, USA |
| Died | May 8, 2012 (aged 83) Danbury, Connecticut, USA |
| Occupation | Artist, illustrator, writer |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Art Students League of New York |
| Period | 1947–2012 |
| Genre | Children's literature, picture books |
| Partner | Eugene Glynn (1957–2007; Glynn's death) |
| Relatives |
Philip Sendak (father) Sadie Schindler (mother) Jack Sendak (older brother) Natalie Sendak (sister) |
Maurice Bernard Sendak (/ˈsɛndæk/; June 10, 1928 – May 8, 2012) was an American illustrator and writer of children's books. He became widely known for his book Where the Wild Things Are, first published in 1963. Born to Jewish-Polish parents, his childhood was affected by the death of many of his family members during the Holocaust. Besides Where the Wild Things Are, Sendak also wrote works such as In the Night Kitchen, Outside Over There, and illustrated many works by other authors including the Little Bear books by Else Holmelund Minarik.
Sendak was born in New York City in the borough of Brooklyn to Polish Jewish immigrant parents named Sadie (née Schindler) and Philip Sendak, a dressmaker. Sendak described his childhood as a "terrible situation" due to the death of members of his extended family during the Holocaust which exposed him at a young age to the concept of mortality. His love of books began when, as a child, he developed health problems and was confined to his bed. He decided to become an illustrator after watching Walt Disney's film Fantasia at the age of twelve. One of his first professional commissions was to create window displays for the toy store FAO Schwarz. His illustrations were first published in 1947 in a textbook titled Atomics for the Millions by Maxwell Leigh Eidinoff. He spent much of the 1950s illustrating children's books written by others before beginning to write his own stories.
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