Sendak,+Maurice

Biographical Information:
Dates: 1928-2012 Dates in Ridgefield: 1972-2012  children’s books artist, illustrator, set designer, costume designer, Caldecott Medal winner Maurice Sendak of Ridgebury is generally acknowledged to be the leading visionary in children’s literature today. For more than 40 years, he’s written and illustrated books that have entertained children and adults alike, but have also challenged established ideas about what children’s literature is and should be. //The New York Times// said that Mr. Sendak’s work “has brought a new dimension to the American children’s book and helped change how people visualize childhood.” His more than 80 books have sold more than seven million copies worldwide in a dozen languages. They include such classics as //In the Night Kitchen, Outside Over There// and //Where the Wild Things Are//. His many awards include the 1964 Caldecott Medal for the most notable picture book of the year. In 1970, he became the only 20th Century American to receive the Hans Christian Anderson Award in recognition of his entire body of work. And in 1997, President Clinton awarded him a National Medal of Arts in recognition of his contribution to the arts in America. Yet, when it first appeared in 1963, his most famous book, //Where the Wild Things Are,// was greeted with as much controversy as acclaim. Protective parents, teachers and librarians called the story and artwork too scary for children. Some even thought the book could be psychologically damaging because young Max’s mother deserts him and he’s sent to bed to confront his nightmares alone. But child psychologists said the book helped express hidden childhood fears. Born in Brooklyn in 1928 to Eastern European immigrants, Mr. Sendak spent much of his childhood in bed, suffering from a variety of illnesses. He read extensively, drew comic strips, and illustrated his brother’s stories. His father, a gifted storyteller, entertained the children with disturbing tales of the old country that often ended unhappily. “These were the stories he told us before we went to bed,” Mr. Sendak said. “No wonder I’m an insomniac. I didn’t know these stories were considered intensely inappropriate for children until I repeated them in school and was sent home to have my mouth washed out. Up until my generation, there was a soft innocence, a sweetness in books for children which I thought was inappropriate. It had nothing to do with my childhood or other people’s as I saw it.” Mr. Sendak’s experience growing up as a poor Jew in Brooklyn during the Holocaust profoundly influenced his life and work. The monsters in //Where the Wild Things Are// were inspired by relatives who’d fled the Nazis and came to live with his family in New York. In his teens, Mr. Sendak studied at the Art Students League and was only 19 when he illustrated his first book, //Atomics for the Millions,// in 1947 (he did the book for his physics teacher in exchange for a passing grade and a small fee). When he moved to Ridgefield in 1972, Mr. Sendak had lived in New York City all his life, and had never needed a car. “I’m a 44-year-old neurotic who just learned to drive,” he told a //Ridgefield Press// reporter. “Maybe you should warn them that I drive a green Plymouth.” Over his years here, his work has expanded into the worlds of opera and ballet; he’s designed sets and costumes for several successful productions, including an opera of //Where the Wild Things Are.// He wrote the book and lyrics for a musical, //Really Rosie//, with music by Carole King, which was produced Off-Broadway in 1980. **Titles (partial): ** //The Sign on Rosie’s Door //, 1960 //Where the Wild Things Are, // 1963  //In the Night Kitchen //, 1970  //Ten Little Rabbits: A Counting Book with Mino the Magician, //1970  //We Are All in the Dumps with Jack and Guy: Two Nursery Rhymes with Pictures //<span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">, 1993 <span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">–-Sources: Notable Ridgefielders–Jack Sanders; Wikipedia; Ridgefield Press Obituary, May 10, 2012

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