Happy birthday to this “mere illustrator” that changed the landscape of childrens’ books and inspired generations.
Need a way to help celebrate? Go spend some time on Cory Goodbey’s incredible Wild Things tribute site, Terrible Yellow Eyes. Seen here, Peter de Seve‘s “They’re not so terrible.” Or, enjoy this jazzy rendition of In the Night Kitchen.
What a heartbreaking interview! He doesn’t seem to have any idea what a spectacular creator and influence he’s been, or how many lives he’s touched.
Torie@1: Agreed. The “but he’s my friend” comment is so sad.
I bought this book, in the Dutch translation, for my son, because I remembered it as the favourite book when I myself was a boy. My son loves it too, the mixture of scary and fun is so compelling.
The Dutch translator had the imho genius notion of calling it ‘Max en de Maximonsters’. The alliteration really helps this book stand out for me.
Alas, the video is gone.
Sendak is, without a doubt, a significant influence on at least a couple of generations of American children (and counting). From Wild Things to The Nutshell Library (and the latter’s animated adaptation–I can still sing many of the Carole King songs from that), from In the Night Kitchen and the accompanying controversy (eek, a penis!) to the opera Brundibar (wonderful and sad and scary).
It’s sad that he doesn’t seem to feel it.
Where the Wild Things are is one of the books I give most often to parents of small children. So much of Sendak is truly classic and timeless. And his little white dogs are true charmers.