On the Passing of Dear Maurice Sendak

I first fell in love with Maurice Sendak as a very small child. I vividly remember the first book I ever read aloud and alone was LITTLE BEAR by Else Holmelund Minarik. The story was lovely and sweet, and I read it over and over, but what I really LOVED about that book was the illustrations. Maurice Sendak illustrated the LITTLE BEAR book, and I was captivated. I remember looking closely at Little Bear, and I could see every pen stroke. I studied it. I traced it. I copied it. I wanted to draw like that. Even as a very young child, I recognized the incredible, alluring talent of Maurice Sendak. Even before I was captivated by WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE. I feel so blessed that I lived and walked in the world of children's literature while Maurice Sendak still gave us new stories, but I will always be sad that I never met him. Like millions of other people, I dreamed of one day hearing him give a keynote or seeing him read. Twitter is full of quotes and homages to Sendak this morning. I even added a few of my own as you, dear readers, may have, too. How could I not? I feel as though I have lost a favorite professor or the mayor of my town. He was truly a leader in the field that I love so deeply. Of all the quotes and comments on twitter this morning, two of them stand out to me, and I hope they don't mind if I share them here. Martha Mihalick said, "The best tribute to Maurice Sendak is to publish more books for bad children." Amen, Martha Mihalick. Awesome. And my other favorite comment was this one from the brilliant Beth Revis: "He wrote bravely. There is more truth in WTWTA than in most 500 page novels." True, indeed. So today, take a moment and a deep breath and remember dear Mr. Sendak. His words, his art, and his character will live on. May we all strive to write as honestly, as bravely, and as wonderfully for the 'bad children' inside us all and the 'bad children' still to come. Thank you, Mr. Sendak, for the wild rumpus.