“Where the Wild Things Are”: What About the Author?

Maurice Sendak writes and illustrates children’s books, but if you have ever read “Where the Wild Things Are,” you realize that he isn’t your typical author.  A mix of a dreamworld and a nightmare, Sendak’s book takes you to a place most children’s books are afraid to venture.  A young boy who dreams of a world where he is king of the sometimes frightening Wild Things not only creates an amazing story, but shows the fears and strengths of a child’s mind.  With the movie version of the book being released this October, some people are wondering what became of the author.  At 80 years old, Sendak is still writing and illustrating, having written 17 books and illustrating his own along with 100 others.

His other works are no less intriguing than “Wild Things,” his most recent being the illustrations for the book “Brundibar,” based on a Czech opera that was originally performed by a group of 55 children at concentration camps.  The children later were, along with the opera’s composer, executed at Auschwitz.  As soon as Sendak heard the story, he couldn’t tear himself away from the idea, having always been fascinated and terrified of death and stories of the Nazi camps as a child.  He never understood why he was living and not threatened by everything that was going on there.  He felt the need to bring this story to life, to give it another chance to be heard.  It went on to win the New York Times Best Illustrated Award.

Maurice Sendak brings a passion and depth to children’s books that can sometimes be forgotten.  He himself says he could never even bear to have a child because they are so fragile, and therefore frightening to him.  He says, ”I’m not a good parent type.  It’s strange, I have the gift in books of comprehending how wild children are, how terrifying they can be.  But in real life they’re much too frightening.  They’re too vulnerable.  And it scares me.  How could you ever calm down with a kid?  You’d always have to be concerned, like I was with my puppies.”  Sendak then went on to describe how even owning dogs is too hurtful, because they die, and he can’t bear it.

Sendak uses his fears and emotions to connect to his stories, and this is what sets him apart from other authors.  He isn’t just trying to paint a pretty picture or tell a cute story, but he connects to the deeper part of children, the part that people tend to forget: the part of a child that goes away at night and imagines he is King of the Wild Things, who rises above his fears and becomes stronger than anyone ever gives him credit for.