And with those magical words, Maurice Sendak stepped into the Children's Literature Hall of Fame, forever to be remembered for challenging our perceptions of children's books. When it was first published, Where the Wild Things Are evoked a controversy for its fearsome depictions of the monsters that plague so many children's dreams. Born in Brooklyn on June 10th, Maurice Sendak is one of the most celebrated author/illustrators. He began his professional career while still in high school, drawing backgrounds for the comic book Mutt and Jeff, and had his first illustrated book published in 1947. Since that time, he has illustrated the books of Meindert de Jong, Ruth Krauss, Isaac Bashevis Singer, and Beatrice Schenk de Regniers, among many others. His own books have brought delight to generations of children and adults, including Really Rosie, The Nutshell Library, In the Night Kitchen, and Dear Mili. For a particularly charming recounting of how the real-life Rosie inspired the young Sendak, read Origins of Story (Barbara Harrison, ed., Margaret McElderry Books, 1999). We also recommend Maurice Sendak's own book about authors and illustrators, as well as his own work, Caldecott & Co (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1989).

Besides book illustration, Mr. Sendak's original training from the Art Students' League has carried him through set design for theatrical productions such as Prokofiev's The Love for Three Oranges Suite and Mozart's Magic Flute. He has designed toys, produced short films of his work, and taken his books to Broadway. He won the Caldecott Medal in 1964 for Where the Wild Things Are, the Hans Christian Andersen International Medal in 1970 for his body of work, the ALA's Laura Ingalls Wilder Award in 1983 for his "substantial and lasting contribution to children's literature," and the 1996 National Medal of Arts.

"I think children who are hugged, and children who are held on laps—nice, yummy laps—will always associate reading with the bodies of their parents... When you not only hear a treasured story, but also are pressed against the most wonderful person in the world, a connection is made that cannot be severed." —Maurice Sendak