google.com, pub-8542454030902343, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0google.com, pub-8542454030902343, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0google.com, pub-8542454030902343, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0When I was growing up, one of my favorite books was Maurice Sendak’s “Where the Wild Things Are.” So I was saddened today to learn that Sendak has passed away today at the age of 83.
As a child, I loved the intricate illustrations in the book. I enjoyed how Max, the little boy in the story, used his imagination to transform his room into a wild world filled with interesting monsters of all sorts when his mom sent him off to to bed without his dinner. (But of course, his mother later left the boy his supper in his room, because who would want to send a kid off to bed without his dinner!)
When I was young, I shared a big room with my sister, and our room was decorated with a colorful wallpaper that showed lions, tigers and animals of all sorts. The rug was a thick blue shag (it was the 1970s, after all) that my sister and I sometimes imagined was the sea. We used our imaginations to create our own storylines, and the space was very much a room in which Sendak’s “Where the Wild Things Are” could come alive — althought I cannot remember ever being sent to bed without our dinner!
It’s not hard for me to see why the book is so popular, and is a story I have shared with my own children.
The below is an interview with Maurice Sendak by Stephen Colbert — the intervew is a bit irreverent, but some people have found “Where the Wild Things Are” to be less than squeaky clean, too — the book has even been banned in some libraries. (Apparently some people don’t like the idea of kids not always doing as they are told!)
What do you think of Sendak and “Where the Wild Things Are?” I’d love to hear from you.
| The Colbert Report | Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c |
| Grim Colberty Tales with Maurice Sendak Pt. 1 | |