Maurice Bernard Sendak (June 10, 1928 – May 8, 2012) was an American writer and illustrator of children's literature. He was best known for his book Where the Wild Things Are, first published in 1963.

“And the wild things roared their terrible roars and gnashed their terrible teeth and rolled their terrible eyes and showed their terrible claws.”
- Maurice Sendak, Where the Wild Things Are

Maurice Sendak, author of “Where the Wild Things Are” and other children’s classics, was remembered Tuesday for the impact of his beloved work and his outspoken personality.

In an obituary for The Washington Post, Becky Krystal writes:

Sendak characters could be rebellious and downright unpleasant, but in refusing to condescend or act as a balm, his books were also exceedingly popular with young readers for generations. The books showed that even children, confronting a range of often terrifying emotions, could through courage and resourcefulness begin to make sense of the world around them.

In underscoring those emotions and how young people react to them, Mr. Sendak became one of the most critically revered and entrancing writers of his era.