Arts & Entertainment

'Where the Wild Things Are' Author Maurice Sendak Dies: Books in Mentone

The New York Times said Sendak is "widely considered the most important children's book artist of the 20th century."

Maurice Sendak, the author and artist who created one of the most popular children's books in recent history, died Tuesday in Connecticut at age 83.

Sendak created "Where the Wild Things Are" which was published in 1963.

The Mentone Senior Center and Library on Opal Avenue had three copies available on Tuesday afternoon.

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Sendak is "widely considered the most important children's book artist of the 20th century," the New York Times reported.

Sendak "wrenched the picture book out of the safe, sanitized world of the nursery and plunged it into the dark, terrifying and hauntingly beautiful recesses of the human psyche," the Times reported.

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"Where the wild Things Are" launched Sendak's career, and he later created "We Are All in the Dumps With Jack and Guy" in 1993.

Sendak was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1928. He grew up lower class, Jewish, and gay, the Times reported.

"All I wanted was to be straight so my parents could be happy," he told the Times in a 2008 interview. "They never, never, never knew."

Read the full NYT obit here.

The Mentone Senior Center and Library is at 1331 Opal Ave., and it is part of the San Bernardino County Library System.


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