How Maurice Sendak taught me to roar

I can’t imagine there’s a children’s author or illustrator, or really anyone who loves children’s books, whose eyes didn’t tear up yesterday upon the news of Maurice Sendak’s death.  Sendak’s wild, brave imagination has had a huge influence of the world of picture books and the world of children. CNN’s sister site, HLN-TV asked me if I’d share some reflections on that for an op-ed piece, and I happily agreed.

Here’s how it starts…

Maurice Sendak “taught me to roar”

I was a good kid growing up. I didn’t break rules much, didn’t act out, and aside from the occasional muddy sneaker tracks on the carpet, didn’t cause my parents a whole lot of grief.

I was raised in a family where people were mostly pretty happy with one another. You weren’t supposed to yell. You weren’t supposed to get mad at people you loved. If you did, you kept it to yourself. You certainly weren’t supposed to throw things around the house or bare you teeth at your parents in a menacing way.

Which is why Where the Wild Things Are was such a gift…

Read the full piece at HLN-TV.

People all over the world are remembering Sendak today. I loved this tribute in the New York Times.

Did you blog about Sendak’s influence and gifts?  What’s your favorite Sendak book? Whether you’re old or young, please feel free to share links to your posts or your own Sendak story memories in the comments. I’d love to read them.