Maurice Sendak passed away due to complications of a stroke.at 83 today. www.nytimes.com/2012/05/09/...
Such an important part of my childhood.
In kindergarden {back in the mid 80's} our class LOVED "Really Rosie", which was a callaboration between Sendak & Carole King to make a musical out of a "The Sign on Rosie's Door" and "The Nutshell Gang" books. We watched the cartoon frequently in class, and listened to the record every day. Our Kindergarden play was just performing the songs {in costume!} - I was "the turtle that bit the dog'd tail" in "One Was Johnny".
In first grade, we were ALL about the "Little Bear" books. Sure, he "only" illustrated them, but still.... at that age, pictures in books are still VERY important.
Every year during the holidays, the version of The Nutcracker that i *have* to watch is the film version where he designed the sets.
I don't know anyone who doesn't know "Where the Wild Things Are" in some form.
I found out because "In the Night Kitchen" was trending on twitter, and I was floored as I thought this was one of his lesser known works {although one of my personal faves}, and couldn't figure out why it would be trending. I'm really sad about his passing.