Maurice Sendak American illustrator and children's writer Date of Birth: 10.06.1928 Country: USA

1. Biography of Maurice Sendak
2. Early Life and Career
3. Illustrations and Other Works
4. Personal Life
5. Awards and Honors
6. Legacy

Biography of Maurice Sendak

Maurice Sendak was an American children's writer and illustrator who gained worldwide fame for his book "Where the Wild Things Are" (1963). Born into a Jewish family, his parents, Philip (Pinchos) Sendak and Sarah Shindler, immigrated from Poland (Lomza) and Russia respectively in 1913 and settled in Brooklyn.

Early Life and Career

Sendak decided to become an illustrator at the age of twelve after watching the movie "Fantasia." He published his first collection of fairy tales in 1951 and achieved his greatest success with the publication of "Where the Wild Things Are" in 1963, which was later translated into many languages. However, none of his works were translated into Russian during his lifetime.

Illustrations and Other Works

In addition to his own books, Sendak illustrated the "Little Bear" series (written by Else Holmelund Minarik) for HarperCollins. His illustrations for this series were adapted into the animated television show "Maurice Sendak's Little Bear" in Canada in 1995. He also had a cameo role as an elderly rabbi in the 2003 mini-series "Angels in America," which was based on the screenplay by his friend, writer Tony Kushner.

Personal Life

Sendak was gay, although he never publicly acknowledged it until an article was published in The New York Times in 2008, after the death of his partner of 50 years, psychoanalyst Eugene Glynn, who passed away in May 2007 from lung cancer. Sendak's parents were unaware of his sexual orientation, and he did not want to publicly discuss it during his career, knowing that it could potentially harm his popularity as a children's author.

Awards and Honors

Throughout his career, Sendak received numerous awards and honors, including the Caldecott Medal in 1964 for "Where the Wild Things Are." He also won the Hans Christian Andersen Award for illustration in 1970, the National Book Award for Young People's Literature for "Outside Over There" in 1982, and the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal in 1983. In 1996, he was awarded the National Medal of Arts, and in 2003, he received the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award jointly with Christine Nöstlinger.

Legacy

In honor of Maurice Sendak, a school in North Hollywood, California, was named after him. His iconic illustrations and stories continue to captivate and inspire children and adults around the world.