If you grew up with a copy of Where the Wild Things Are on your shelf, you probably remember the gnashing teeth. You remember the claws. Most of all, you remember Max, that defiant little kid in a wolf suit who didn’t apologize for being angry.
The man behind those drawings was Maurice Sendak.
He wasn't your typical "kinda" sweet children's book creator. Honestly, Sendak was a bit of a grouch, a visionary who refused to lie to kids about how scary the world actually is. He didn't believe in the "happily ever after" fluff that most publishers were pushing in the 1960s. He knew childhood was a battlefield of big emotions.
Who Was the Author of Where the Wild Things Are?
Maurice Sendak was born in Brooklyn in 1928, the son of Jewish immigrants from Poland. This is crucial. To understand the author of Where the Wild Things Are, you have to understand that his childhood was shadowed by the Holocaust. While he was safe in New York, many of his relatives back in Europe were being killed. This gave his work a certain darkness, a weight that you don't usually find in a 338-word picture book.
He was a sickly kid. He spent a lot of time looking out the window, sketching what he saw. He was self-taught, mostly. He didn't go to some fancy art school to learn how to draw monsters; he learned by watching people and obsessing over Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse.
In 1963, he changed everything.
Before Where the Wild Things Are, children's books were supposed to be "safe." They were about polite children who learned their lessons. Then came Max. Max yells at his mom. Max gets sent to bed without any supper. Max sails to an island of terrifying beasts and becomes their king.
Critics at the time were actually pretty worried. Some librarians banned it. They thought it was too dark. They thought it would traumatize children to see a boy being so "wild." But Sendak knew better. He knew that kids already feel those things. They feel rage. They feel lonely. They feel powerful and powerless all at once.
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The Real Story Behind the "Wild Things"
Ever wonder why the monsters look the way they do? They aren't just random dragons or blobs.
Sendak famously admitted that the Wild Things were based on his aunts and uncles. Growing up, these relatives would come over for Sunday dinner, pinch his cheeks until they were red, and tell him things like, "You're so cute, I could eat you up!"
To a small, skinny kid, these adults with their bad breath, stained teeth, and hairy noses were terrifying.
He captured that.
When you look at the monsters in the book, you're looking at Sendak’s memory of his Brooklyn relatives. It’s hilarious when you think about it, but also deeply observant. He turned his personal anxiety into a universal story about conquering fear.
Why Sendak’s Work Still Hits Different
Most authors write for children. Sendak wrote about childhood. There is a massive difference.
He didn't talk down to his audience. He once said in an interview with Terry Gross on NPR’s Fresh Air that he didn't have a "separate" brain for kids. He just told the truth.
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- He embraced the "Wild": Sendak didn't think being wild was a bad thing. It was a survival mechanism.
- The Power of the Imagination: In the book, the forest grows in Max’s room. It’s not magic; it’s a mental escape. Sendak showed that your mind is the only place where you are truly in charge.
- The ending is the kicker. Max gives up his crown. Why? Because he "wanted to be where someone loved him best of all."
It’s an emotional gut-punch that works as well in 2026 as it did in 1963. Even the wildest kid needs a warm bowl of soup at the end of the day.
The Trilogy You Probably Didn't Know Existed
Most people know Max. Fewer people know that the author of Where the Wild Things Are considered it part of a loose trilogy.
The second book, In the Night Kitchen (1970), is a surreal fever dream about a boy named Mickey who falls into a giant bowl of cake batter. It was controversial for years because Mickey is naked for most of the book. To Sendak, it was just about the sensory experience of being a child.
The third book, Outside Over There (1981), is the darkest of the lot. It involves goblins stealing a baby and replacing it with an ice sculpture. It’s haunting. It’s beautiful. It’s pure Sendak. He was exploring the different stages of childhood: the anger of Wild Things, the curiosity of Night Kitchen, and the responsibility/fear of Outside Over There.
The Legacy of a "Glorious Grouch"
Sendak lived a long life, eventually settling in Connecticut with his partner of 50 years, Eugene Glynn. He never really "softened" with age. If you watch his later interviews, he was still the same guy—obsessed with Herman Melville, Mozart, and the fact that most modern culture was "crap."
He hated the idea of "brand" extensions. He was very protective of Max. It took decades for him to agree to a film adaptation, which finally happened in 2009 with director Spike Jonze. The movie wasn't a bright, colorful cartoon. It was moody, acoustic, and slightly depressing.
Basically, it was exactly what Sendak wanted.
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How to Introduce Sendak to a New Generation
If you’re reading these books to kids today, don't try to explain away the scary parts. Let them be scared.
The magic of the author of Where the Wild Things Are is that he provides a safe container for big, messy feelings. When Max tames the Wild Things with a "magic trick," he's showing kids that they can handle their own internal monsters.
Here is how to get the most out of his work:
- Look at the cross-hatching. Sendak’s art style is incredibly detailed. In Wild Things, notice how the white borders around the illustrations slowly disappear as the forest grows, until the "Wild Rumpus" takes up the entire page with no text at all. That’s intentional. It’s the visual representation of Max losing himself in his imagination.
- Read it slow. There aren't many words. The silence between the sentences is where the story actually happens.
- Don't skip the "weird" stuff. Books like The Juniper Tree or Dear Mili show Sendak’s darker, more complex side. They aren't for toddlers, but for older kids (and adults), they are masterpieces of psychological art.
Sendak passed away in 2012, but his influence is everywhere. You see it in Pixar movies, in the work of illustrators like Jon Klassen, and in every story that dares to let a kid be a little bit "bad" without being punished for it.
He understood that childhood isn't a sun-drenched meadow. It's an island. It’s a kitchen at night. It’s a forest that grows in your bedroom when you're too angry to speak.
To honor the author of Where the Wild Things Are, the best thing you can do is go buy a physical copy of his work. Skip the digital versions. Feel the paper. Look at the colors. Remember what it felt like to be small and misunderstood.
Next Steps for the Sendak Enthusiast
- Visit the Rosenbach Museum: Located in Philadelphia, this museum houses the majority of Sendak’s original drawings, manuscripts, and even his personal collections. It’s the Mecca for anyone who wants to see the actual ink strokes that created Max.
- Watch 'Tell Them Anything You Want': This is a short documentary by Spike Jonze and Lance Bangs. It’s an intimate, unfiltered look at Sendak in his final years. It’s funny, heartbreaking, and deeply human.
- Explore the 'Sendak Collection' by HarperCollins: They have released high-quality anniversary editions that restore the original colors of the 1963 printing, which are often more muted and atmospheric than the bright reprints from the 90s.