Maurice Sendak, winner of numerous literary awards for children’s book writing and illustration, and author of classic children’s book Where the Wild Things Are, passed away Tuesday at the age of 83.
Born in Brooklyn to Holocaust survivors Sadie and Philip Sendak, Maurice gained acclaim at the age of 35 for authoring and illustrating Where the Wild Things Are, a book which would win the Caldecott Medal Award. He went on to author 20 books illustrate dozens more.
Sendak described himself as homosexual, and lived with partner Dr. Eugene Glynn for 50 years. After Glynn’s death, Sendak donated $1 million to the Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services, to name a clinic after Glynn.
Sendak died in Danbury, Connecticut, from complications of a stroke.