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Tuesday, May 08, 2012

Maurice Sendak (1928-2012)

Maurice Bernard Sendak (June 10, 1928 - May 8, 2012)  RIP.
A retrospective article about his life is available in the New York Times, May 8, 2012 Maurice Sendak.
The NY Times announcement of his death was also published on May 9, 2012 - announcement.
There are no immediate survivors. 

One of his fan letters mirrors my final thoughts:
“Dear Mr. Sendak,” read one, from an 8-year-old boy. “How much does it cost to get to where the wild things are? If it is not expensive, my sister and I would like to spend the summer there.”
RIP.

Other links of interest:
Be sure to listen to the end of this NPR segment-- September 20, 2011 about Sendak's newest book (the first he both wrote and illustrated in thirty years) -- Bumble-ardy,
http://www.npr.org/2011/09/20/140435330/this-pig-wants-to-party-maurice-sendaks-latest 
 
Interestingly enough Sendak has a thread of connection to Matt de la Pena (author of Ball Don't Lie, Mexican WhiteBoy, We Were Here, I Will Save You, and his first picture book, A Nation's Hope: The Story of Boxing Legend Joe Louis, illustrated by Kadir Nelson. Subsequent to these articles de la Peña wrote Last Stop on Market Street, which won the 2016 Newbery Award and a 2016 Caldecott Honor in . It was de la pena's spouse, Caroline Sun, a publicist who connected Sendak with  Steven Colbert. Colbert's popular segments with Maurice Sendak discussing children's books can be found on his website: 
http://www.cc.com/video-clips/gzi3ec/the-colbert-report-grim-colberty-tales-with-maurice-sendak-pt--1

http://www.cc.com/video-clips/2uwi0i/the-colbert-report-grim-colberty-tales-with-maurice-sendak-pt--2

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