I had no idea.
I was browsing
Facebook this afternoon and spotted my pal Jen’s update, ‘but the wild things cried, “Oh please don’t go”’ I recognised it
immediately and quickly typed out a reply in the form of the next line of the
story, smiled to myself and moved on. Jen text me a few moments later telling
me of Sendak’s passing and wow, so sad. 83 is a ripe old age, of course it is,
but it’s a pretty ineffective consolation, as I realised when I used it upon
myself when my Grandpa died last month.
Sendak, no matter how old he was, will be very sorely missed. The thing
we have to remember of course is that he left a legacy that, as long as there
are children who love stories and grown-ups who love to read to them, will live
on forever.
I don’t know many
people who aren’t familiar with Sendak’s most famous work, ‘Where The Wild Things Are,’ and I don’t
think I’m speaking out of turn by suggesting it’s a picture book favourite of
most people, it is certainly one of mine and Twitter is alight today with
people talking about Sendak and about Wild Things; about their memories of it;
about their love for it; posting links to articles where Sendak has talked
about his work and his inspirations and
you only have to read a few of these to see why he was considered one of the
most important children’s writers of the 20th Century.
Where The Wild Things Are will surely be read at bedtimes across
the globe tonight, as it should be.
RIP Maurice.
