Maurice Sendak

I heard early this morning that Maurice Sendak, author of Where the Wild Things Are, had passed away at the age of 83.  The radio played a clip of an interview he had given not too long ago.  In it he said, "I don't write for children, I just write."  It made me think of all of the books I have loved no matter how old I was when I read them or for whom the book was intended.  I have beautiful memories of books.  Some of them are born of my own reading biography like the Fire Cat, The Secret Garden, and Babar.  Others are precious because of the time I spent reading them with my son like The Enormous Crocodile and Harry Potter stories.  Books continue to enrich my life. Yesterday I became friends with Karou and Akiva in the new novel The Daughter of Smoke and Bone.  Today I met Maks and Willa in the City of Orphans.  I saw my son carry a copy of Triss from the Redwall series out of the house for school, telling me that he plans to spend his free time with all of his beloved friends, mouse and fox alike, that have come to life on the pages of Brian Jacques wonderful fantasy novels.  What are the books you would put on a shelf that would help tell your story?  The books you loved.  The books you can't wait to read.  Once you've given it some thought, get to it and "Let the wild rumpus start."

If you are looking for more information about Maurice Sendak and his body of work check out this story on NPR. 

http://www.npr.org/2012/05/08/152250644/sendaks-legacy-helping-kids-survive-childhood