I love apartment therapy and I appreciate the sentiment of sadness today, but I can't help but want to tell you to stuff it for adding the links to your old halfway related to Maurice posts at the end. Using the death of a man like Maurice as an opportunity to promote old posts strikes me as really screwed up.

? I'm kind of confused by TotallyPutOff's remark -- my reaction was, I enjoyed seeing ways in which various AT community members have been influenced by Sendak's work over the years, and the variety of creative ways in which Sendak has inspired parents and children to experience his world. Isn't it usual, when saluting or remembering important cultural figures, to engage in a bit of retrospective on what their influence has been? It's not like AT was pushing a commercial agenda here to buy more Wild Things products, which I agree would have been off-putting.

Thanks for the post -- have always loved Where the Wild Things Are.

Yes, I appreciated seeing how others have been influenced by Maurice Sendak. Maybe later on TotallyPutOff will be able to re-evaluate his/her initial reaction and decide AT wasn't being disgustingly self-serving after all? Possibly the very best and purest tribute may have been to focus solely on Sendak's work and life. But if it is ever true that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then I think AT's tribute is completely appropriate and valid.

This makes me so sad after adoring him on Cobert not long ago! I can't believe we will not see more from him...

Dear Totallyputoff! Actually, I've always loved that we can roll in our personal likes and moments of happiness and sadness into the blog in real time. A friend texted me about Maurice Sendak's death this morning, and I felt compelled to put something up on the site for personal reasons. If it connects with others, that's great too and I DON'T expect it EVER to a be a traffic driver. I also wish I had more time to say more right now, but it's been busy here, so I wanted to get the post up and add to it over time. That's what you're seeing.

Enjoy and don't be so skeptical. We're so much less premeditated than you think... :-)

TOTALLYPUTOFF, what are you talking about?

Great post! It's a shame that the first comment attempted to add negative light to your tribute.

I love the first photo! I wish I could find a copy of that for my house!

I'm very proud of you Maxwell for honoring Maurice Sendak on Apartmenttherapy....he belongs..

I've loved the work of Maurice Sendak most of my life. It's hard to believe that he is gone, because he has been so active until recently, always seemingly involved in a variety of projects.

My daughter's favourite book was Where the Wild Things Are. I used to have to read it to her every night; of course, she knew it all by heart. One of my very favourite memories is listening to her 3 year old self as she recited the story to me..."and they woawed their tewwible woaws, and gnashed their tewwible teeth...".

A very sad passing.

Thanks for the post Maxwell.

Aside from the Wild Things, I will always remember him for his set an costume designs for the PNW Ballet's production of the Nutcracker. I can't believe I can't find an image of his Rat King costume, and that is a huge shame, but it was every as awesome as you could imagine.

Also, I had no idea until today that he did the illustrations for one of the Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle books, which I totally loved as a kid. He was a wonderful man.

RIP

Oh, how I will miss Maurice. He was one of the few children's authors who could understand a child could be angry, stubborn, rude, and more observant than most adults. That childhood was not all sweeness and roses, but that life was scary sometimes, and unkind, but that children were strong and resilient.

Soon after my now 4yo son was born I bought "The Night Kitchen" - it was one of my favorite books as a child! Some of the first books we read together were the "Little Bear" series, which I adored as a child and again as an adult, ad the Piggle-Wiggle books. My son found "Higgelty Piggelty Pop" to be hilarious, and I think he will enjoy it even more as he gets older.

Finally, we see the PNW Ballet's Nutcracker every year, and I ADORE the sets. If you are ever in Seattle during the Christmas season, it is a must-see production. Here are some pictures from previous productions - simply wonderful!! http://www.google.com/search?q=pnb+nutcracker+pictures&hl=en&qscrl=1&nord=1&rlz=1T4IRFC_enUS353US353&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=se2pT-D2GaTe2QXgx6CoAg&ved=0CEQQsAQ&biw=1366&bih=626

I liked the reposts. @mschatalaine, thanks for that image! There's nothing better than watching a child read or perform Sendak's books.

I have to say, as a Czech, I was profoundly moved by Maurice Sendak's Brundibar, both the book and the opera.

I would like to share my tribute, that i made yesterday!
http://tantopano.blogspot.pt/2012/05/were-wild-things-are.html

So sad. We're losing all my favorite childhood authors ....

So funny that those books were rejected as being too dark for kids - it's exactly what they want! And in a way it really does reflect on what so many parents want for their kids in all areas of their lives. Beauty, emotion, imagination, quirkiness, language, risk, mastery, acceptance, safety and love. (Plus, yeah, other things, this just off the top of my head.)

We will always love those books, but the rich and meaningful quality of his work influences more than just storytime. It's part of parenting now, and we are all better for it.