Day 128: Goodbye, Maurice

Seems like the death train for people I really admire and respect just keeps on rolling. Without trying to sound flippant, such is life. It gives and it takes away. With Maurice Sendak, life took away a man who literally brought joy to millions of children throughout the world. Think about that. This isn't some fictional character like Santa Clause or the Easter Bunny we're talking about. This was a living, breathing, walking, talking, and drawing man who gave children of all ages the gift of wonder and adventure and possibilities. More importantly, he gave them a love of books, opening up the idea that books can spring open countless possibilities and magic and worlds.

Even if you don't read a single word of "Where The Wild Things Are," you know you're in the depths of something fantastically beautiful as you turn the pages. As scary as the monsters might seem initially, and as gruff as Max might seem upon your first encounter, the book is utterly engrossing visually. It connects in a way that's indescribable. It destroys boundaries and limitations for children. It makes the impossible possible.

One of the reason I've always loved Sendak and particularly "Where The Wild Things Are" is because he and the book seemingly put all the power in the hands of children, as well as the responsibility of making decisions. Max is held accountable primarily because he is loved. He knows he is loved by the monsters. They beg him not to leave. He knows what the sadness of having to depart from loved ones means, but he also learns what unconditional love can bring. In the end, when Max's mother has left him a plate of supper in his room, Max knows what unconditional love is, and so do children reading the book. Sendak, in a single image, has captured what being a child who is loved by loving parents is truly about.

I wrote about "Where The Wild Things Are" and what it has meant to me and my relationship with my own children way back on Day 50. Today, all those words only carry more weight for me.

With utter sincerity, thank you, Maurice Sendak for the gifts of imagination and love and wonder and adventure.