Joy in January : Maurice Sendak

I have such a soft spot in my heart for Maurice Sendak.  Vivian and I have spent so many hours reading his books and imagining ourselves in the worlds he created with his art.  (It is no secret I want to live in Little Bear's delicately created world - where Father Bear fishes in three-piece suits and Mother Bear always has wise, gentle words and a freshly baked good for her Little Bear.)

When a friend linked to this illustrated snippet of an interview with Mr. Sendak before he passed away, my soft spot for him got softer, and I was left with tears of joy on my face.  What a precious soul.



And also, my favorite anecdote from him:
“Once a little boy sent me a charming card with a little drawing on it. I loved it. I answer all my children’s letters — sometimes very hastily — but this one I lingered over. I sent him a card and I drew a picture of a Wild Thing on it. I wrote, “Dear Jim: I loved your card.” Then I got a letter back from his mother and she said, “Jim loved your card so much he ate it.” That to me was one of the highest compliments I’ve ever received. He didn’t care that it was an original Maurice Sendak drawing or anything. He saw it, he loved it, he ate it.”