Oh. I felt such a wave of sadness when I heard that Maurice Sendak had died yesterday at the age of 83. His book, “Where the Wild Things Are,” was one of my favorite ones to read to my boys when they were little. Yes, it was long before the Animorphs series and the C.S Lewis books and somewhere before the era of the dinosaur fascination and the super hero fantasies…there was Max, the glorious, shining example of a little boy acting like a little boy.
I still remember what fun it was to change my voice when I read those lines, and how adorable they looked with their rapt attention and their curious questions about those wild, hairy creatures.
Although I have to admit, I never did agree with the idea of sending Max to his room without his dinner….tsk, tsk.
Boy. Those are memories that represent such a tender, and long-ago time in our family’s life. And it’s hard to believe that my little boys are now nineteen and seventeen and that …Maurice is gone.
Maurice. You taught a generation of children about the magic of books.
But that’s not all. You also made a whole lot of adults laugh raucously when we recently watched you on the Stephen Colbert Show. Oh my Lord, you were hilarious-- without even trying.
And if you, my dear readers, haven’t watched these two interviews yet, here are the links.
Prepare to laugh at loud…in honor of Maurice, the original Wild Thing.
(You’ll see what I mean).
Enjoy!
Leslie
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