Maurice Sendak

Author and illustrator Maurice Sendak is best known for Where the Wild Things Are, a controversial work when it first appeared that has since become a venerated classic. Sendak has continued to write acclaimed children's books, including Higgelty Piggelty Pop, Juniper, Dear Mili, and In the Night Kitchen, but has also branched out into other artistic endeavors, including opera and film. He is the first American illustrator to win the Hans Christian Andersen Medal. His influence on children's literature has been immense, both in his challenge to the conventionality of so much children's…