Children's-book giant Sendak reflects on career

Maurice Sendak's face resembles, in a benevolent way, the expressive features of the wild monsters he drew in his award-winning book "Where the Wild Things Are." The similarity is not surprising given that Sendak modeled the monsters in his book on the unkind aunts and uncles that he remembers from his childhood.

Sendak, one of the leading visionaries in children's literature, spoke yesterday evening to a crowd of all ages at McCosh 50 in a speech and question-and-answer session sponsored by the Council for the Humanities.

When Sendak's most famous book, "Where the Wild Things Are," came out in 1963, it was considered by some critics too scary for children with its drawings of grotesque monsters hanging from trees and beating pots and pans in a dark wood.

Other critics believed that the book was inappropriate for children because it was about a boy who disobeys his mother and tells her, "I want to eat you up." Despite the criticism, however, the book was incredibly successful.

"Adults were critical of the book, but children loved it," Sendak said.

Sendak has written and illustrated 19 books and has illustrated more than 60 others. He has designed 12 operas, including an adapted version of "Where the Wild Things Are." He has received numerous awards for his works, including a National Medal of the Arts presented by President Clinton in 1997.

Sendak spoke with excitement about his current project — designing the scenery for a Czech children's opera called "Brundebar."

Originally performed by children while they lived in a concentration camp during World War II, "Brundebar" strikes a special chord with Sendak, who had many relatives die in the Holocaust.

" 'Brundebar' is absolutely gorgeous," he said.

To cover the costs of the opera, Sendak is also doing a book version of "Brundebar."

Even at a young age, Sendak's love for books was apparent. As a child, he illustrated his brother's wildly imaginative stories.

"There was nothing else I could do," he said. "Books were very important to our family."

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"My father also told wild stories, and he ignited our imaginations," Sendak added.

As a young man in his early 20s, Sendak worked at FAO Schwartz in New York, drawing pictures on the windows to attract customers. He landed his first book deal when Ursula Nordstrom, an editor at Harper and Brothers saw his drawings on the windows.

Though Sendak's love and enthusiasm for his craft has not waned during his long career, he said he has come to lament the state of the children's book industry in America.

"When I was younger, the children's book industry was small and run by strong women. In the '70s, we became too successful, started making too much money, and we started to draw men into the industry because money is manly," he said.

Because of the effects of commercialization, today's children's books are more like Hallmark Cards than literature, Sendak said.

"Children are smarter than we give them credit for these days," Sendak said. "They know more than what parents are willing to admit that they know."