Quotes from Maurice Sendak

My work is not great, but it's respectable.

When I did 'Bumble-ardy,' I was so intensely aware of death. Eugene, my friend and partner, was dying here in the house when I did 'Bumble-ardy'. I did 'Bumble-ardy' to save myself. I did not want to die with him. I wanted to live, as any human being does.

Kids are so shrewd.

You can't write masterpieces in your 80s and be happy too.

My parents were ignorant peasants from the Old World.

If life is so critical, if Anne Frank could die, if my friend could die, children were as vulnerable as adults, and that gave me a secret purpose to my work, to make them live. Because I wanted to live. I wanted to grow up.

I feel extremely vulnerable.

I'm a lucky buck.

Parents shouldn't assume children are made out of sugar candy and will break and collapse instantly. Kids don't. We do.

Parents shouldn't assume children are made out of sugar candy and will break and collapse instantly.

There are certain pieces of music that are always attached to certain books.

I've always loved pigs: the shape of them, the look of them, and the fact that they are so intelligent.

I wanted to be acknowledged as an artist, not just some kiddie-book artist.

I had a brother who was my savior, made my childhood bearable.

I did not know how to paint a mural. I did not know how to prepare the surface. There was nobody from the Renaissance around who could advise me, and I did the best I could.

I can't believe I've turned into a typical old man. I can't believe it. I was young just minutes ago.

'Hansel and Gretel' is one of the scariest stories ever written! Psychotic mother; stupid, inane father.

That always seemed to be the most critical test that a child was confronted with - loss of parents, loss of direction, loss of love. Can you live without a mother and a father?

I know there are supposedly happy people in this world. I never believed it, but I take it for granted. God knows, they're all on television.

Then from far away across the world he smelled good things to eat, so he gave up being king of the wild things.

I don't want to lose hope.

I only have one subject. The question I am obsessed with is: How do children survive?

It dawned on me that art was the way I could survive.

I have nothing now but praise for my life. I'm not unhappy. I cry a lot because I miss people. They die and I can't stop them. They leave me and I love them more...