Maurice Sendak is considered to have been one of the most important and influential children's authors and illustrators of the 20th century. Born in 1928 he died on the 8th May, 2012 at the age of 83.

A complicated man, he never pandered to children and in one of his final interviews with Emma Brockes of The Guardian newspaper he said, 'I refuse to lie to children.' They forgave him in spades. A life-long melancholic disposition helped him to reach his readers with stories and characters that stretched far beyond the norms children encountered in books.

'The night Max wore his wolf suit and made mischief of one kind and another his mother called him "WILD THING" and Max said "I'LL EAT YOU UP!" so he was sent to bed without eating anything.' With these opening lines begins what is probably Maurice Sendak's most famous and well-loved book Where the Wild Things are.