Today, Google lets the wild rumpus start with an animated Doodle honoring famous American writer and illustrator Maurice Sendak.
Sendak was best known for his classic 1963 children’s book Where the Wild Things Are, which has sold millions upon million of copies worldwide and has been adapted into animated shorts and a feature film. Many kids have grown up on the story of Max and his bedroom voyage to the world of the “Wild Things” over the past 50 years.
Sendak was more than just one famous book, however. In his career, Sendak authored a couple dozen books, including 1962’s The Nutshell Library (4 books) and 1970’s In the Night Kitchen – and he illustrated countless others.
He won the prestigious Caldecott Medal for Where the Wild Things Are and was eventually awarded the National Medal of Arts in 1996.
Sendak died in 2012 after complications from a stroke. He was born on June 10th, 1928 – so today’s Google Doodle is celebrating what would be his 85th birthday. The lovely animated doodle spins a wheel around some of Sendak’s most beloved works.
With the unfortunate death of Maurice Sendak, the Internet has been busy coming up with different ways to pay their respects to the groundbreaking children’s author, whose most famous work, Where the Wild Things, lives on in the hearts and minds of the young and old alike. Whether it’s featuring the video of Christopher Walken reading Sendak’s unforgettable book or impressive drawings from Andy Marlette, Sendak’s passing was given the proper respect.
All that being said, perhaps the most impressive piece comes from Deviant Art member, AgarthanGuide, who, by combining The Avengers with Sendak’s Wild Things, you get this incredible homage to the great children’s author. I would recommend clicking the image for its full-size version, because some things are better appreciated in their original state:
The piece is loving called “Avengers on Parade,” and the artist who created it left something of a thank you note to Sendak:
Two things on my mind today-
RIP Maurice Sendak.
Yay Avengers.
Okay – I put together some wallpapers using the original – I tried to make them as big as possible and cover the major aspect ratios. You can download them here. Enjoy!
Also- I don’t have any plans to print it. The Avengers don’t belong to me, I feel like I got lucky, and I would rather share the nostalgia, you know? … Tom Hiddleston and Joe Hill both saw fit to tweet this. I just can’t…
In case you’re unaware, Tom Hiddleston is the actor who played Loki in the recently-released Avengers movie. Joe Hill is Stephen King’s son, and is an accomplished author in his own right. As for the awesome creation, like I said, if you don’t view “Avengers on Parade” in its full size, you’re only cheating yourself.
Maurice Sendak, the author of such cherish children’s books as “Where the Wild Things Are”, “Higglety Pigglety Pop!”, and “In the Night Kitchen”, passed away on Tuesday due to complications from a recent stroke. He was 83. Sendak is widely credited for making illustrated books for kids a lot darker and more intense than their predecessors, elements which helped the author find a foothold in an industry that, at the time, wasn’t quite ready for such progressive changes in books marketed towards children.
Although his work caused quite a stir when it was originally published, nowadays Sendak’s books widely read by kids all over the world. In 1996, President Bill Clinton awarded the author the National Medal of the Arts for his literary contributions. In addition to writing children’s books, Sendak was also an accomplished artist. In addition to designing Pacific Northwest Ballet’s production of “Nutcracker”, he multi-talented artist also helped create a series of animated television programs based on his illustrations.
In 2009, writer/director Spike Jonze attempted a seemingly impossible mission: to adapt “Where the Wild Things Are” into a live-action feature-length motion picture. In order to prepare Jonze for the task at-hand, Sendak told the director to not sugarcoat the childhood experience for audiences. Growing up can be a cold, cruel, and scary place, a theme which is evident in a lot of the author’s child-oriented work.
“I write books as an old man, but in this country you have to be categorized, and I guess a little boy swimming in the nude in a bowl of milk can’t be called an adult book,” Sendak told The Associated Press back in 2003. “So I write books that seem more suitable for children, and that’s OK with me. They are a better audience and tougher critics. Kids tell you what they think, not what they think they should think.”
In September 2011, HarperCollins, published “Bumble-Ardy”, Sendak’s first fully-illustrated book in nearly 30 years. The story follows the adventures of an orphaned big who decides to throw himself a birthday party. However, in true Sendak fashion, the book begins with the aforementioned pig’s parents being eaten. Life in this author’s world, it would seem, is always slightly shrouded in darkness.
“There’s a cruelty to childhood, there’s an anger. And I did not want to reduce Max to the trite image of the good little boy that you find in too many books,” he told the AP in 2009. Although he speaking about “Where the Wild Things Are” at the time, he used this philosophy in nearly all of his creations.
Maurice Sendak’s work enriched my childhood, inspired me to become a writer, and helped introduce me to the everyday horrors of the real world. You can sample some Twitter reactions to the news by checking out the posts below.
For more information regarding Mr. Sendak’s passing, pay a visit to Famous Dead.
