Maurice Sendak dies at 83, author of ‘Where the Wild Things Are’

Published in 1963, the book was a startling departure from the sweetness and innocence that then ruled children’s literature. “Wild Things” tapped into the fears of childhood and sent its main character — an unruly boy in a wolf costume — into a menacing forest to tame the wild beasts of his imagination.

Librarians banned the book as too frightening. Psychologists and many adults condemned it for being too grim. But a 1964 Los Angeles Times review echoed many critics: The “aggressive flight of fantasy” was “the best thing of its kind in many a year.”

I never watched the movie, the book has a certain childhood significance to me and I worry the film would spoil that.

Elsewhere:

• Maurice Sendak: “Cannibals and Psychotics”

#literature #rip