“Dear Mr. Sendak,” read a letter from an 8-year-old boy,
“How much does it cost to get to where the wild things are? If it is not expensive, my sister and I would like to spend the summer there.”

Arguably the most influential children’s book author/artist of the twentieth century, Maurice Sendak, died today at the age of 83 from complications after a recent stroke.  Sendak was one of the first illustrators to push the envelope of children’s book art from the sterile, static, and safe into the dark, mystical and nightmarish.  His legacy is immense, including various awards and multiple top honors by important literary and artistic organizations; however, what he will be remembered for by his fans, was his ability to help us take a look inside our true selves.  He made it “okay” to explore the scary places of the human psyche.  Sendak’s most popular works were Where the Wild Things Are, Chicken Soup With Rice (my personal favorite), and In The Night Kitchen.

‎”We’re animals. We’re violent. We’re criminal. We’re not so far away from the gorillas and the apes, those beautiful creatures… And then, we’re supposed to be civilized. We’re supposed to go to work every day. We’re supposed to be nice to our friends and send Christmas cards to our parents.

We’re supposed to do all these things which trouble us deeply because it’s so against what we naturally would want to do. And if I’ve done anything, I’ve had kids express themselves as they are, impolitely, lovingly… they don’t mean any harm. They just don’t know what the right way is.

And as it turns out sometimes the so-called “right way” is utterly the wrong way. What a monstrous confusion.” – Maurice Sendak

But Mr. Sendak was not always dark and serious.  He also had a great sense of humor, especially about children.  Check out this interview he did with Stephen Colbert where he explains, among other things, that he does not write for (nor particularly like) children and that Newt Gingrich is “an idiot… of great renown.”  I really appreciate this man’s point of view.  

If you have only read Where the Wild Things Are, please take a trip to your local library and check out the other works of Maurice Sendak.  I guarantee you will not be disappointed.

1. Visit the Writer’s Almanac. Better yet, listen.

Every morning while I’m getting dressed, I play the audio version of PBS’s Writer’s Almanac. Narrated by Garrison Keillor, these brief recordings begin with a look at “this day in literary history” — brief biographical sketches of poets and writers — and then Keillor reads the day’s chosen poem.

I have come to treasure these quiet moments during which I savor the rich cadences and vivid images of these thoughtfully-selected verses. I’ve encountered many new-to-me poets in this way, and I find that their words linger in my mind throughout the day. What used to be a bustling, buzzing time of morning has become more peaceful and deeply rewarding.

[Head over to GeekMom to read Melissa Wiley's ideas for four more ways to get poetry into your day!]

Her speech therapist was taken aback when Ella started naming them all at school.  Ella even noticed when Pax had three little dots of water on the back of his pants and exclaimed, “It looks like an ellipsis!”  to which I busted out laughing, it seems she is always thinking about punctuation now and seeing it everywhere.  It reminds me of when she was two and learning her shapes.  She would point them out everywhere.

She also knows apostrophe and semi colon, but I forgot to include those when we made the video.  It seems like I’m passing something on to my children after all!