Maurice Bernard Sendak (; June 10, 1928 – May 8, 2012) was an American author and illustrator of children's books. He was best known for his book Where the Wild Things Are, first published in 1963. Born to Polish-Jewish parents, his childhood was impacted by the death of many of his family members during the Holocaust. Sendak wrote books including In the Night Kitchen, Outside Over There, and illustrated many works by other authors such as the Little Bear books by Else Holmelund Minarik. Source: Wikipedia (en)