Maurice Sendak was born in 1928 in Brooklyn, New York. His parents were Jewish immigrants from Poland.
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'Where the Wild Things Are' tells the story of Max, who is sent to bed without supper and travels to a land of monsters, where he promptly becomes their king. Here, Sendak poses with a model of one of his creations at an exhibition dedicated to his work at the Children's Museum of Manhattan in New York.
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The American Library Association awarded 'Where the Wild Things Are' the Caldecott Medal for "the most distinguished picture book for children" in 1964. The book has sold more than 19 million copies worldwide since then. Here, the stars of the 2009 film adaptation give a reading in The New York Public Library.
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Laura Bush impersonates a Wild Thing as her daughter, Jenna Bush, reads Sendak's story to children at the White House Easter Egg Roll in 2008.
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'Where the Wild Things Are' has become something of a tradition at the annual White House Easter Egg Roll. Here, Barack Obama does his best Wild Thing impersonation at the 2012 event - though the First Lady doesn't look too impressed.
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"Where the Wild Things Are" has been made into animations, an opera and a live-action feature film, which starred 12-year-old Max Records as Max.
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There's even a line of 'Where the Wild Things Are' action figures.
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Maurice Sendak received multiple awards for his writing and illustrations. Here, Sendak's archivist Harrison Judd displays one of his lifetime achievement awards at the Animazing Gallery in New York on Oct. 1, 2009.
- [Jason Kempin/Getty Images]