Associated Press

Sendak in 1985 with one of the "Where the Wild Things Are" characters designed for the operatic adaptation of his book in St. Paul, Minn.

Associated Press

In October 1988, Sendak checked proofs of art for a major advertising campaign in his Ridgefield, Conn., home.

Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Sendak with a character from "Where the Wild Things Are" before the opening of an exhibition entitled, "Maurice Sendak In His Own Words and Pictures," at the Childrens Museum of Manhattan in New York City. The multimedia exhibition, which opened in 2002, featured photographs, text, illustrations, music and audiovisual components.

Win McNamee/Getty Images

President Obama acted out a part of the story while reading from "Where the Wild Things Are" with his wife, Michelle, and their daughter Sasha during the White House Easter Egg Roll last month.

Howard Kang/United Way

Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor Timothy Murray joined legislators and education leaders to read "Where the Wild Things Are" to children at the State House.

HarperCollins

The cover of Maurice Sendak's "Where the Wild Things Are."

HarperCollins

"Outside Over There," by Maurice Sendak.

HarperCollins

"Bumble Ardy," by Maurice Sendak.

Lucas Jackson/REUTERS

Actress Catherine Keener kissed Sendak before the premiere of the "Where The Wild Things Are" film in New York in 2009.

Joyce Dopkeen/The New York Times

Maurice Sendak at his Ridgefield, Conn., home with his German shepherd in 2006.