Have you seen the Maurice Sendak Google Doodle that is up today? It celebrates what would have been his 85th Birthday. He passed away last year, but he will live on forever through his amazing illustrations and the legacy that he gave the world.

Maurice Sendak

Sendak’s love of books began when he was a child. He had some health problems that confined him to his bed, but these unfortunate circumstances turned out to be a blessing to the rest of the world, as it created a vivid imagination within the young boy’s mind. Watching Disney’s Fantasia is also cited to be among the inspirations of him deciding to become an illustrator at the age of twelve. At first he would draw illustrations for other people’s stories, but later began writing the stories himself. His first book of acclaim was Where the Wild Things Are, which has won numerous awards, has been made into an animated short in 1973, a full feature film in 2009 and, more importantly, is read by nearly every child in the western world.

When he died, the New York Times obituary called Sendak “the most important children’s book artist of the 20th century. He personally wrote over twenty books and illustrated over sixty. His unique and magical style is unmistakable and we are happy that Google was able to capture those illustrations today in its doodle.

Here are a few Sendak books that we currently have in stock:

Where the Wild Things Are Signed First Edition

In The Night Kitchen Signed First Edition by Maurice Sendak

The Nutcracker Signed First Edition by Maurice Sendak

See all books by Maurice Sendak