Maurice Bernard Sendak, author of well-known books such as Where the Wild Things Are, died Tuesday in Danbury Hospital near his home in Connecticut, according to an article in The New York Times. He was 83 years old.
The cause of death was due to complications in a recent stroke, according to the article.
Sendak was famous for writing and illustrating his stories, and producing works outside of the norm for children’s literature.
Where the Wild Things Are was first published in 1963 by Harper & Row and has enjoyed strong praise from critics and families since. In 1964 Sendak was awarded the Caldecott Medal for the illustrations in Where the Wild Things Are.
A movie based off the book was produced in 2009.
Some of his books have faced censorship due to the sometimes darker nature of its content, but Sendak still received numerous awards from various sources such as the proclaimed National Medal of the Arts award in 1996. Twenty-two of his books have been named The New York Times best illustrated books of the year.
Sendak was born in Brooklyn on June 10, 1928. Throughout his life he continued to write and illustrate most of his works, including a book called Bumble-Ardy published in 2011.