“I’ve been a carbuncle in the children’s book world since I began, practically. Now, everyone rushes to me and says, ‘Oh! Your books are classic! Classic!’ America is so vile. Just live long enough in this country and you turn into Helen Hayes.”  – beloved Where the Wild Things Are author Maurice Sendak, in an interview with POZ magazine. Sendak passed away today in Danbury, Connecticut, after suffering a stroke just days before. He was 83.