Author and illustrator Maurice Sendak passed away yesterday at the age of 83.  Where the Wild Things Are inspired generations of adults and children—maintaining a dark and mysterious tone while celebrating play and discovery. Sendak taught us to hug the monsters under the bed and not be afraid of the dark.

Mr. Sendak was recently on the Colbert Report in January full of energy and wit. He even endorsed Stephen’s first attempt at a children’s book, I Am a Pole (And So Can You!).

“I don’t write for children. I write, and somebody says, ‘that’s for children’.”