Maurice Sendak

When Mozart is playing in my room, I am in conjunction with something I can't explain... I don't need to. I know that if there's a purpose for life, it was for me to hear Mozart.

My father could be very witty, even if the humor was always on the darker side of irony.

Oh, I adored Mickey Mouse when I was a child. He was the emblem of happiness and funniness. You went to the movies then, you saw two movies and a short. When Mickey Mouse came on the screen and there was his big head, my sister said she had to hold onto me. I went berserk.

Finding out that I was gay when I was older was a shock and a disappointment.

I adored Mickey Mouse when I was a child. He was the emblem of happiness and funniness.

To get a child's trust - you may know or not - is a very hard thing to do. They're so used to not believing adults - because adults tell tales and lies all the time.

My father belonged to a Jewish social club.

You cannot write for children They're much too complicated. You can only write books that are of interest to them.

Parents shouldn't assume children are made out of sugar candy and will break and collapse instantly. Kids don't. We do.

Do parents sit down and tell their kids everything? I don't know. I don't know. I've convinced myself - I hope I'm right - that children despair of you if you don't tell them the truth.

I write books that seem more suitable for children, and that's OK with me. They are a better audience and tougher critics. Kids tell you what they think, not what they think they should think.

Childhood is a tricky business. Usually, something goes wrong.