Maurice Sendak was a very famous children's writer and illustrator. He produced almost 100 books, but he will probably be best remembered as the author of Where the Wild Things Are. This was published in 1963, which is still a bestseller and has been recently made into a film.

Where the Wild Things Are is the story of a small boy called Max, who is sent to his room as a punishment for his 'wild' behaviour'. In his imagination he then travels to fantasy worlds full of wild creatures, who he is able to control because he is wilder than they are. They book was a huge hit with children from the beginning, though there were concerns from some critics that it might be too scary. He later wrote a sequel, In the Night Kitchen, which was also a great success.

Maurice Sendak died in 2012 aged 83. You can find a full list of his works here.