Maurice Sendak Reflects on the Difficulties of Childhood

Maurice Sendak Reflects on the Difficulties of Childhood in Newly-Released Animated Video

Blank on Blank has released a video that animates Sendak’s musings about being a kid. Based on a previously-unheard interview recorded in 2009, Sendak speaks in the clip about his difficult childhood, which was surrounded by tragedy. (He grew up in Brooklyn, the child of Polish Jewish immigrants whose remaining family perished during the Holocaust.) He also recalls how children all have problems to work through — problems that remained at the front of his mind when he started writing his classic children’s books. It’s worth pairing the video above with another animated video of Sendak’s emotional last interview with NPR’s Terry Gross. And, for a completely random bonus, we’ve added below a clip of James Gandolfini (aka Tony Soprano) reading from Sendak’s controversial story book In The Night Kitchen.-Open Culture

Click Image to listen to James Gandolfini read In The Night Kitchen

Another reflection on this unique pairing:

James Gandolfini Reads Maurice Sendak's Most Controversial Book

Two creative icons on the precipice of mortality.

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