“As a kid, all I thought about was death. But you can't tell your parents that.”
Death
“My father could be very witty, even if the humor was always on the darker side of irony.”
HumorAll Quotes by Maurice Sendak
“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.”
Trust“There are certain pieces of music that are always attached to certain books.”
Music“I think people should be given a test much like driver's tests as to whether they're capable of being parents! It's an art form. I talk a lot. And I think a lot. And I draw a lot. But never in a million years would I have been a parent. That's just work that's too hard.”
Art“I've convinced myself - I hope I'm right - that children despair of you if you don't tell them the truth.”
Hope“The distinctions of fine art bore me to death.”
Death“In plain terms, a child is a complicated creature who can drive you crazy. There's a cruelty to childhood, there's an anger.”
Anger“I hate those e-books. They cannot be the future. They may well be.”
Future“What I do as best I can is out of a deep respect for children, for how difficult their world is.”
Respect“I'd like to believe an accumulation of experience has made me a sort of a grown-up person, so I can have judgment and taste and whatever.”
Experience“I don't need faith.”
Faith“I became a set designer for opera. I'm a great opera buff, I love classical music, and I needed a time-out.”
Music“I adored Mickey Mouse when I was a child. He was the emblem of happiness and funniness.”
Happiness“I mean, being a child was being a child, was being a creature without power, without pocket money, without escape routes of any kind. So I didn't want to be a child.”
Money“Childhood is a tricky business. Usually, something goes wrong.”
Business“My life in Brooklyn was in constant danger because of my bad health.”
Health“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.”
Hope“Girls are infinitely more complicated than boys and women more than men. And there's no doubt about that. We just don't like to think about it. Certainly the men don't like to think about it.”
Women“When I did 'Bumble-ardy,' I was so intensely aware of death. Eugene, my friend and partner, was dying here in the house when I did 'Bumble-ardy'. I did 'Bumble-ardy' to save myself. I did not want to die with him. I wanted to live, as any human being does.”
Death“I hate those e-books. They can not be the future... they may well be... I will be dead.”
Future