Maurice Sendak Dies: Which of His Books Is Most Popular at the Library?

Maurice Sendak, the renowned illustrator and writer of children’s books, died Tuesday at the age of 83 in Danbury, CT, prompting The New York Times to eulogize how he “wrenched the picture book out of the safe, sanitized world of the nursery and plunged it into the dark, terrifying and hauntingly beautiful recesses of the human psyche.”

Regarded as “the most important children’s book artist of the 20th century,” as the Times put it, Sendak was the creator of numerous works, no less than 15 of which are at the Echo Park Branch Library, according to Vinh Luc, one of the librarians there. Langdon Faust of the Edendale Branch Library said there are seven different Sendak-authored works there.

As you'd guess, Where the Wild Things Are, Sendak’s groundbreaking 1963 work, was the most-borrowed of all the titles at the Echo Park library -- it has been loaned out a total of 150 times, according to Luc. Faust said the work was popular at Edendale as well, with the book being loaned out between 100 and 120 times, she said.

To commemorate Sendak’s passing, we thought we’d ask readers which is their favorite title by the author—and which is their children’s favorite?

Share your titles—and Sendak stories—in the Comments box below.