318 Quotes by Maurice Sendak

I grew up in a house that was in a constant state of mourning.

Knowledge is the driving force that puts creative passion to work.

We're supposed to be civilized. We're supposed to go to work every day. We're supposed to be nice to our friends and send Christmas cards to our parents.

Kids tell you what they think, not what they think they should think.

I know that if there’s a purpose for life, it was for me to hear Mozart.

I don't write for children. I write, and somebody says, 'That's for children.'

Herman Melville said that artists have to take a dive and either you hit your head on a rock and you split your skull and you die … or that blow to the head is so inspiring that you come back and do the best work that you ever did. BUT you have to take the dive and you do not know what the results will be.

I never thought of Bumble-Ardy in that way. But I still have that same deep feeling for children who are in dire trouble. I see Bumble-Ardy as a lonely, unhappy kid who is doing the very best he can to be in the world, to have a party.

There's a mystery there, a clue, a nut, a bolt, and if I put it together, I find me.