Maurice Sendak was born in Brooklyn, New York. He began by illustrating other authors' books for children, but the first book that he both wrote and illustrated was Kenny's Window, published in 1956.

In his lifetime, he illustrated over 80 books, and received many awards, including the 1964 Caldecott Medal for Where the Wild Things Are.

In 1970 he was the first American to win the Hans Christian Andersen Illustrator's Medal. He passed away in May 2012.

Maurice Sendak's books have sold over 50 million copies and have been translated into more than 40 languages. He received the 1964 Caldecott Medal for Where the Wild Things Are and is the creator of such classics as In the Night Kitchen, Outside Over There, Higglety Pigglety Pop! and Nutshell Library. In 1970 he received the international Hans Christian Andersen Medal for Illustration, in 1983 he received the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award from the American Library Association, and in 1996 he received a National Medal of Arts in recognition of his contribution to the arts in America.

In 2003, Sendak received the first Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, an annual international prize for children's literature established by the Swedish government. In 2024, HarperCollins released Maurice Sendak's Ten Little Rabbits (published by Puffin in the UK in February 2025), a hilarious counting picture book starring Mino the Magician, which School Library Journal called in a starred review, "a newly discovered treasure from a beloved children's book magician".