Max by Floriane Marchix

My undying love for Maurice Sendak & 'Where The Wild Things Are' is very apparent to all the people who frequent CCD, as well as anybody who knows me all that well. The home screen on my Xoom tablet is the classic scene with Max sitting under the tree and Carol bowing to him... one of the most priceless images in the history of children's books. God I regret the fact that I never got to meet Sendak and just say "Thank you..." for all the memories I have gotten out of that book. Apparently lots of other people are saddened by Sendak's recent death. A very cool website from New Zealand called Travisty's Beard had a tribute month during May to Sendak, and some of the pieces submitted were great. But the one that stood out to me the most has to be 'Max' by artist Floriane Marchix. Just a perfect compliment to Sendak. R.I.P. Mr. Sendak, you were the wildest thing of all... Check out the full size pic after the jump.

Avengers On Parade by Hannah Friederichs

The last couple of weeks have been up & down for me. I was very saddened a few weeks back by the death of Maurice Sendak. I was also very happy when I was able to take my 9 year old son to see 'The Avengers' on the big screen. That is a roller coaster of emotion, and its bittersweet. Than I came across Hannah Friederichs excellent Sendak-styled run down of the Avengers, and it all came together in a very positive way. This is what a good mash-up should be. Check out the full sized image after the jump.

Maurice Sendak: The Author Of My Favorite Children's Book Dies At Age 83

I will never forget the first time I saw the famous cover of 'Where The Wild Things Are', with its sleeping monster in Maurice Sendak's unique artistic style. I was 5 years old, walking into Mrs. Adler's Kindergarten classroom at P.S. 207 in Howard Beach, NY. My dad was NOTORIOUS fr always being late, but this was my first day of school and he wanted to get me there early. I arrived first, and was met at the door by Mrs. Adler. She smiled at me, welcomed into my first classroom, and told me to go take a book as I was waiting for my fellow classmates to arrive. I said goodbye to my pops, moved across the strange place to the book shelf, and scanned the titles for something interesting to peruse. My eyes immediately locked on to "Where The Wild Things Are". The sleeping monster had such a unique look and I needed to see more. From that moment on anytime we had a chance to free read a book from the shelf I chose that book. There were other great ones (Danny & The Dinosaur, The Bernstein Bears, multiple Dr. Suess books, etc), but I always rotated back to Sendak's epic book. It had my heart...

Click after the jump for more from Mike D

My love for Sendak had never wavered over the years. As an adult I have always revered the images from "Where the Wild Things Are". My Google profile pic is Max & the Monsters swinging from the trees. The first book I ever bought for my son after he was born was "Where The Wild Things Are". He loves it almost as much as me now. When the Spike Jonze movie came out adapting the book, my fiance Tara knew just how important it was to me. She got us tickets to the midnight screening on a Thursday night, even though she had work the next day. On the way there we got a flat tire. I couldn't get the lug nuts off to change the tire, so we were going to have to call roadside assistance. But I had to see this movie and couldn't wait for that to happen. I had been waiting for this film adaption for years. Tara saw it in my eyes. So she begrudgingly agreed to let me drive on the flat to the theater and we would deal with the flat AFTER the movie. That is true love. By the time the flick was over and we got the flat fixed, we got home around 3:30 am. She had to leave for work at 6:30 am. But neither of us were sad. We were so high on the magical world of Sendak that we both went to bed with thoughts of wolf suits and mythical monsters, not about waking up for work. It was glorious.

I am saddened by the death of Sendak, but it is more for my own selfish reasons. He was one of the few famous people I had HOPED to have met before they passed on. My favorite Actor, Actress & Director died before I could meet them (Peter Sellers, Audrey Hepburn & Stanley Kubrick), but Sendak seemed so alive whenever I saw him (like on the Colbert Report...classic) that I felt like I had forever to meet him. Now I won't have the shot. He now joins the group of my fantasy dinner party, with the likes of Sellers, Kubrick, Hepburn, Babe Ruth, Salvador Dali, Bob Kane, Frank Sinatra, Marilyn Monroe, Pistol Pete Maravich and other famous folks who I would love to have met. Man that party would be great!

So Rest in peace Mr. Sendak. Thanks for "Where The Wild Things Are", all 328 words in it. I can't wait to read it with my future children, grandchildren, and anyone else I can. You will be missed. Rest In Peace!!!

Christopher Walken Reads "Where The Wild Things Are" & I Promptly Faint Due To A Brain Hemorrhage From Hysterical Laughter!!!!

After last years release of  "Go The F@#k To Sleep" as read by Samuel Jackson helped elevate the book to huge sales numbers, it was only a matter of time before the parodies would start rolling in. Youtube users Randumbify  have come correct with this new video that features an actor doing a Christopher Walken impression reading "Where The Wild Things Are". Now fans of the book know that there are not to many words in the original text, but you have to hear the crazy analysis of the pictures from Walken as he breaks down his version of what is happening with Max in the pages of the story. This is the best 10 minutes I have ever spent in my life watching a Youtube clip, and it takes me back to the great Walken speeches of Pulp Fiction (He hid it in the only place he knew they wouldn't find it.... up his ass!) & True Romance (Your a cantaloupe!!!). Fantastic video... give this a watch immediately!!!!



 

What If Maurice Sendak Would Have Illustrated 'The Hobbit'?

Tony DiTerlizzi, author of 'The Spiderwick Chronicles', wrote a guest article for Hero Complex in which he unfolds the mystery behind the almost collaboration of J.R.R. Tolkien & Maurice Sendak. His article is amazing... here is a short excerpt talking about what went wrong:

"As Sendak noted passages for possible illustration and sketched in the margins of his copy of the book, the publisher prepared the art samples for Tolkien’s approval. The editor mislabeled the samples, however, identifying the wood-elves as “hobbits,” as Sendak recalled to Maguire. This blunder nettled Tolkien. His reply was that Sendak had not read the book closely and did not know what a hobbit was. Consequently, Tolkien did not approve the drawings. Sendak was furious.


In hopes that all could be smoothed over between the two, the publisher arranged for a meeting in Oxford while Sendak was in England touring for the U.K. release of “Wild Things.” The day before their meeting, Sendak suffered his first major heart attack. He was 39. Sendak spent several weeks recovering in a hospital in Birmingham. He never met with Tolkien, and the project was abandoned."

Well, I for one hope Sendak punched that dickbag editor in the face. The article supposedly contained the two illustrations discussed above, but only one is actually Sendak's. Here it is:

What do you think? Would you have liked to see Sendak take on Tolkien? Let us know in the comment section below!

I Built My Wild Self... Now You Can Too!!!

My favorite book growing up was 'Where The Wild Things Are' by Maurice Sendak. I loved the monsters... and Max was the shit. Tell me you didn't want to be that kid? Anyway, I saw my boy Cal from The Cave of Cool post this new feature from the New York Zoo & Aquarium in which you "Build Your Wild Self" and I had to give it a shot. Here is what I came up with:

Click here to make your own... and then give us the link in the comment section below so we could post it!