Maurice Sendak, author of Where The Wild Things Are, died today after suffering a stroke Friday. He was 83. Sendak’s Where The Wild Things Are was awarded a Caldecott Medal for best children’s book of 1964, and President Clinton awarded him the National Medal of the Arts in 1996. As well as his work as a writer and illustrator, Sendak was a television producer of series based on his work, such as Seven Little Monsters, George And Martha and Little Bear. Spike Jonze made Where The Wild Things Are into a feature film in 2009; Sendak was a producer on the film. The author was also the subject of the documentary Tell Them Anything You Want: A Portrait Of Maurice Sendak, directed by Jonze and Lance Bangs.

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