Maurice Sendak (1928 - 2012), best known for Where the Wild Things Are and creator of other classic children's books was born in New York to a family of Jewish immigrants from Poland. He was a sickly child for much of his early childhood spending much of his time reading in bed. After leaving school he worked on window displays and , while working on one for a bookshop, was noticed for his interest in illustration and introduced to an editor. He had a prolific career, both illustrating books written by others and his own work. He won both the Astrid Lindgren Award (2003) and the Hans Christian Anderson Award (1970).