Maurice Sendak, the children’s author and illustrator best known for the 1963 classic “Where the Wild Things Are,” died Tuesday in Danbury, Conn., reportedly of complications from a stroke. He was 83.



The Brooklyn-born author, the son of Jewish immigrants from Poland, lost many family members in the Holocaust and spent time in bed with health problems as a child. After seeing the Disney movie “Fantasia” at the age of 12, an experience that influenced his work throughout his career, he decided to become an illustrator.

During the 1950s, Sendak illustrated children’s books by other authors before starting to write his own stories. When “Where the Wild Things Are” came out in 1963, its monstrous characters raised concerns from some parents, but the book quickly brought him international acclaim, including the prestigious Caldecott Medal. The book was adapted into a feature film in 2009.