Maurice Sendak: I love watching animal movies on television. And they always say don't run

away and don't turn your back. And don't lie down flat. And I love—it's from my childhood—how

do you prevent dying? How do you prevent being eaten or mauled by a monster? I still worry

about it. (Laughter)

[Music: Johnny_Ripper "Opening Credits"]

Maurice Sendak: I think there is something barbaric in children, and it's missing in

lots of books for them because we don't like to think of it. We want them to be happy.

Childhood is a very tough time. It was for me, and it was for my brother and my sister.

They were both considerably older than I was and they protected me from my parents. They

were the good parents. And my real parents were not so good, okay? They didn't mean any

harm. They were confused; they didn't speak English. Living in a foreign country, and

take it out on your kids. That's all.

[Music: "Opening Credits" continues]

Maurice Sendak: But there are a lot of crazy people who have children, and I've always

been interested in how children maneuver and decide how to live. It's hard. I've always

had a deep respect for children and how they solve complex problems by themselves.

Ramin Seetodeh: And how do they?

Maurice Sendak: I think through shrewdness, fantasy and just plain strength; they want

to survive. They want to survive. The kids in Hansel and Gretel: Gretel, she saves her

brother's life. And a little girl saving a little boy's life—when did children have

to confront such terrible ordeals? Well they do. They do.

[Music: "Opening Credits" continues]

Andrew Romano: Just a broad question: what should children's stories contain?

Maurice Sendak: Well, how would I know? All I do know is that my parents were immigrants

and they didn't know that they should clean the stories up for us. So we heard horrible,

horrible stories. And we loved them. We absolutely loved them. But the three of us—my sister,

my brother and myself—grew up being very depressed people.

[Music: Ergo Phizmiz & Margita Zalite "Rolands Vegners"]

Maurice Sendak: So the great thing was my brother, who wrote stories and I'd illustrate

his stories. There was one story we called "We Are Inseparable." And they're going to

get married. The brother and sister are going to get married and nobody knows that there's

anything wrong with that. Nobody. Nobody. Hey, you love somebody. So it's your sister.

Big deal. Okay?

[Music: "Rolands Vegners" continues]

Maurice Sendak: Now, obviously Freud stuck into my brother's head at the last minute

to prevent this wedding from taking place. The boy's in an accident—and I can't remember

what—and he's bandaged and looks like a mummy. And she comes tearing to the hospital.

"Let me in! Let me in!" And the parents are holding her back, holding her back and then

she breaks down the door and she jumps on top of him and they both scream in unison,

"We are inseparable!" And they leap out the window of the Brooklyn Jewish Hospital—like

the 40th floor—and that's how it ends. It was a really happy ending. (Laughter)

[Music: "Sneeuwland"continues]

Maurice Sendak: Let's tell the truth. Let's talk about the kid who doesn't make it sensationally

well. Who struggles and fights, but really doesn't know what he's fighting against or

for. And I don't think that changes. We're all adults in this room sitting talking about

that. Has that ended? No. It doesn't end. I still think the same way I thought as a

child. I still worry. I'm still frightened. Everything is the same. Nothing changes.

[Music: "Sneeuwland" continues]

END