Google Doodle Celebrates Maurice Sendak’s 85th Birthday [Video]

Today’s Google Doodle pays tribute to author Maurice Sendak, best known for his 1963 children’s picture book Where the Wild Things Are.

The beloved children’s author and illustrator is the subject of today’s interactive Google Doodle, on what would have been his 85th birthday. Sendak passed away from complications of a stroke in early 2012. He was 83-years-old when he died.

The Google Doodle shows a stylized “Google” title and the Where the Wild Things Are character Max waving his arms and walking in place with a “play” button in a bubble over his head.

Click the “play” button, and the Google homepage turns into a turning-wheel storyline that begins with Max going through the land of the Wild Things, and rumpus-ing through other familiar settings from Sendak’s work.

Among the cameos in the piece are the flying boy from “In the Night Kitchen,” a book that has both been one of the most popular children’s books of all time as well as one which is most frequently banned from libraries.

A party of his characters gather around a cake for him at the end of the animation.

Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are has sold over 19 million copies worldwide as of 2009, with 10 million being bought in the United States. It has earned numerous plaudits, including the Caldecott Medal, and has been named among the top children’s books in several polls and lists.

The book was even adapted into a film of the same name in 2009. It debuted to generally favorable reviews.

Despite the popularity of the book, Sendak famously refused to ever write a sequel, calling the proposition “the most boring idea imaginable” several months before his death.

You can check out a video of the Google Doodle commemorating Maurice Sendak’s 85th birthday below, or jog on over to Google to see it for yourself. Let the wild rumpus start!

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