"When I did 'Bumble-ardy,' I was so intensely aware of death. Eugene, my friend and partner, was dying here in the house when I did 'Bumble-ardy'. I did 'Bumble-ardy' to save myself. I did not want to die with him. I wanted to live, as any human being does."

Friendship

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Insight & Reflection

The theme of friendship is universal, yet Maurice Sendak manages to capture its essence in a uniquely profound way. Taking a moment to internalize this can shift our mindset, reminding us that our perspective on friendship often shapes our reality.

About Maurice Sendak

Maurice Bernard Sendak was an American author and illustrator of children's books. Born to Polish-Jewish parents, his childhood was impacted by the death of many of his family members during the Holocaust. Sendak illustrated his own books as well as those by other authors, such as the Little Bear series by Else Holmelund Minarik. He achieved acclaim with Where the Wild Things Are (1963), the first of a trilogy followed by In the Night Kitchen (1970) and Outside Over There (1981). He also designed sets for operas, notably Mozart's The Magic Flute.

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Editorial Note: This quote is curated and fact-checked by the ShortQuote Editorial Team. Verified Literature Specialist.

More by Maurice Sendak

"In plain terms, a child is a complicated creature who can drive you crazy. There's a cruelty to childhood, there's an anger."

— Maurice Sendak
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"There are certain pieces of music that are always attached to certain books."

— Maurice Sendak
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"My life in Brooklyn was in constant danger because of my bad health."

— Maurice Sendak
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"Most children - I know I did when I was a kid - fantasize another set of parents. Or fantasize no parents. They don't tell their real parents about that - you don't want to tell Mom and Dad."

— Maurice Sendak
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More about Friendship

"The reason I met my husband was because I remembered a friend's birthday. The moral of the story is: Remember people's birthdays."

— Julianna Margulies
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"He who loses wealth loses much he who loses a friend loses more but he that loses his courage loses all."

— Miguel de Cervantes
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"When you say a friend has a sense of humor do you mean that he makes you laugh, or that he can make you laugh?"

— Max Frisch
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"I came to declare that I am a friend to Arabs, at a time when it is not easy to be friend to Arabs, because nowadays those who have ambitions and interests would not befriend Arab."

— George Galloway
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