Weโve educated children to think that spontaneity is inappropriate. Children are willing to expose themselves to experiences. We arenโt. Grownups always say they protect their children, but theyโre really protecting themselves. Besides, you canโt protect children. They know everything.
Maurice SendakI'd like to believe an accumulation of experience has made me a sort of a grown-up person, so I can have judgment and taste and whatever.
Maurice SendakTruthfullness to life-both fantasy life and factual life-is the basis of all great art.
Maurice SendakChildren are tough, though we tend to think of them as fragile. They have to be tough. Childhood is not easy. We sentimentalize children, but they know what's real and what's not. They understand metaphor and symbol. If children are different from us, they are more spontaneous. Grown-up lives have become overlaid with dross.
Maurice Sendak