For my father the one calamity was that my brother and sister and I never learned to swim. My father, who was very macho, was a strong swimmer and was terribly disappointed to have children who didn't swim. Once when my mother was sitting in a beach chair - I can still see the big umbrella - she called to my father, "Throw them in! Throw them in! They'll swim!" So he did. Then he looked down, and there were the three Sendak children lying perfectly still underwater, not fighting for life!

God, I had great people in my life.

Why is my needle stuck in childhood? I don't know why. I guess it's because that's where my heart is.

All I liked to do when I was a kid was draw.

I'm not jaded. I never have been jaded. I've always been surprised at my success. I've always enjoyed it.

It's no fun being lonely.

When Mozart is playing in my room, I am in conjunction with something I can't explain... I don't need to. I know that if there's a purpose for life, it was for me to hear Mozart.