Renown Children's Book Author Helps Bring Life To New Library
By Justin Udo
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A beloved children's book author, whose work is on permanent display in Philadelphia, helps bring life to a new library.
The 10 foot high 4 foot long mural shows characters created by Maurice Sendak parading down a street.
"This mural was painted around 1961, on the bedroom wall of two kids, who were the kids of friends of Maurice, and he just decided he wanted to give them a mural in their bedroom in the apartment in New York," said Patrick Rogers.
Rogers with the Rosenbach Museum says for nearly five years the 14 hundred pound mural has been on display in their space, but now it's found a home at the new Health and Literacy Center in South Philadelphia.
"I can just see doing reading groups for kids in front of this mural or doing a Sendek slide show,"Rogers said. "There are so many ways you can interpret this."
Cassie Myers spent nearly 360 hours restoring the the mural. She says it was a fun and tedious job.
"In the process of doing this project, I got to be in contact with Maurice Sendak and he signed off on everything I did and was very pleased with the result," Myers said.
Sendak is best known for his children's book, 'Where the Wild Things Are'.