Maurice Sendak's ground-breaking 1963 book Where the Wild Things Are established him as a true visionary in the world of children's literature. In 1964 he received the Caldecott Medal for the book, and in 1970 was the first American illustrator to be awarded the prestigious Hans Christian Anderson Award, for his entire body of work. Wild Things is still one of the pre-eminent children's books even today, and McFarlane Toys worked closely with Sendak to create a series of characters straight from the pages of the book.