His latest book Bumble-ardy is a deeply imaginative tale about an orphaned pig who longs for a birthday party. Sendak, who is 83, wrote and illustrated the book while caring for his longtime partner, who died of cancer in 2007. "I did Bumble-ardy to save myself," Sendak says. "I did not want to die with him."
http://www.npr.org/2011/12/29/144077273/maurice-sendak-on-life-death-and-childrens-lit?sc=tw