Sendak said his two favorite books that he has written are Outside Over There--his most autobiographical, he explained--and Higglety Pigglety Pop.
Other questions centered on the inspiration for his books.
Sendak said We Are All in the Dumps With Jack and Guy, his latest work, was inspired by a homeless child he saw in a cardboard box on Rodeo Drive and by reports of street children being shot in Rio de Janeiro.
He said Where the Wild Things Are originated as Where the Wild Horses Are, a suggestion from author Ruth Krauss, until Sendak realized that he couldn't draw horses.
"The horses then became...things, and the things became my relatives," he said.
Sendak had been scheduled to visit the class on March 22, but suffered a tendon injury and could not come. Fellow children's author Lois Lowry took his place, and she attended Sendak's appearance Wednesday.