Maurice Sendak on what being an illustrator means

Here's a wonderful little piece - Maurice Sendak talks about being a children's storybook illustrator, and what it truly means to him. One of the things he says is that he gets to illustrate the story behind - or beyond - the story on the written page. (This is not a direct quote.) I think he hit it on the head! I agree, and this is something that personally has driven me to work in children's illustration. It is an amazing feeling to be able to create your own story with the images at the same time so creatively and imaginatively amending the pre-written story. It's a very interesting and "alive" kind of kind of creativity that comes about working within this framework. He only scratches the surface of the concept here, but he does a nice job of explaining it in his own words and experience. In your experience, would you agree?