(Image Credit: Rex Features/AP Images)

Maurice Sendak , the renowned children's author who died today at age 83, brought the dark world of the "Wild Things" to life in homes across the country, including the most famous home of all: the White House.

During the White House Easter egg roll in April, President Obama praised Sendak's "Where the Wild Things Are" as "one of my favorite classic books of all time."

"It is a great book," Obama told a crowd of children gathered on the South Lawn, before launching into a animated, roaring rendition of the classic book.

"Let the wild rumpus start," the president read, adding "Arghhh, who can do a wild rumpus? Come on, I want everyone to do the wild rumpus. It's the wild rumpus."

Obama also read the "Wild Things" book during the 2009 Easter egg roll, although his rendition two years ago lacked the roaring and rumpusing of this year's reading.

When asked how President Obama felt about Sendak's death, White House press secretary Jay Carney told reporters on Air Force One today that "every parent must be a little bit in mourning today, and to every child who grew up with that book it's a sad day."

Watch the president's lively rendition of "Where the Wild Things Are"  here: