The illustrations of renowned children's author Maurice Sendak, who would have turned 85 on Monday is the subject of Google's latest doodle.

The doodle is an animation of the illustrations contained in some of his best-selling books such as Where the Wild Things Are, which has sold around 17 million copies worldwide, mostly in the US.

Mysterious creatures are seen dancing around in a bizarre set of colourful outfits.

Sendak, born to a family of Polish Jews, was most well-known for his 1963 book Where the Wild Things Are that tells the story of a boy called Max whose imagination takes him on a wild journey wrestling monsters in a far-off land before returning to his bedroom to find his supper waiting for him.

Sendak died last year, aged 83.

• This article was amended on 10 June 2013. The original subheading described Sendak as a Polish author. He was an American author born to Polish parents. This has been corrected.