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Leo Politi (1908–1996) was an Italian-American artist and author who wrote and illustrated some 20 children's books, as well as Bunker Hill, Los Angeles (1964), intended for adults. His works often celebrated cultural diversity, and many were published in both English and Spanish.

Leo Politi’s life was the stuff that picture books are made of. Born into an Italian family in Fresno
Fresno, California

Fresno is a city in California, USA, the county seat of Fresno County, California, and the second largest inland city in the state, after San Jose, California....
 in 1908, he was transported to Italy at the age of seven — in an “Indian Chief suit,” via transcontinental railroad and ocean liner — and grew up, constantly drawing, in his mother’s native village near Milan
Milan

Milan is the second largest city of Italy, located in the plains of Lombardy. It is the capital in the Province of Milan, as well as the Regions of Italy capital of Lombardy....
.

After art school, and some designing and illustrating, he returned to the States — via the Panama Canal, with its Latino color — and settled on Los Angeles
Los Ángeles

Los ?ngeles is the Capital of the Biob?o Province, in the municipality of the same name, in Regions of Chile VIII , in the center-south of Chile....
’s quaintly Mexican Olvera Street
Olvera Street

Olvera Street is in the oldest part of Downtown Los Angeles Los Angeles, California, and is part of the Los Angeles Plaza Historic District. Many Latinos refer to it as "La Placita Olvera." Circa 1911 it was described as Sonora Town....
, where he sketched tourists and sold drawings alongside potters, weavers, and other artisans-in-residence.






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Leo Politi (1908–1996) was an Italian-American artist and author who wrote and illustrated some 20 children's books, as well as Bunker Hill, Los Angeles (1964), intended for adults. His works often celebrated cultural diversity, and many were published in both English and Spanish.

Leo Politi’s life was the stuff that picture books are made of. Born into an Italian family in Fresno
Fresno, California

Fresno is a city in California, USA, the county seat of Fresno County, California, and the second largest inland city in the state, after San Jose, California....
 in 1908, he was transported to Italy at the age of seven — in an “Indian Chief suit,” via transcontinental railroad and ocean liner — and grew up, constantly drawing, in his mother’s native village near Milan
Milan

Milan is the second largest city of Italy, located in the plains of Lombardy. It is the capital in the Province of Milan, as well as the Regions of Italy capital of Lombardy....
.

After art school, and some designing and illustrating, he returned to the States — via the Panama Canal, with its Latino color — and settled on Los Angeles
Los Ángeles

Los ?ngeles is the Capital of the Biob?o Province, in the municipality of the same name, in Regions of Chile VIII , in the center-south of Chile....
’s quaintly Mexican Olvera Street
Olvera Street

Olvera Street is in the oldest part of Downtown Los Angeles Los Angeles, California, and is part of the Los Angeles Plaza Historic District. Many Latinos refer to it as "La Placita Olvera." Circa 1911 it was described as Sonora Town....
, where he sketched tourists and sold drawings alongside potters, weavers, and other artisans-in-residence. Politi’s affection for the Mexican-Americans and their folkways was genuine; an affinity. Most especially, as a devout Catholic at home with Italian saints, he responded to Mexican ritual. Children — natural, spontaneous children — he loved without reserve or distinction. Drawing Mexican children, for magazines and books, gave him an American career and a professional identity.

In 1980, a branch of the Fresno Public Library was named for him, and in 1991, the Leo Politi Elementary School
List of Los Angeles Unified School District schools

This is a list of schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District....
 in Los Angeles was dedicated.

Works


  • Pedro, the Angel of Olvera Street (1946) a Caldecott Honor
    Caldecott Honor

    The Caldecott Honor is a citation given by the Association for Library Service to Children of the American Library Association . The Caldecott Honor is given to worthy runners-up for the Caldecott Medal, a higher honor....
     book
  • Juanita (1948)
  • Song of the Swallows (1950), Caldecott Medal
    Caldecott Medal

    The Caldecott Medal is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children published that year....
  • A Boat for Peppe (1960)
  • Bunker Hill, Los Angeles: Reminiscences of Bygone Days (1964)
  • Piccolo's Prank (1965)
  • Moy Moy (1960)
  • Mr. Fong's toy shop (1978)


External links