About Leo Politi
Atiglio Leoni Politi (November 21, 1908 – March 26, 1996) was an 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. == Childhood == Politi was the younger of two children, born in Fresno, on November 21, 1908, to Italian-American parents Lodovico Politi and Mary Cazzola. Politi's sister, Marie Therese, was two years older. Politi 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 of Broni near Milan. Lodovico left the family to take a job as a cobbler in Piacenza. Marie went to live with a poor aunt who operated a roadside inn. Politi was placed in a boarding home with an elderly woman and her daughter. Politi loved Broni, a deep affection that remained for the rest of his life. In Broni, he began to develop his artistic sense, drawing sketches of village life.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.