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.
Politi was the youngest of two children, born Atiglio Leoni Politi on November 21, 1908, to Lodovico Politi and Mary Cazzola. Politi’s sister, Marie Therese, was two ye...
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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.
Politi was the youngest of two children, born Atiglio Leoni Politi on November 21, 1908, to Lodovico Politi and Mary Cazzola. Politi’s sister, Marie Therese, was two years older.
Leo Politi’s life was the stuff that picture books are made of. 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 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...
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