Happy (late) 75th, Laszlo Gal! (Hungarian illustrator & 19..

His birthday was on the 18th.

Born in Budapest, he arrived in Canada in 1956 and now lives in
Toronto.

http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/3/10/t10-802-e.html
(photo, brief bio, partial booklist)

He is best known for his drawings and paintings of folk tales and has
a 15-page entry in the "Children's Literature Review" encyclopedias.

Excerpts:

(For "The Little Mermaid") "Laszlo.....got some instructions from the
publisher. The original cover had featured a mermaid au naturel. 'It
was much more daring before, and I had to cover the breasts with
hair.' While American publishers were interested in this book, they
did not publish it. 'A year later I found out that they couldn't take
it because of the "nudity," because they cannot sell these books in
the Bible Belt. I felt stupid to put a little shell there like a Walt
Disney movie.'......

"Asked about his favorite book, Laszlo says, 'I think I still like
"The Canadain Fairy Book the most.'......Among his more recent
favorites is the Venetian tale, 'Pome & Peel.' "


http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=laszlo+gal&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi
(some covers)

WRITINGS:

SELF-ILLUSTRATED

(Compiler) Hans C. Andersen, Fiable de Andersen, Mondadori (Verona),
1967.


(Reteller) Prince Ivan and the Firebird: A Russian Folktale,
McClelland & Stewart (Toronto), 1991.
(Reteller) East of the Sun and West of the Moon, McClelland & Stewart,
1993.
Merlin's Castle, Stoddart (Toronto), 1995.
(Reteller, with Raffaella Gal) The Parrot: An Italian Folktale,
Douglas & McIntyre, 1997.


ILLUSTRATOR

Maria Luisa Gefaell de Vivanco, reteller, Le gesta del Cid, Mondadori,
1965, translated as El Cid: Soldier and Hero, Golden Press, 1968.
M. L. Gefaell de Vivanco, I Nibelunghi, Mondadori, 1966, translated as
Siegfried: The Mighty Warrior, McGraw, 1967.
M. L. Gefaell de Vivanco, Chason de Roland (title means "Song of
Roland"), Mondadori, 1966.
M. L. Gefaell de Vivanco, Orlando paladino di Francia, Mondadori,
1968.
M. L. Gefaell de Vivanco, reteller, Aeneid, Mondadori, 1969.


Roland Melzack, reteller, Raven, Creator of the World, Little, Brown
(Boston), 1970.
William Toye, Cartier Discovers the St. Lawrence, Walck, 1970.
Selve Maas, reteller, The Moon Painters, and Other Estonian Folk
Tales, Viking, 1971.
Leslie M. Frost, Forgotten Pathways of the Trent, Burns & MacEachern
(Ontario), 1973.
Nancy Cleaver, How the Chipmunk Got Its Stripes, Clarke, Irwin
(Toronto), 1973.
Mary Alice Downie, Scared Sarah, Nelson (Toronto), 1974.
Marion Ralston, Comparative Mythology, Heath (Toronto), 1974.
Bert Williams, Sword of Egypt, Scholastic-TAB, 1976.
Edith Fowke, Folklore of Canada, McClelland & Stewart (Toronto),
1976.
Mariella Bertelli, The Shirt of the Happy Man/La camicia dell' uomo
felice, Kids Can Press (Toronto), 1977.
Marian Engle, My Name Is Not Odessa Yarker, Kids Can Press, 1977.
Ronald Melzack, reteller, Why the Man in the Moon Is Happy and Other
Eskimo Creation Stories, McClelland & Stewart, 1977.
Janet Lunn, reteller, The Twelve Dancing Princesses: A Fairy Story,
Methuen (Toronto), 1979.


Catherine Ahearn, Cristobel: A Story for Young People, Golden Dog
Press (Ottawa), 1982.
Margaret Crawford Maloney, reteller, Hans Christian Andersen's "The
Little Mermaid," Methuen, 1983.
Eva Martin, reteller, Canadian Fairy Tales, Douglas & McIntyre
(Vancouver), 1984.
Meghan Collins, The Willow Maiden, Dial (New York City), 1985.
Eva Martin, reteller, Tales of the Far North, Dial, 1986.
Robert D. San Souci, reteller, The Enchanted Tapestry: A Chinese
Folktale, Dial, 1987.
Margaret Crawford Maloney, reteller, The Goodman of Ballengiech,
Methuen, 1987.
Marianna Mayer, Iduna and the Magic Apples, Macmillan, 1988.
P. K. Page, A Flask of Sea Water, Oxford University Press, 1989.


Marianna Mayer, The Spirit of the Blue Light, Macmillan, 1990.
Amy Ehrlich, reteller, Pome and Peel: A Venetian Tale, Dial, 1990.
Joanne Robertson, Sea Witches, Oxford University Press (Toronto),
1991, Dial, 1991.
Donia Blumenfeld Clenman, The Moon and the Oyster, Orca Book
Publishers (Victoria, BC), 1992.
Anne Smythe, Islands, Douglas & McIntyre (Vancouver, BC), 1995.
Margaret Shaw-MacKinnon, Tiktala, Stoddart (Toronto), 1996, Holiday
House (New York City), 1996.
Tim Wynne-Jones, reteller, Dracula, Key Porter Books (Toronto), 1997.
Charles Perrault, Cinderella, Ginn, 1998.
Welwyn Wilton Katz, adapter, Beowulf, Douglas & McIntyre, 1999.


OTHER

Sziklaevek: hatrahagyott versek 1969-1975 (collected works), Forum
(Ujvidek), 1983.


Lenona.