Kurt Wiese (April 22, 1887 – May 27, 1974) was a German-born book illustrator, who wrote and illustrated 20 children's books and illustrated another 300 for other authors.

Background

Kurt Wiese was born on April 22, 1887, in Minden, Germany. He aspired to be an artist but was discouraged by his community. He had at least one sibling, Ella Wiese, later Ella Barnberg.

Career

Wiese was sent to Hamburg to "learn about the export trade to China." From 1909 to 1915, Wiese lived, worked, and traveled in China. selling merchandise as a young man. At the outbreak of World War I, he was captured by the Japanese, and turned over to the British. He spent five years as a prisoner, most of them in Australia, where his fascination with the animal life inspired him to start sketching again. After his release at the end of the war, Wiese returned briefly to Germany and then moved to

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, where he began illustrating. In 1927, Wiese moved to the United States. His first critical success was with the illustrations for

Felix Salten Felix Salten (; 6 September 1869 – 8 October 1945) was an Austro-Hungarian author and literary critic in Vienna. Life and death Salten was born Siegmund Salzmann on 6 September 1869 in Pest, Austria-Hungary. His father was Fülöp Salzmann, t ...

's ''Bambi'' in 1928. From his farm in

Kingwood Township, New Jersey Kingwood Township is a township in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States, located on the Hunterdon Plateau. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 3,845, reflecting an increase of 63 (+1.7%) from the 3,782 coun ...

, he worked with German master printmaker Theodore Cuno of Germantown, Pennsylvania, to create some of his lithographs.

Personal life and death

In 1930, Wiese married Gertrude Hausen, a realtor, with whom he lived on a farm in

(or Frenchtown). Kurt Wiese died age 87 on May 27, 1974, in Idell, Kingwood Township near

Flemington, New Jersey Flemington is a borough in and the county seat of Hunterdon County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Caldecott Honor The Randolph Caldecott Medal, frequently shortened to just the Caldecott, annually recognizes the preceding year's "most distinguished American picture book for children". It is awarded to the illustrator by the Association for Library Service ...

Book Award in 1946 for ''You Can Write Chinese'' (author, illustrator) * Caldecott Honor Book Award in 1948 for ''Fish in the Air'' (author, illustrator) *

Newbery Award The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished contr ...

winner ''Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze''(illustrator) * Newbery Honor books ''Honk the Moose'', ''Li Lun'', ''Lad of Courage'', and ''Daughter of the Mountains''(illustrator)

Selected works

;Freddy the Pig Freddy the Pig was featured in 26 books written by Walter R. Brooks, illustrated by Wiese, and published by

Alfred A. Knopf Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. () is an American publishing house that was founded by Alfred A. Knopf Sr. and Blanche Knopf in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers in ...

from 1927 to 1958. The first, titled ''To and Again'' – in reference to a constituent journey to and back again from Florida - was illustrated by Adolfo Best Maugard. The sequel, ''More To and Again'' - with a trip to the North Pole and back - was illustrated by Wiese. These first two books were later reprinted and retitled as Freddy Goes to Florida and Freddy Goes to the North Pole, with the former incorporating new illustrations by Wiese. They were followed by ''Freddy the Detective'' (1932), three more various titles, 19 novels with "Freddy" titles (1940–1958) and '' The Collected Poems of Freddy the Pig'' (1953). For some time all 25 novels have been issued with "Freddy" titles. ;Others Brazil * ''Jéca Tatuzinho'' by Monteiro Lobato (1924) ;Others USA The following books have New York City publishers, except as noted: * ''

Bambi, A Life in the Woods ''Bambi, a Life in the Woods'' (German title: ''Bambi: Eine Lebensgeschichte aus dem Walde'') is a 1923 Austrian coming-of-age novel written by Felix Salten and originally published in Berlin by Ullstein Verlag. The novel traces the life of Bambi ...

'', translated by

Whittaker Chambers Whittaker Chambers (born Jay Vivian Chambers; April 1, 1901 – July 9, 1961) was an American writer-editor, who, after early years as a Communist Party member (1925) and Soviet spy (1932–1938), defected from the Soviet underground (1938) ...

from the 1923 German by

(

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest pu ...

, 1929), * ''Poodle-oodle of Doodle Farm'', Lawton and Ruth Mackall, (Frederick A. Stokes, 1929), (Illustrations by Kurt Wiese) * '' The Hound of Florence'', translated by Huntley Paterson from the 1923 German by Felix Salten (Simon & Schuster, 1930) * ''

Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze ''Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze'' is a book by Elizabeth Foreman Lewis that won the Newbery Medal for excellence in American children's literature in 1933. The story revolves around Fu Yuin-fah, the son of a widow from the countryside of western ...

'',

Elizabeth Foreman Lewis Elizabeth Foreman Lewis (May 24, 1892 – August 7, 1958) was an American children's writer. She received the Newbery Award and the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award. Early years and education Elizabeth Foreman was born in Baltimore, Maryland, May 24, 18 ...

(Philadelphia, Chicago: John C. Winston Co., 1932) * ''Silver Chief, Dog of the North'', Jack O'Brien (Winston, 1933) * '' The Story about Ping'',

Marjorie Flack Marjorie Flack (October 22, 1897 - August 29, 1958) was an American artist and writer of children's picture books. Flack was born in Greenport, Long Island, New York in 1897. She was best known for '' The Story about Ping'' ( 1933), illustrat ...

(

Viking Press Viking Press (formally Viking Penguin, also listed as Viking Books) is an American publishing company owned by Penguin Random House. It was founded in New York City on March 1, 1925, by Harold K. Guinzburg and George S. Oppenheim and then acquir ...

, 1933) * ''Farm Boy: A Hunt for Indian Treasure'', Phil Stong ( Doubleday, Doran and Co., 1934) * ''Ho-Ming – Girl of New China'', Elizabeth Lewis (Winston, 1934) * ''Honk, the Moose'', Phil Stong ( Dodd, Mead and Co., 1935) * ''Valiant, Dog Of The Timberline'', Jack O'Brien ( Grosset & Dunlap, 1935) * ''The Untold Story of Exploration'', Lowell Thomas (Dodd, Mead & Company, 1935) * ''All the Mowgli Stories'',

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work. ...

(Kipling Collection, Library of Congress; Doubleday, Doran, 1936) * ''Sheep'', Archer B. Gilfillan (Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1936) * ''Buddy the Bear'' oward-McCann, Inc.1936 * ''

The Five Chinese Brothers ''The Five Chinese Brothers'' is an American children's book written by Claire Huchet Bishop and illustrated by Kurt Wiese. It was originally published in 1938 by Coward-McCann. The book is a retelling of a Chinese folk tale, '' Ten Brothers''. ...

'', Claire Huchet Bishop (

Coward-McCann G. P. Putnam's Sons is an American book publisher based in New York City, New York. Since 1996, it has been an imprint of the Penguin Group. History The company began as Wiley & Putnam with the 1838 partnership between George Palmer Putnam and J ...

, 1938) * ''Yen-Foh A Chinese Boy'', adapted from the Chinese by Ethel J. Eldridge (Chicago: Albert Whitman & Co., 1939) * ''Saranga The Pygmy'' by Attilio Gatti, Hodder and Stoughton, London, 1939 (Illustrations by Kurt Wiese) * ''Pecos Bill and Lightning'', Leigh Peck (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1940) * ''With Love and Irony'',

Lin Yutang Lin Yutang ( ; October 10, 1895 – March 26, 1976) was a Chinese inventor, linguist, novelist, philosopher, and translator. His informal but polished style in both Chinese and English made him one of the most influential writers of his generati ...

( John Day Company, 1940) * ''The Ferryman'', Claire Huchet Bishop (Coward-McCann, 1941) * ''The Adventures of Monkey'', adapted from the 1942 abridged translation by

Arthur Waley Arthur David Waley (born Arthur David Schloss, 19 August 188927 June 1966) was an English orientalist and sinologist who achieved both popular and scholarly acclaim for his translations of Chinese and Japanese poetry. Among his honours were ...

from the Chinese of

Wu Ch'eng-En Wu Cheng'en (, c. 1500–1582Shi Changyu (1999). "Introduction." in trans. W.J.F. Jenner, ''Journey to the West'', volume 1. Seventh Edition. Beijing: Foreign Languages Press. pp. 1–22. or 1505–1580), courtesy name Ruzhong (), was a Chines ...

(John Day, 1944) * ''You Can Write Chinese'', picture book created by Wiese (Viking, 1945) – a Caldecott Honor Book * ''Censored, the Goat'', Phil Stong (Dodd, Mead & Company, 1945) * ''Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea'', Jules Verne (Cleveland and New York: World Pub. Co., 1946) – an edition of the 1870 classic * '' Li Lun, Lad of Courage'', Carolyn Treffinger (

Abingdon Press Abingdon Press is the book publishing arm of the United Methodist Publishing House which publishes sheet music, ministerial resources, Bible-study aids, and other items, often with a focus on Methodism and Methodists. History Abingdon Press w ...

, 1947) * ''Daughter of the Mountains'', Louise Rankin (Viking, 1948) * ''Fish in the Air'', picture book created by Wiese (Viking, 1948) – a Caldecott Honor Book * ''The Fables of Aesop'',

Joseph Jacobs Joseph Jacobs (29 August 1854 – 30 January 1916) was an Australian folklorist, translator, literary critic, social scientist, historian and writer of English literature who became a notable collector and publisher of English folklore. Jacobs ...

889( Macmillan US, 1950) – an edition of classic

Aesop's Fables Aesop's Fables, or the Aesopica, is a collection of fables credited to Aesop, a slave and storyteller believed to have lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 564 BCE. Of diverse origins, the stories associated with his name have descended to ...

* ''Happy Easter'', picture book created by Wiese (Viking, 1952) * ''All about Volcanoes and Earthquakes'', Frederick H. Pough (

Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...

, 1953) * ''Lions in the Barn'', Virginia Frances Voight (

Holiday House A holiday cottage, holiday home, vacation home, or vacation property is accommodation used for holiday vacations, corporate travel, and temporary housing often for less than 30 days. Such properties are typically small homes, such as cottage ...

, 1955) * ''Pika and the Roses'',

Elizabeth Coatsworth Elizabeth Jane Coatsworth (May 31, 1893 – August 31, 1986) was an American writer of fiction and poetry for children and adults. She won the 1931 Newbery Medal from the American Library Association award recognizing '' The Cat Who Went to ...

( Pantheon Books, 1959) * ''Twenty-two Bears'', Claire Huchet Bishop (Viking, 1964) * ''The Truffle Pig'', Claire Huchet Bishop (Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, 1971)

References

External links