Seymour Reit
Seymour Reit | |
---|---|
Born | Seymour Victory Reit November 11, 1918 New York City, United States |
Died | November 21, 2001 New York City, United States | (aged 83)
Pen name | Seymour Reit, Sy Reit |
Occupation | Writer, cartoonist |
Alma mater | New York University |
Notable works | Casper the Friendly Ghost[1] |
Seymour Victory Reit (11 November 1918 – 21 November 2001) was an American author of over 80
Mad Magazine and several other publications as a humorist.[2]
Biography
Reit was born in
in-betweener and inker on the 1939 animated film Gulliver's Travels, and later became a gag writer for the Popeye and Betty Boop cartoon series, among others. He also anonymously produced comic strips for Jerry Iger under the Fiction House label.[2] He attended New York University with future Captain Marvel writer William Woolfolk; and helped launch Woolfolk's career as a writer of comics by introducing him to Jerry Iger and Will Eisner.[4]
Reit served in
D-Day. He later wrote a book, The Amazing Camouflage Deceptions of World War II, drawing on his wartime experience.[2][3] It contains a version of the urban legend which claims that British aviators taunted the German Army by dropping a wooden bomb on a decoy airfield the Germans had built.[5]
After the war, Reit did cartoon work for Mad Magazine, ultimately contributing over 60 pieces.[2][6] One of Reit's articles for Mad, "The 'Down-To-Earth' Coloring Book," appeared in the summer of 1960 and anticipated (or helped inspire) the faddish publishing boom of "adult" coloring books.[7]
Books
Reit wrote over 80 books, primarily for children, on a variety of historical, technical, natural, and other subjects.Internet Movie Database lists a movie by the same title that had tentatively been planned for 2009.[10]
Selected works
Book | Year | Publisher | Pages | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Guns for General Washington | 2001 | Gulliver Books Paperbacks | 160 | About William and Henry Knox, brothers tasked with transporting 60 tons of cannons 300 miles that played a decisive role in the Siege of Boston.[11] |
A Dog's Tale | 1996 | Random House Children's Books | 32 | Featured on episode 137 of the PBS TV series Reading Rainbow.[12][13] |
Trains | 1990 | Western Publishing | 45 | An illustrated history of railway transportation.[14] |
Behind Rebel Lines | 1988 | Harcourt Children's Books | 130 | About United States Civil War.[15]
|
Scotland Yard Detective | 1987 | Bantam Books | 144 | Part of the Time Machine series, a spinoff of the Choose Your Own Adventure books.[16][17] |
Sibling Rivalry | 1985 | Ballantine Books | 171 | About the causes of sibling rivalry and how to cope with it.[18] |
The Day They Stole the Mona Lisa | 1981 | Summit Books | 254 | About the theft of the Mona Lisa.[19] |
The Pleasure of Their Company: How to Have More Fun with Your Children | 1981 | Chilton Book Co. | 373 | Suggests activities for children and adults to share and techniques for controlling children's television-watching, diet, and play habits.[20] |
Masquerade: The Amazing Camouflage Deceptions of World War II | 1978 | Hawthorn Books | 255 | Reprinted in 1980 as The Hidden War: The Amazing Camouflage Deception of World War II.[21] |
Sails, Rails, and Wings | 1978 | Golden Press | 69 | About the three different types of transportation, as illustrated by Roberto Innocenti.[22] |
Ironclad!: A True Story of the Civil War | 1977 | Dodd, Mead | 92 | [23] |
The Worried Ghost | 1976 | Scholastic Book Services | 95 | [24][25] |
Race Against Death: A True Story of the Far North | 1976 | Dodd, Mead | 94 | About the 1925 serum run to Nome, Alaska.[26] |
Benvenuto and the Carnival | 1976 | Xerox Education Publications | 93 | A boy's pet dragon is captured and placed in a carnival.[27] |
Benvenuto | 1974 | Addison-Wesley | 126 | About a boy who brings home a dragon from camp.[28] |
Rice Cakes and Paper Dragons | 1973 | Dodd, Mead | 79 | About a girl living in New York City's Chinatown.[29] |
The Easy How-To Book | 1973 | Golden Press | 48 | Instruction for children on how to do everyday tasks.[30] |
Child of the Navajos | 1971 | Dodd, Mead | 64 | About a nine-year-old boy living on a modern Indian reservation.[31] |
The Magic of Everyday Things | 1970 | Western Publishing | 62 | [32] |
Growing Up in the White House | 1968 | Crowell-Collier Press | 118 | A history of presidential children.[33] |
America Laughs: a Treasury of Great Humor | 1966 | Crowell-Collier Press | 152 | [34] |
Coins and Coin Collecting | 1965 | Golden Press | 105 | An introductory manual for numismatists.[35] |
All Kinds of Signs | 1963 | Golden Press | 30 | Picture book "showing all kinds of signs and the importance of signs in everyday life"; illustrated by Trina Schart (Trina Schart Hyman)[36] |
Wheels, Sails, and Wings | 1961 | Golden Press | 94 | [37] |
The King Who Learned To Smile | 1960 | Golden Press | 30 | Reit's earliest record in the Library of Congress Online Catalog.[38] |
In addition to those listed here, Reit wrote several books for
Golden Press, publishers of the Little Golden Books
series, and dozens of other children's books for assorted publishers.
References
- ^ Nash, Eric P. (2001-12-17). "Seymour V. Reit, 83, a Creator of Casper the Friendly Ghost". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-08-21.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Obituary: Seymour Reit". The Guardian. London. 2001-12-24. Retrieved 2008-08-16.
- ^ a b c Woo, Elaine (2001-12-18). "Seymour Reit, 83; Drew Cartoon Ghost Casper". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2008-08-16.
- ^ Nash, Eric P. (2003-08-09). "William Woolfolk, 86, Writer Behind Comic-Book Heroes". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-08-16.
- ^ "Lip Bomb". Snopes (Urban Legends Reference Pages). 2005-10-01. Retrieved 2008-08-16.
- ^ Nash, Eric P. (2001-12-17). "Seymour V. Reit, 83, a Creator of Casper the Friendly Ghost". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-08-16.
- ^ Jacobs, Frank, The Mad World of William M. Gaines, Lyle Stuart Press, 1972, pgs. 191-192
- ^ Taliaferro, Frances (1981-07-26). "Nonfiction in brief". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-08-16.
- ^ Van Gelder, Lawrence (1990-03-02). "At the Movies". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-08-16.
- Internet Movie Database. 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-16.
- ^ Guns for General Washington, Google Book Search.
- ^ "FOR YOUNGER VIEWERS; He's a Party Animal". The New York Times. 2008-11-19. Retrieved 2008-08-17.
- ^ A Dog's Tale, Google Book Search.
- ^ Trains, Google Book Search.
- ^ Behind Rebel Lines, Google Book Search.
- ^ Scotland Yard Detective, Google Book Search.
- ^ Scotland Yard Detective title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database. Retrieved 2018-08-03.
- ^ Sibling Rivalry, Google Book Search.
- ^ They Day They Stole the Mona Lisa, Google Book Search.
- ^ The Pleasure of Their Company, Google Book Search.
- ^ Masquerade, Google Book Search.
- ^ Sails, Rails, and Wings, Google Book Search.
- ^ Ironclad!: A True Story of the Civil War, Alibris.
- ^ The Worried Ghost, WorldCat.
- ^ The Worried Ghost title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database. Retrieved 2018-08-03.
- ^ Race Against Death, Google Book Search.
- ^ Benvenuto and the Carnival, Google Book Search.
- ^ Benvenuto, Google Book Search.
- ^ Rice Cakes and Paper Dragons, Google Book Search.
- ^ The Easy How-To Book, Google Book Search.
- ^ Child of the Navajos, Google Book Search.
- ^ The Magic of Everyday Things, Google Book Search.
- ^ Growing Up in the White House, Google Book Search.
- ^ America Laughs, Google Book Search.
- ^ Coins and Coin Collecting, Google Book Search.
- ^ "All kinds of signs". WorldCat. Retrieved 2018-08-03.
- ^ Wheels, Sails, and Wings, Google Book Search.
- ^ "The king who learned to smile". LC Online Catalog (lccn.loc.gov). Retrieved 2018-08-03.
External links
- Lambiek Comiclopedia article.
- Author "Seymour Reit" at Google Book Search
- MAD Magazine Contributions by Sy Reit
- Works by Seymour Reit at Open Library
- Seymour Reit at Library of Congress, with 19 library catalog records