Val Biro
Balint Stephen Biro (Budapest, October 6, 1921 – July 4, 2014) was a children's author, artist and illustrator. He received his education in Budapest and London. From about 1955 he lived in Chesham, where he helped to found the Chesham Society, and then moved to Amersham about 1971 until 1985.[1]
Writing
From an interview in the early 1970s:
"My writing is mainly concerned with my vintage car "Gumdrop." It was four years ago that my publishers suggested that it was about time that I wrote a book for children and not merely illustrate one; and I decided on Gumdrop as the main character.
"I write so as to give my alter-ego a good chance for drawing pictures, though I find that the story I invent tends to run away with itself, leaving me, the illustrator, behind! Each story tends to be based on personal experience and, equally, each tends to grow out of that into the imagination. Each book seems to take a few months to gestate, and then I write it in one long day (or night)."[2]
Illustration
In the 1950s and 1960s Biro illustrated many book covers for famous authors such as
Gumdrop
Other works
- Yellow Boots
References
- ^ Julia Eccleshare. "Val Biro obituary | Books". theguardian.com. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
- ^ The Official Val Biro Web Page
- ^ "BBC Radio 4 - The Art of Radio Times". BBC Online. Retrieved 26 September 2013.
- ISBN 0-340-03418-1.
- ^ ISBN 0-340-16451-4.
Other sources
- Commire, Anne, 1971: Something About the Author, Volume 1. Gale Research
External links
- Cameron Cunningham
- Gumdrop: The Adventures of a Vintage Car (official)
- Val Biro at Library of Congress, with 59 library catalogue records
- Val Biro at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database