Tibor Gergely
(1900 - 1978)
Tibor Gergely (1900-1978) was an artist best known for his work in several popular children’s books. Born in Budapest in 1900, he studied art briefly in Vienna before emigrating to the United States in 1939, where he settled in New York City.
Largely a self-taught artist, he also contributed several covers of The New Yorker, mostly during the 1940s. Among the most popular children’s books Gergely illustrated are The Happy Man and His Dump Truck, Busy Day Busy People, The Little Red Caboose, The Fire Engine Book, Tootle, Five Little Firemen, Five Hundred Animals from A to Z, and Scuffy the Tugboat.
Many of his better known books were published by Little Golden Books. His best work is collected in The Great Big Book of Bedtime Stories. Gergely died in 1978, in New York.
As of 2001, Tootle was the all-time third best-selling hardcover children’s book in English, and Scuffy the Tugboat was the eighth all-time bestseller.
Bibliography
Exploring Space (1958)
A look at rockets, how they work and what they can do.
George Solonewitsch
Farm Tales (2007)
A collection of nine classic Little Golden Books.
Read online at archive.org.
Feodor Rojankovsky
Richard Scarry
Gustaf Tenggren
Garth Williams
Et al
Fire Engines (1959)
When the fire alarm goes off, the firemen hop on the fire engines and off they go to put the fire out.
Read online at archive.org.
Five Hundred Animals from A to Z (1970)
Surely the largest, most inclusive animal picture book of them all.
Five Little Firemen (1948)
“The finest fire is the fire that’s out,” sing the five little firemen. Later editions have fewer pages.
Edith Thacher Hurd
The Folding Father (1942)
This is an extract from Notre Dame of the Waves, a maritime novel, translated into English as Last Port of Call.
The Forgetful Elephant (1945)
Little Max wants to be a circus performer like the rest of his elephant family.
Read online at archive.org.
From Then to Now (1954)
A look at prehistoric life for young readers.
Gergely’s Golden Circus (1954)
A large-format look at the circus.
The Giant Little Golden Book about Dogs (1957)
More than forty types of dogs are illustrated, with some hints on training.
Goat in the Boat (1964)
An activity book of rhymes and writing.
Golden Book of Nursery Tales (1948)
A collection of favorite nursery tales.
The Golden Calendar 1966 (1965)
A calendar and activity book with a bear family.
The Golden Grab Bag of Stories, Poems and Songs (1951)
A nice compendium of stories, poems and songs.
Byron Jackson
Kathryn Jackson
Et al
The Golden Picture Book of Questions and Answers (1957)
Interesting facts about the world around us.
The Golden Story Book of River Bend (1969)
A collection of stories about the animals of River Bend.
The Golden Story Treasury (1951)
A collection of stories, poems and songs, drawn from the earlier collection The Golden Grab Bag.
Byron Jackson
Kathryn Jackson
Et al
The Golden Treasure Book (1951)
An early Golden Book treasury featuring some of the most successful artists.
Jack Bechdolt
Robert Garfield
Joan Hubbard
Tibor Gergely
Byron Jackson
Kathryn Jackson
Charles Martin
J. P. Miller
Richard Scarry
The Good Humor Man (1964)
Not only does he bring joy to children with his ice cream truck, he also finds a lost puppy.
Read online at archive.org.
Great Big Fire Engine Book (1950)
Ding, ding, ding! goes the fire engine bell and the firemen are off in their engines to fight the fire.
Read online at archive.org.