Fun Facts Friday: Syd Hoff

Syd Hoff (4 September, 1912 May, 22004) was a children’s book author and a cartoonist.

Books by Syd Hoff

1. Hoff was born as Sydney Hoffberg in the Bronx, New York to Jewish-American parents.
2. When Mr. Hoff was a high school student in the 1930s, a popular cartoonist named Milt Gross said to him “kid, someday you’ll be a great cartoonist”.
3. When he was 16 years old, Mr. Hoff enrolled at the National Academy of Design in NYC.
4. When he was 18 years old, Mr. Hoff sold his first cartoon to The New Yorker.
5. Between 1931 and 1975 Mr. Hoff sold 571 cartoons to The New Yorker for publication.
6. Hoff’s cartoons usually focused on lower middle class living in the city.
7. Hoff wrote and illustrated over 60 books for the “I Can Read” series for HarperCollins, books for beginning reads. The most popular books were Sammy the Seal and Danny and the Dinosaur.
8. Hoff published left leaning political cartoons under the name of A. Redfield.
9. In 1952 Mr. Hoff was interviewed by the FBI about his A. Redfield cartoons and association with the Communist party. Mr. Hoff was never formally charged or blacklisted, but he was concerned until his last day about the reception his children’s books might have.
10. Hoff also drew daily comic strips, one of his recurring characters was Tuffy, originally commissioned by William Randolph Hearst in 1938. Tuff was declared “essential for national morale” during World War II which kept Mr. Hoff out of military duty. Eventually Mr. Hoff joined the Office of War Information, drawing cartoons and propaganda to be dropped behind enemy lines.

Books by Syd Hoff

Zohar – Man of la Book