Irwin Shapiro (1911–1981) was an American writer and translator of over 40 books, mostly for children and about Americana.

Biography

Irwin Shapiro was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Little is known of his background or upbringing. His family probably came from what is now Hungary, since his first published books in the late 1930s are translations from Hungarian. Shapiro studied at the Art Students League in New York City, where he is known to have taken at least one class under Thomas Hart Benton with fellow student Esther Shemitz (who later married Whittaker Chambers). During the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, he held odd jobs. Shapiro married Edna Richter. She worked in the Works Progress Administration (WPA), in which she was also "an active member of the American Federation of Government Employees Union." According to Shapiro's son, husband and wife were "both deep in the Party." Edna Richter was Moscow correspondent for the '' Daily Worker'' newspaper. With events like the trials of the Great Purge and the Hitler-Stalin Pact, "my parents saw the truth, thanks to Stalin." (Shapiro's brother-in-law,

Irving Richter Irving may refer to: People *Irving (name), including a list of people with the name Fictional characters * Irving, the main character's love interest in Cathy (comic strip) * Lloyd Irving, the main protagonist in the ''Tales of Symphonia'' video ...

, worked with the United Auto Workers (UAW) and lived much of his life in Detroit. He appeared before the

House Un-American Activities Committee The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly dubbed the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloy ...

(HUAC) in 1956, at which time Edna Richter's name and work at the WPA was mentioned.) Shapiro and his wife moved to Florida, where he died in 1981.

Works

After an initial foray into writing radical literature that encompassed his last year as a communist, Shapiro turned to children's books, which he published for the vast majority of his career (1938–1979). He published many titles for Golden Books. Among them is ''The Gremlins of Liet. Oggins'', which author Andrew Meier suspects was really a coded message about the imprisonment of American spy

Isaiah Oggins Isaiah Oggins (also known as Ysai or Cy) (July 22, 1898 – 1947) was an American-born communist and spy for the Soviet secret police. After working in Europe and the Far East, Oggins was arrested, served eight years in the GULAG detention system ...

in the GULAG under Stalin." He also adapted a number of works of classic literature into comic book form (illustrated by artists) for

Pendulum Press Pendulum Press was a publishing company based in West Haven, Connecticut West Haven is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. It is located on the coast of Long Island Sound. At the 2020 census, the population of the city was ...

in 1973–1974. The Library of Congress holds 44 titles in his name.

Plays

* ''90 Percent of the People'' (1938, unpublished) (archived at

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress ...

)

Translations

*
Prelude to Love
' by Jolán Földes, translated from Hungarian by Alexander G. Kenedi and Irwin Shapiro (1938) *
Egyptian Interlude
' by Jolán Földes, translated from Hungarian by Irwin Shapiro (1939)

Books

*
How Old Stormalong Captured Mocha Dick
' with pictures by Donald McKay (1942) *
Steamboat Bill and the Captain's Top Hat
' with pictures by Donald Mckay (1943) *
Gremlins of Lieut. Oggins
' with illustrations by Donald McKay (1943) *
Yankee thunder: The Legendary Life of Davy Crockett
' with pictures by James Daugherty (1944) *
Casey Jones and Locomotive No. 638
' with pictures by Donald McKay (1944) *
John Henry and the Double Jointed Steam-Drill
' with drawings by James Daugherty (1945) * '' Joe Magarac and His USA Citizen Papers'' with pictures by James Daugherty (1948)
LOC entry
*
J. Fred Muggs
' (1955) *
Walt Disney's Davy Crockett's Keelboat Race
' (1955) *
Walt Disney's Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier
' (1955) *
Daniel Boone
' (1956) *
Presidents of the United States
' illustrated by

Mel Crawford Mel, Mels or MEL may refer to: Biology * Mouse erythroleukemia cell line (MEL) * National Herbarium of Victoria, a herbarium with the Index Herbariorum code MEL People * Mel (given name), the abbreviated version of several given names (including ...

and

Edwin Schmidt The name Edwin means "rich friend". It comes from the Old English elements "ead" (rich, blessed) and "ƿine" (friend). The original Anglo-Saxon form is Eadƿine, which is also found for Anglo-Saxon figures. People * Edwin of Northumbria (died ...

(1956) *
Cleo. Photos. by Durward B. Graybill
' (1957) *
Golden Tales from the Arabian Nights: The Most Famous Stories from the Great Classic A Thousand and One Nights
' (1957)* *
Golden book of America: Stories from Our Country's Past
' adapted for young readers by Irwin Shapiro from the pages of American Heritage, with a foreword by Bruce Catton (1957) *
Lassie Finds a Way: A New Story of the Famous Dog
' (1957) *
Circus Boy
' with pictures by

Joan Walsh Anglund Joan Walsh Anglund (January 3, 1926 – March 9, 2021) was an American poet and children's book author and illustrator. ''A Friend Is Someone Who Likes You'', her first children's books, was one of the ''New York Times'' Best Illustrated Children ...

(1957) *
Tall Tales of America
' illustrated by

Al Schmidt Albert Schmidt (born ) is an American politician and election official who is the Acting Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He was a Philadelphia City Commissioner from 2012 to 2022. Early life and background A native of Pittsburgh, ...

(1958) *
The Story of Flight: From the Ancient Winged Gods to the Age of Space
' by John Lewellen and Irwin Shapiro, illustrated with old prints, photos, and original paintings and drawings by

Harry McNaught Harry may refer to: TV shows *Harry (American TV series), ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin *Harry (British TV series), ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons *Harry ...

(1959) *
Aviation, des origines aux vols interplanétaires
' (1959) (translation) *
The Story of Yankee Whaling
by the editors of American heritage with narrative by Irwin Shapiro in consultation with

Edouard A. Stackpole Edouard A. Stackpole (December 7, 1903 – September 2, 1993) was an American journalist, museum curator, whaling historian and writer. Works * 1931 Smuggler's Luck * 1932 You Fight for Treasure! * 1935 Madagascar Jack * 1937 Privateer Ahoy ...

(1960) *
The Golden Book of California: From the Days of the Spanish Explorers to the Present
' (1961) *
The Golden book of Aviation
' (1961) (second printing) *
Heroes in American Folklore
' illustrated by James Daugherty and Donald McKay (1962) *
Jonathan and the Dragon
' illustrated by

Tom Vroman Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in ''List of Beavis and Butt-Head characters#Local r ...

(1962) *
The Golden Book of the Renaissance
' adapted for young readers by Irwin Shapiro from the''Horizon Book of the Renaissance'' (1962) *
The Universal History of the World
' edited by Irwin Shapiro (1966) *
Gretchen and the White Steed
' with drawings by

Herman Vestal Herman may refer to: People * Herman (name), list of people with this name * Saint Herman (disambiguation) * Peter Noone (born 1947), known by the mononym Herman Places in the United States * Herman, Arkansas * Herman, Michigan * Herman, Minne ...

(1972) *
Sam Patch, Champion Jumper
' illustrated by Ted Schroeder (1972) *
Willie's Whizmobile
' with drawings by Paul Frame (1973) *
Twice upon a Time
' illustrated by

Adrienne Adams Adrienne Adams may refer to: * Adrienne Adams (illustrator) (1906–2002), American illustrator * Adrienne Adams (politician) Adrienne Eadie Adams (born December 9, 1960) is an American politician serving as Speaker of the New York City C ...

(1973) * '' Tom Sawyer'' (adaptation), illustrated by

E. R. Cruz Eufronio Reyes Cruz (born 1934) is a Filipino comics artist best known for his work on mystery comics and war comics for DC Comics in the 1970s and 1980s. Biography E. R. Cruz began his career as an artist by drawing for such publications as ''Li ...

(

, 1973). Reprinted in ''

Marvel Classics Comics ''Marvel Classics Comics'' was an American comics magazine which ran from 1976 until 1978. It specialized in adaptations of literary classics such as ''Moby-Dick'', ''The Three Musketeers'', and ''The Iliad''. It was Marvel Comics' attempt to pick ...

'' #7 (1976) * '' Moby-Dick'' (adaptation), illustrated by

Alex Niño Alex Niño (born May 1, 1940) is a Filipino comics artist best known for his work for the American publishers DC Comics, Marvel Comics, and Warren Publishing, and in '' Heavy Metal'' magazine. Biography Early life and career Alex Niño was born ...

& Dan Adkins (Pendulum Press, 1973). Reprinted in ''Marvel Classics Comics'' #8 (1976) * '' The Red Badge of Courage'' (adaptation), illustrated by

E .R. Cruz E, or e, is the fifth letter and the second vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''e'' (pronounced ); plura ...

(Pendulum Press, 1974). Reprinted in ''Marvel Classics Comics'' #10 (1976) *
Uncle Sam's 200th Birthday Parade
' illustrated by

Frank Brugos Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Curre ...

(1974) *
Paul Bunyan Tricks a Dragon
' illustrated by Raymond Burns (1975) *
Dan McCann and His Fast Sooner Hound
' illustrated by

Mimi Korach Mimi or MIMI may refer to: People * Mimi (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Constantin Mimi (1868–1935), Bessarabian politician and winemaker * Mimi (footballer, born 1996), Bissau Guinean footballer * Mohanad Ali (born 2 ...

(1975) *
Smokey Bear's Camping Book
' illustrated by

(1976) *
Darwin and the Enchanted Isles
' illustrated by

Christopher Spollen Christopher is the English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or '' Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Christ" or "Anointed", and φέρει� ...

(1977) *
The Hungry Ghost Mystery
' illustrated by

William M. Hutchinson William is a masculine given name of Norman French origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conques ...

(1978) * '' Joe Magarac and His USA Citizen Papers'' (1979)
second printing
*
The Gift of Magic Sleep: Early Experiments in Anesthesia
' illustrated by Pat Rotondo (1979) *
Tenggren's Golden Tales from the Arabian Nights
' illustrated by

Gustaf Tenggren Gustaf Adolf Tenggren (November 3, 1896 – April 9, 1970) was a Swedish-American illustrator. He is known for his Arthur Rackham-influenced fairy-tale style and use of silhouetted figures with caricatured faces. Tenggren was a chief illustrat ...

, retold by Margaret Soifer and Irwin Shapiro, introduction by Mary Pope Osborne (2003)

Biography

Works

Plays

Translations

Books

Footnotes

Further reading