Harold Berson


Harold Berson was an American illustrator and author, primarily of children's books.

Early life and education

Berson was born in New York City, grew up in Los Angeles and graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles. He studied art in Paris.

Career

Berson travelled extensively in Turkey, North Africa and Europe with his wife, artist Paula Winter Berson. He began illustrating books in the late 1950s, mainly working in brush and ink and watercolor. His works include a number of self-illustrated retellings of traditional folk tales of those regions.
In a 1973 profile in the magazine Something About the Author, Berson said, "I love illustrating. I usually work in pen or brush and ink, mainly the latter. I use watercolor for the color, usually preseparated." Berson collaborated with many authors, including Barbara K. Walker, one-time curator of the Uysal–Walker Archive of Turkish Oral Narrative at Texas Tech University, illustrating a number of her works, including:
  • Watermelons, Walnuts, and the Wisdom of Allah, and Other Tales of the Hoca
  • Pigs and Pirates: a Greek Tale
  • ''New Patches for Old''

    Selected bibliography

  • Humpty Dumpty's Magazine
  • Loretta Mason Potts
  • The Nutcracker
  • Mince Pie and Mistletoe
  • A Pint of Judgment; A Christmas Story
  • Racketty-Packetty House : And Other Stories
  • Raminagrobis and the Mice
  • Pop Goes the Turnip
  • The Wild Beast
  • Hubba-Hubba : A Tale of the Sahara
  • Why the Jackal Won't Speak to the Hedgehog; a Tunisian Folk Tale
  • King Midas and the Golden Touch
  • The Brave Adventures of Lapitch
  • The Thief Who Hugged a Moonbeam
  • How the Devil Gets His Due
  • Balarin's Goat
  • The Good Guys and the Bad Guys
  • Henry Possum
  • More Poetry for the Holidays
  • Larbi and Leila; a Tale of Two Mice
  • The Boy, the Baker, the Miller, and More
  • A Moose Is Not a Mouse
  • I'm Bored, Ma!
  • The Rats Who Lived in the Delicatessen
  • Abu Ali : Three Tales of the Middle East
  • Kassim's Shoes
  • The Friends of Abu Ali : Three More Tales of the Middle East
  • Joseph and the Snake
  • Charles and Claudine
  • The Greedy Shopkeeper
  • Truffles For Lunch
  • Barrels to the Moon
  • ''The Turkey Girl''