Children’s literature and humor matters is the message behind marking author Syd Hoff’s Miami Beach, FL home a Literary Landmark. Hoff (1912-2004) was the creative genius behind the childhood classics, Danny and the Dinosaur, Sammy the Seal and more than 60 HarperCollins I CAN READ books for children. Over a dozen are still in print and enjoyed by children today. Few people know that the Bronx-born Hoff also cartooned prolifically for The New Yorker magazine, King Features Syndicate, The Daily Worker, The New Masses, Saturday Evening Post and called Miami Beach home. Hoff’s publishers also include Scholastic and Dial Press.
In culmination of Hoff’s 2012 centennial, curator and journalist Dina Weinstein invites neighbors and children’s literature lovers to mark Hoff’s residence as an historic literary site. Hoff’s Fullerton, California-based niece Carol Edmonston, creator of the official Syd Hoff websitewww.sydhoff.org and Hoff’s political cartoons http://aredfield.com/ will speak at the ceremony. There will also be a special visit from Danny’s Dinosaur.
Weinstein’s Syd Hoff: Finding Home exhibition is on view February 4-11, 2013 at Temple Beth Sholom, 4144 Chase Avenue, Miami Beach, FL 33140.
The Literary Landmark event is presented with partners the Florida Center for the Book and the American Library Association’s Association of Library Trustees, Advocates, Friends and Foundations (ALTAFF). More on the American Library Association’s Literary Landmark program here:http://www.ala.org/united/
Literary Landmarks are located throughout the country. There are only fifteen Literary Landmarks in Florida that spot places where deceased authors created significant work. In the Sunshine State they memorialize Woody Guthry in Fruit Cove, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings in Cross Creek, Zora Neale Hurston in Eatonville, Isaac Bashevis Singer in Surfside, and Tennesse Williams and Jose Marti in Key West. More on Florida’s Literary Landmarks here: http://www.broward.org/
What: Syd Hoff Literary Landmark dedication
Where: 4335 Post Avenue, Miami Beach, FL 33140
When: Sunday, February 10, 2013 at 2:00 pm
Why: To mark Syd Hoff’s Miami Beach, Florida home as an historic literary site
Who: Hoff’s neighbors, Hoff’s family, children’s literature lovers, humor lovers and Danny’s Dinosaur
By Dina Weinstein
