By Anna J.
Kutor
Even though I was a very difficult, a hyper-active sort of kid
who would constantly jump up on strangers lap in a bus, bug grownups
with far too many questions and want more, more and more bedtime
stories, there was an ultimate attention-grabbing weapon: The
Little Red Caboose.
Written by Marian Potter and illustrated by Gergely Tibor, the
book tells the tale of an overlooked yet courageous caboose at the end
of the train who gains recognition by saving the entire train from
falling down the mountain.
Sure, I knew the story by heart after the second reading – as the text
was straightforward and repetitive -, but I could instinctively root
for the little caboose’s victory every time. Most importantly, the
bright, detailed images of trains, children and animals always had me
hooked for hours.
For me, the fine line between an engaging bedtime story-book and an
utterly boring one lies in the colorful, exuberant pictures that tell
a tale all on their own.
A self-taught painter and illustrator, Tibor Gergely’s
eye-catching drawings lifted not only my favorite caboose, but Tootles
the Train (1945), The Great Big Fire Engine Book (1950), Scuffy the
Tugboat and His Adventures Down the River (1946), and When it Rained
Cats and Dogs (1956) into classic-status.
Born in Budapest, Hungary in 1900, Tibor Gergely fled to Vienna
in 1920 with his wife, Anna Lesznai, a reputable poet, painter and
illustrator. Following a two-decade Austrian period – where Gergely
embarked upon a brief art course –, the couple fled to America in 1939
and settled in New York. Gergely’s bold, adventure-packed and
down-to-earth drawings soon brought him recognition.
At the peak of his oeuvre Gergely illustrated over fifty
stories in the Little Golden Book series for kids, adding notable
charm to The Good Humor Man (1950), Seven Little Postmen (1952), The
Merry Shipwreck (1953), Animal Orchestra (1958). Beyond children books
he also created crafty caricatures, political cartoons, greeting cards
and watercolor drawings for the New Yorker magazine.
Since Gergely’s death in 1978, most of his drawings have been
‘reformed’, upgraded for new, hard-cover reprints of collectable
Golden Books.
Nevertheless, the rich, charming characters as the feisty
little yellow taxi, the jolly-good fellow with a wide grin waving out
the window of a green dump truck full of barn animals, or a vast red
fire engine packed with a horde of strong-minded firemen etched into
the minds of millions of kids.
As my magical caboose, many timeless tales exist in the realm
of fancy because of their unforgettable, complementary illustrations.
To this day, I look for the little pyramid-shaped, blue-eyed caboose
at the end of a passing train.
Go
to Rewind the Fifties Home
