Syd Hoff

Who was Syd Hoff?

Syd Hoff was a Jewish-American cartoonist and children's book author. Although best known for his classic early reader Danny and the Dinosaur, his cartoons appeared in a multitude of genres, including advertising commissions for such companies as Eveready Batteries, Jell-O, OK Used Cars, S.O.S Pads, Rambler, Ralston Cereal and more.

While Hoff was still in high school, Milt Gross, a popular 1930s cartoonist, told him at an assembly that "Kid, someday you'll be a great cartoonist!" At 16, he enrolled at the National Academy of Design in New York City. At 18, he sold his first cartoon to The New Yorker, and would sell a total of 571 of them to the publication from 1931 to 1975. Hoff became known for his cartoons, in The New Yorker, depicting tenements and lower-middle class life in the city.

His cartoons have appeared in a variety of publications including the New Yorker, Esquire, and Look magazine. He was also the host of a television show, Tales of Hoff, in which he drew and told stories.

Hoff wrote and illustrated over 60 volumes in the HarperCollins "I Can Read" series for beginning readers, most notably Sammy the Seal and the popular Danny and the Dinosaur, which sold 10 million copies and has been translated into a dozen languages.