George Zaffo

George Zaffo (1916-1984) was an American illustrator and writer most well known for his picture books for children, including The Giant Nursery Book of Things That Go and Your Police.

Biography

After graduating, Zaffo became an opaquer and assistant animator for Paul Terry at Terrytoons in New Rochelle, New York before enlisting as a technical animator creating training videos for the United States Army Signal Corps for five years.

In 1949, he opened his own studio in Mount Vernon, New York creating educational films.

Selected books Freddy and the Fire Engine (written by Laura Harris), 1945 The Big Book of Real Trains, 1949 The Big Book of Real Trucks, 1950 The Big Book of Real Fire Engines, 1950 The Big Book of Real Building and Wrecking Machines, 1951 The Big Book of Real Airplanes, 1951 The Big Book of Real Locomotives, 1951 Your Police, 1956 Building Your Super Highways, 1957 Your Freight Trains, 1958 The Giant Nursery Book of Things That Go, 1959 The Giant Nursery Book of Travel Fun, 1965 The Giant Nursery Book of Things That Work, 1967 Airplanes and Trucks and Trains, Fire Engines, Boats and Ships and Building and Wrecking Machines, 1968 The Giant Book of Things in Space, 1969 The Big Book of Real Boats and Ships, 1972

Legacy First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy included two of Zaffo's books in the White House library for her children: Your Frieght Trains (1958) and The Giant Nursery Book of Things That Go (1959), both published by Doubleday.