Leo Politi was born in Fresno, California in 1908. At age 6, he and his family moved to Italy where he began his art training at the Royal Palace of Monza. He returned to Fresno and launched his literary career in 1938 with "Little Pancho". In 1950 he was honored with the Caldecott Medal for "the nation's most distinguished children's picture book" for "Song of the Swallows". Over the years he wrote many more widely-acclaimed books and achieved worldwide fame prior to his passing away in 1996. A public library, a park, a plaza and an elementary school have been named for him. The Centennial of his birth saw many commemorative celebrations in California and the nation.