René Guillot facts for kids

René Paul Guillot (born January 24, 1900, died March 26, 1969) was a famous French writer. He wrote many exciting books for children. René Guillot spent a lot of his life living, working, and traveling in French West Africa.

Because of his amazing work as a children's writer, René Guillot received a very special award in 1964. It was called the Hans Christian Andersen Medal. This award is given out every two years and is the highest honor a writer or artist of children's books can get! It's given by the International Board on Books for Young People.

About René Guillot

René Guillot was born in a town called Courcoury in France. After he finished studying science, he moved to Senegal in Africa. He worked there as a teacher for more than 20 years. Most of the ideas for his many books came from his time living and traveling in Africa.

Some of his most well-known books include Kpo the Leopard, The King of Cats, Sirga: Queen of the African Bush, and Oworo.

His book Kpo the Leopard was published in 1955. Another one of his books, The 397th White Elephant, was recognized with the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award in 1958.

Books Made into Movies

Two films have been made from René Guillot's children's books. Both were directed by Patrick Grandperret:

• L'Enfant Lion (which means The Lion Child) was made in 1993. It was based on Guillot's book Sirga the Lioness.
• Le Maître des éléphants (meaning The Elephant Master) was released in 1995.

Also, a live-action movie of his book Little Dog Lost was made for the Disneyland TV show. This movie, which featured a Welsh Corgi dog, was shown in 1963.

René Guillot passed away in Paris in 1969.

Selected Books

Here are some of the books René Guillot wrote:

• Kpo the Leopard
  • Illustrated by Joan Kiddell-Monroe
  • Translated by Gwen Marsh

• The 397th White Elephant
  • Illustrated by Christian Heinrich

• The Wild White Stallion
  • Illustrated by Jean Reschofsky

• Grishka And The Bear
  • Translated by Gwen Marsh
  • Illustrated by Joan Kiddell-Monroe

• Master of the Elephants
  • Translated by Barbara Seccombe

• Riders Of The Wind
  • Illustrated by Richard Kennedy

• The Wind of Chance
  • Translated by Norman Dale

• Little Dog Lost
  • Translated by Joan Selby-Lowndes
  • Illustrated by Wallace Tripp

• Balloon Journey
  • Illustrated by David Knight

• The Castle of the Crested Bird
  • Illustrated by Paul Durmand

• Fodai and the Leopard-Men
  • Illustrated by Michel Jouin

• Tales of Magic
  • Illustrated by Paul Durmand

• Pascal and the Lioness
  • Translated and Adapted by Christina Holyoak
  • Illustrated by Barry Wilkinson

See also

In Spanish: René Guillot para niños