Author: Felix Salten

Felix Salten was the pen name of Jewish writer Siegmund Salzmann, born 1869 in Budapest, Hungary. His family moved to Vienna, Austria, shortly thereafter. Due to his family’s impoverished circumstances, Salten had very little formal education; however, as an adult he rose to prominence in Viennese literary circles. Salten wrote in a variety of genres including short stories, poems, plays, essays, and became an art and theater critic.

A trip to the Alps was the inspiration for Salten’s Bambi, ein Leben im Walde (Bambi, a Life in the Woods). It was translated from German into English by American writer Jay Vivian (David Whittaker) Chambers. Bambi was actually written for adults and not intended as a book for children. The coming-of-age story of its lead character, a roe deer, is set against the realistic backdrop of an animal’s life in the wild. It deals with mature and universal themes, including the often difficult cycle of life.

In addition to Bambi, Salten wrote three other animal stories: Bambi’s Children: The Story of a Forest Family; Fifteen Rabbits: A Celebration of Life; and Florian the Emperor’s Horse.

In the 1930s Austria became increasingly hostile toward its Jewish citizens. Salten’s books, including Bambi, were banned by the Nazis. Felix Salten moved to Zurich, Switzerland, in 1938 and lived there until his death in 1945.

Illustrator: Gijsbert van Frankenhuyzen

Gijsbert van Frankenhuyzen was born in the Netherlands in 1951. With his seven brothers and sisters, he grew up exploring nature and his sketch pads were filled with observations from those family outings. Always drawing as a young boy, his father encouraged Gijsbert to make art his career. After high school, he attended and graduated from the Royal Academy of Arts in Arnhem, Holland. Gijsbert, or "Mr. Nick" as many children affectionately call him during his school visits, immigrated to the United States in 1976 and worked as Art Director for the Michigan Natural Resources Magazine for 17 years. In 1995, he illustrated his first children's book, The Legend of Sleeping Bear, finally fullfilling his dream of illustrating children's books.Residing in Bath, Michigan, Nick and his family share their 40-acre farm with sheep, horses, dogs, cats, turkeys, rabbits, chickens, pigeons and a revolving door of orphaned and injured wild life. The family's nature journals logged 20 years of wild life rehabilitation on the farm and it is through these journals that the popular Hazel Ridge series was created. The farm, the land and the animals make great subjects for the artist to paint. Mr. Nick travels to schools and conferences to share his passion for drawing—encouraging kids to make their hobby their career.