Kemalettin Tuğcu

Writer (b. 1902, İstanbul d - 18 October 1996). He was the son of the army major Ali Galip Bey, who was wounded in the Çanakkale Wars.  His mother was a housewife who also played the guitar well. As he was handicapped with a disability in his feet he lived apart from the community until he was 26. He did not go any school and he did not take courses from any teacher. He educated himself and he learned French. He joined Doğan Kardeş Press as administration director where he worked until 1974. He also worked as a clerk, clerk of the archive, director of administration and press at Türkiye and Doğan Kardeş Publishing Houses and at the newspaper Ev-İş and the journal Hayat. He joined Türkiye Publications in 1931.

He published his first articles in the review Yavru Türk. He worked as an editor at the journals Ev-İş and Moda Albümü. He wrote poems, stories and children’s novels in nearly all of the journals published in İstanbul from 1936. His novels Ayşecik (Little Ayşe), Kolsuz Bebek (Armless Doll), O Yolun Yolcusu (The Traveler of That Road) were made into movies. He wrote nearly 500 children’s novels. He burned many of his books he had written before. He is among the most popular children’s novelists of Turkish literature with more than 100 novels most of which give guidance.

WORKS:

Küçük Serseri (Little Tramp, 1975), Dağdaki Yabancı (Stranger in the Mountain, 1975), Şeytan Çocuk (Evil Child, 1975), Yetim Ali (Orphan Ali, 6^th edition, 1957), Sokak Köpeği (Street Dog, 16^th edition, 1985), Yılanlı Bağ (The Vineyard with Snakes, 6^th edition, 1987), Süt Kardeşler (Mother’s Milk Siblings, 3^rd edition, 1987), Baba Evi (House of the Father, 5^th edition, 1987), Kuklacı (Puppeteer, 3^rd edition, 1988), Bir Garip Kızcağız (A Poor Girl, 3^rd edition, 1988), Babam ve Ben (My father and Me, 3^rd edition, 1988), Kuyulu Bahçe (Garden with a Well, 3^rd edition, 1988), Benim Annem (My Mother, 3^rd edition, 1988), Bu Çocuk Kimin (Whose Child Is This?, 6^th edition, 1988), Toprak Adımları (Steps of the Ground, 6^th edition, 1988), Babasızlar (The Fatherless 6^th edition, 1988), Balıkçının Kızı (Daughter of the Fisherman, 5^th edition, 1988), Küçük Hanım (Young Lady, 5^th edition, 1988).