He was Italian writer, born in 1920 in Omegna, a small town in northern Italy

He was Italian writer, born in 1920 in Omegna, a small town in northern Italy.
His father, a baker, died when he was only eight. He and his two brothers, Cesare and Mario, were raised by his mother in her native village, in the province of Varese
Although he was most famous as children's author, he started writing children's books by accident. Most of the people consider him to be the most important children's author in Italy.
First, he started working as a teacher in elementary school. But in the World War II, he decided to work as a journalist in the newspaper "L'Unita". That was when he wrote his first children's works.
In 1950, the Party installed him as editor of the new weekly children's magazine Il Pioniere in Rome. In 1951, Rodari published his first books, Il Libro delle Filastrocche and Il Romanzo di Cipollino.
After 1950, he dedicated to keep writing children's books that were translated into many foreign languages, but very few in English.
His famous works are: "Cipollino", "The book of children's poems", "The Blue Arrow", "Gip in the Television"...
In 1953, he married Maria Teresa Feretti and has his first and only child - daughter Paola - in 1957. The same year he became professional journalist passing the exam.
He spent the years 1966–1969 working intensively on collaborative projects with children.
In 1970, he received the Hans Christian Andersen Medal. This biennial award in literature is the highest recognition to any writer of children's books.
In 1979, after another trip to the Soviet Union, his health, never very robust, declined and his productivity diminished. He died in Rome, following a surgical operation, in April 1980