Edgar Valter was an Estonian writer and illustrator of children's books, with over 250 books to his name, through 55 years of activity (1950–2005). His most famous creation is the Pokuraamat (the book of pokus).

Life

Edgar Valter was born on 21 September 1929, in Tallinn

Tallinn

Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It occupies an area of with a population of 414,940. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the banks of the Gulf of Finland, south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm and west of Saint Petersburg. Tallinn's Old Town is in the list...

, the fourth child of
a family of eight kids. He completed middle-school in 1945, but didn't graduate from Secondary School.

He began working as a freelance artist in 1950, eventually illustrating some of the most famous Estonian children literature characters, including the Krõll, the Naksitrallid, the Sipsik, and the Kunksmoor. Edgar Valter illustrated over 250 books, most of them being books for children. His caricatures were published by many journals and newspapers. Edgar Valter worked for the magazines Hea Laps (a good kid),
Täheke (a star), Pioneer, and Pikker (a humor and satire magazine published during soviet times).

Edgar Valter lived his last 15 years in the Pöörismäe farm, located at the Urvaste

Urvaste

Urvaste is a village in Urvaste Parish, Võru County, in southeastern Estonia. It has a population of 147 .Tamme-Lauri oak, the thickest and oldest tree in Estonia, is located in Urvaste....

rural municipality of the Võrumaa County. He died on March 4, 2006. His remains were cremated and buried on May 17, 2006 in the Tallinn Metsakalmistu cemetery.

Pokuraamat and pokus

First published in 1994, the Pokuraamat (book of pokus) tells the tale of pokus. A poku is a grass mound that grows in south-eastern Estonian bogs. In the book, Valter interprets pokus as animated child-like creatures, the grass actually being their golden head hair, which grows down to their feet. Its central theme, other than amusing its readers, is emphasizing the need to respect and to live in harmony with nature. The Pokuraamat was the first book that was both written and illustrated by Edgar Valter. In 1996, the Pokuraamat won the prestigious Nukits contest award for best children book of the year. Edgar Valter wrote two subsequent poku-related books: Pokuaabits (poku alphabet) (2002) and Pokulood (poku nature) (2004).

Selected bibliography

• Jahikoera memuaarid (1974; 2004)
• Pokuraamat" (1994; 2001; 2005)
• Ahaa, kummitab (1995)
• Kassike ja kakuke (1995)
• Lugu lahkest lohe Justusest ja printses Miniminnist (1995)
• Kullast vilepill (1996)
• Isand Tuutu ettevõtmised (1997)
• Iika (1998)
• Pintselsabad (1998)
• Metsa pühapäev (1999)
• Kuidas õppida vaatama? (2000)
• Ho-ho-hoo! (2002)
• Pokuaabits (2002)
• Natuke naljakad pildid (2003)
• Pokulood (2004)
• Ikka veel kummitab (2005)
• Maalid 1983–2005 (2007). Selected paintings.

External links

• Incomplete illustrated bibliography (in Estonian)
• Obituary (in Estonian)
• The Project Pokuland (in English and Estonian). Includes photos, sample art work, and more information about Edgar Valter.