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Jan Pieńkowski |
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Jan Pieńkowski, the beloved illustrator and author of more than 140 children's books whose work included the Meg and Mog pop-up books, died February 19. He was 85. The Guardian reported that Pieńkowski's work "was often inspired by his Polish childhood and experiences as a wartime refugee. His interest in paper cut-outs stemmed from his time in an air raid shelter in Warsaw, where a soldier had kept him amused by cutting newspapers into shapes for him."
Pieńkowski collaborated with the late writer Helen Nicoll on the Meg and Mog series. After Nicoll's death in 2012, he worked on new titles in the series with his civil partner, David Walser, a translator, artist, musician and writer. In addition to the Meg and Mog and his pop-up books, he is known for his illustrations of fairytales by Charles Perrault and the Brothers Grimm, The Nutcracker, and The Glass Mountain: Tales from Poland. The Guardian also featured a gallery of "the world of Jan Pieńkowski in pictures."
Francesca Dow, managing director of Penguin Random House Children's Books, said: "Jan was one of the great storytellers: an exceptionally talented creator, who was led by what interested him, and who treated children as his equals. There was an impatience and wonderful curiosity to him, as he looked for new ways to tell stories: drawing on his Polish roots with his cut-out and silhouette work; his extraordinary use of color; his pioneering interest in drawing on the computer; and of course his award-winning pop-ups which challenged publishers and printers to find new ways to create his books."
She added that Pieńkowski pored over every detail meticulously "and yet achieved the near-impossible: simple, magical storytelling, which is why his books--such as my personal and our family favorites, the brilliant Meg and Mog stories--endure. I was very lucky to have had the chance to know him and to work with him."
For his work as a children's author, Pieńkowski was awarded the 2019 Booktrust lifetime achievement award. He was also twice the U.K. nominee--in 1982 and 2008--for the international Hans Christian Andersen award. He won the Kate Greenaway award in 1971 with the writer Joan Aiken for their second collaboration, The Kingdom Under the Sea; and took his second Greenaway award in 1979 for the pop-up book Haunted House.
BookTrust CEO Diana Gerald observed that Pieńkowski "was a hugely influential figure in the children's books world. His witty and innovative illustrations delighted and inspired so many children through the years, which is why we were honored to present him with BookTrust's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019. He truly understood the power of books to open children's minds and help them to make sense of the world: he will live on in the minds of children and adults alike through his prolific work."