Jan Michał Pieńkowski (8 August 1936 – 19 February 2022) was a Polish-born British author of

children's books A child () is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking countries, the legal definition of ''chi ...

—as illustrator, as writer, and as designer of movable books. He is best known for illustrating the ''Meg and Mog'' picture book series. He also did stage design for the theatre. For his contribution as a children's illustrator he was UK nominee in 1982 and again in 2008 for the biennial, international

Hans Christian Andersen Award The Hans Christian Andersen Awards are two literary awards given by the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), recognising one living author and one living illustrator for their "lasting contribution to children's literature". Th ...

, the highest recognition available to creators of children's books.

WorldCat WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the O ...

reports that Pieńkowski's work most widely held in participating libraries is ''Christmas, the King James Version'' (1984; US ), a 24-page picture book that " es the words of the

Gospels Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the second century AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message was reported. In this sen ...

of Luke and Matthew to present the story of the birth of Jesus."

Biography

Jan Pieńkowski was born in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

to Jerzy, a farm manager, and Wanda (née Garlicka), a scientist. He was three years old in September 1939 when

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

began in Europe with the

invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...

. He was in an air-raid shelter during a Nazi firebomb attack, when a Polish insurgent showed him paper cut-out techniques. He later used these in over 150 picture books. From 1944, the family moved through

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

and

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, before settling in

Herefordshire Herefordshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England, bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh ...

, England, in 1946, where Pieńkowski attended Lucton School. At the age of 10, he could not speak any English. However, a year later he passed his

Eleven-Plus The eleven-plus (11+) is a standardised examination administered to some students in England and Northern Ireland in their last year of primary education, which governs admission to grammar schools and other secondary schools which use academi ...

exam and attended the Cardinal Vaughan School in London and later read English Classics at King's College,

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

. It was here that he met his friend, and later agent, Angela Holder, who persuaded him to turn one of his poster designs into a greetings card. After leaving university, together they founded the Gallery Five

greeting cards A greeting card is a piece of card stock, usually with an illustration or photo, made of high quality paper featuring an expression of friendship or other sentiment. Although greeting cards are usually given on special occasions such as birthda ...

company. He began illustrating children's books in spare time but soon found it taking all his time. In 1968, Pieńkowski began working with children's author

Joan Aiken Joan Delano Aiken (4 September 1924 – 4 January 2004) was an English writer specialising in supernatural fiction and children's alternative history novels. In 1999 she was awarded an MBE for her services to children's literature. For ''Th ...

. He won the annual

Kate Greenaway Medal The Carnegie Medal for Illustration (until 2022 the Kate Greenaway Medal) is a British award that annually recognises "distinguished illustration in a book for children". It is conferred upon the illustrator by the Chartered Institute of Librar ...

for their 1971 book, ''The Kingdom Under the Sea and other stories'' (

Jonathan Cape Jonathan Cape is a British publishing firm headquartered in London and founded in 1921 by Herbert Jonathan Cape, who was head of the firm until his death. Cape and his business partner Wren Howard (1893–1968) set up the publishing house in ...

), eleven "fairy tales from Eastern Europe and Russia" retold by Aiken. That award by the

Library Association The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP, pronounced ) is a professional body for librarians, information specialists and knowledge managers in the United Kingdom. It was established in 2002 as a merger of th ...

recognised the year's best children's book illustration by a

British subject The term "British subject" has several different meanings depending on the time period. Before 1949, it referred to almost all subjects of the British Empire (including the United Kingdom, Dominions, and colonies, but excluding protectorates ...

. In retrospect the librarians call it "brilliantly illustrated in a highly original and recognisable silhouette style". One year earlier he had been one of three Greenaway runners up for ''The Golden Bird'' ( J. M. Dent, 1970), written by Edith Brill. Pieńkowski is probably best known for illustrating the '' Meg and Mog'' books written by

Helen Nicoll Helen Nicoll (10 October 1937 – 30 September 2012) was an English author of children's books. She is best known for the '' Meg and Mog'' series. In total, she wrote 17 books. She worked with Jan Pienkowski (illustrator) for more than forty ye ...

, and for his

pop-up books A pop-up book is any book with three-dimensional pages, often with elements that ''pop up'' as a page is turned. The terminology serves as an umbrella term for movable book, pop-ups, tunnel books, transformations, volvelles, flaps, pull-tabs, po ...

including ''Haunted House'', ''Robot'', ''Dinner Time'', ''Good Night'' and 17 others. ''Haunted House'' ( Heinemann, 1979) earned Pieńkowski his second Greenaway Medal (no one has won three). The librarians describe it as "the house of petrifying pop-ups". The pop-up book was so successful that Intervisual Books Inc. reproduced the book as part of its 1992 Annual Report. The report noted "Haunted House was first published in 1979, and has sold 1,083,366 copies, in 13 languages, to nearly 30 countries worldwide." Pieńkowski had a lifelong interest in

stage design Scenic design, also known as stage design or set design, is the creation of scenery for theatrical productions including Play (theatre), plays and Musical theatre, musicals. The term can also be applied to film and television productions, wher ...

. He was commissioned to provide designs for Théâtre de Complicité, ''Beauty and the Beast'' for the

Royal Ballet The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded ...

, and ''Sleeping Beauty'' at

Disneyland Paris Disneyland Paris is an entertainment resort in Marne-la-Vallée, France, located about east of Paris. It encompasses two theme parks, seven Disney-owned hotels, two convention centers, a golf course, an arena, and a shopping, dining and entert ...

. In December 2008 he was a guest on ''

Private Passions ''Private Passions'' is a weekly music discussion programme that has been running since 15 April 1995 on BBC Radio 3, presented by composer Michael Berkeley. The production was formerly made by Classic Arts Productions, a British radio and audi ...

'', a biographic music discussion programme on BBC Radio 3. Published episode notes include the observation that " s musical choices, which all have strong personal resonances, reflect his Polish background as well as his love of both Italy and England." Recordings of two Polish numbers led the program: " Infant holy, infant lowly", a traditional

Christmas Carol A Christmas carol is a Carol (music), carol on the theme of Christmas, traditionally sung at Christmas itself or during the surrounding Christmas and holiday season. The term noel has sometimes been used, especially for carols of French or ...

(lyrics in English translation), and Chopin's so-called Military Polonaise. In 2019, Pienkowski was awarded the Booktrust's

Lifetime Achievement Award Lifetime achievement awards are awarded by various organizations, to recognize contributions over the whole of a career, rather than or in addition to single contributions. Such awards, and organizations presenting them, include: A * A.C. ...

Personal life and death

In October 2009, Pieńkowski was a guest on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

's ''

Desert Island Discs ''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942. Each week a guest, called a " castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight audio recordin ...

''. During the programme he discussed his childhood spent roaming Europe, his dead infant sister, his bipolarity and his collection of discarded garments (which he would wear himself or give away to charity shops). He also talked about his 40-year relationship with his collaborator and civil partner, David Walser, whom he met in a pub on the

King's Road King's Road or Kings Road (or sometimes the King's Road, especially when it was the king's private road until 1830, or as a colloquialism by middle/upper class London residents) is a major street stretching through Chelsea and Fulham, both ...

in West London. They contracted their

partnership A partnership is an agreement where parties agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests. The partners in a partnership may be individuals, businesses, interest-based organizations, schools, governments or combinations. Organizations ...

in Richmond on the first day this was possible in 2005."Jan Pienkowski"
Broadcast episode recording (45 minutes). ''

'', Sunday, 18 October 2009. BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 1 December 2012. Pieńkowski lived and worked in

Barnes, London Barnes () is a district in South West London, England, part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It takes up the extreme north-east of the borough, and as such is the closest part of the borough to central London. It is centred west ...

, where he was a patron of the Barnes Literary Society. He died from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

on 19 February 2022, at the age of 85 at

Charing Cross Hospital Charing Cross Hospital is district general hospital and teaching hospital located in Hammersmith in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. The present hospital was opened in 1973, although it was originally established in 1818, approxim ...

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. At the time of his death, he was also suffering from

metastatic Metastasis is a pathogenic agent's spreading from an initial or primary site to a different or secondary site within the host's body; the term is typically used when referring to metastasis by a cancerous tumor. The newly pathological sites, ...

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is the neoplasm, uncontrolled growth of cells in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system below the bladder. Abnormal growth of the prostate tissue is usually detected through Screening (medicine), screening tests, ...

and Alzheimer's dementia.

The Booker Prize trophy

In 1969, Pieńkowski designed a trophy for the

Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a prestigious literary award conferred each year for the best single work of sustained fiction written in the English language, wh ...

, which was unveiled at the first prize ceremony that year, with the statuette being awarded to P. H. Newby. Although the statuette was out of use for many years, after Pieńkowski's death it was reinstated in his honour and was awarded to the winner of the Booker Prize 2022, Shehan Karunatilaka.

Books

*''Annie, Bridget and Charlie'' (1967) *''The Golden Bird'' (1972) *''ABC'' *''ABC Dinosaurs'' (1993) *''Haunted House'' Intervisual Books *''Easter'' *''Christmas'' *''The First Christmas'' *''The First Noel'' *''Weather'' *''Gossip'' *''Botticelli's Bed & Breakfast'' *''Little Monsters'' *''Shapes'' *''Numbers'' *''Boats'' *''Faces'' *''1 2 3'' *''Big Machines'' *''Doorbell'' *''Dinner Times'' *''Meg and Mog'' *''Meg on the Moon'' *''Meg and the Romans'' *''The Fairytales'' *''Nighttime'' *''Pet Food'' *''Small Talk'' *''Oh My a Fly'' *''Yea No'' *''Robot'' *''Road Hog'' *''The Animals Went in Two by Two'' *''Pizza''

Notes

References

External links

* wit
Jan's name spoken by Maureen Lipman
(audio, endorsed)

at FT.com: Visual Arts (5 July 2008) * Alison Flood
"Meg, Mog and other monsters"
in ''The Guardian'' (22 December 2008), based on interview * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pienkowski, Jan 1936 births 2022 deaths Alumni of King's College, Cambridge British children's book illustrators British children's writers British gay artists British gay writers Deaths from dementia in the United Kingdom Kate Greenaway Medal winners Gay Christians People educated at Lucton School Writers from Warsaw Polish emigrants to the United Kingdom Polish gay artists Polish gay writers Pop-up book artists Writers who illustrated their own writing