He died from complications of dementia on 19 February 2022, at the age of 85. [14] [15] The Booker Prize trophy [ edit ] Atari Easter Eggs: The game is full of collectibles and lore based on the original Haunted House and other classic favorites from Atari’s golden age.

Pieńkowski had a lifelong interest in stage design. He was commissioned to provide designs for Théâtre de Complicité, Beauty and the Beast for the Royal Ballet, and Sleeping Beauty at Disneyland Paris. This is it. The Holy grail of spooky picture books to creep out and delight children all over the world. I borrowed this book so many times from the library when I was a child. It was the first time I saw a pop-up book and it’s combination of humor, scares and ingeniously designed pop-up features kept me entertained every time I opened the book.

Jan Pienkowski Haunted House

At the age of 10, he could not speak any English. However, a year later he passed his Eleven-Plus exam and attended the Cardinal Vaughan School in London and later read English Classics at King's College, Cambridge. [1] 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. [1] a b (Greenaway Winner 1971). Living Archive: Celebrating the Carnegie and Greenaway Winners. CILIP. Retrieved 15 July 2012. a b (Greenaway Winner 1979). Living Archive: Celebrating the Carnegie and Greenaway Winners. CILIP. Retrieved 15 July 2012.

One or two critics questioned the frightening nature of many of his picture books, and he certainly had a tendency towards the macabre and gothic. Another inspiration for Pieńkowski was comics. As he put it, “the violence and hyperbole of the Old Testament stories found an echo in Desperate Dan and Dennis the Menace. They also gave me my palette.” He insisted that children like to be frightened in a safe place, although he did admit that some Slavic folk tales are pretty terrifying. Pieńkowski illustrated his first book at the age of eight, as a present for his father. During World War II, Pieńkowski's family moved about Europe, finally settling in Herefordshire, England in 1946. He attended the Cardinal Vaughan School in London, and later read English and Classics at King's College, Cambridge. Khomami, Nadia (20 February 2022). "Jan Pieńkowski, illustrator of Meg and Mog books, dies at 85". The Guardian . Retrieved 20 February 2022. IBBY Announces Winners of 2008 Hans Christian Andersen Awards". International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY). Press release 31 March 2008. Styles, Morag (20 February 2022). "Jan Pieńkowski obituary". The Guardian . Retrieved 21 February 2022.As a young child, Pieńkowski was taught by his mother, who encouraged his passion for drawing and making things. On arrival in Britain, aged 10, he was sent to Lucton boarding school in Herefordshire, and added English to his already fluent German, Italian and Polish. His passion for art developed further after he started life-drawing classes at the age of 13. Haunted House ( Heinemann, 1979) earned Pieńkowski his second Greenaway Medal (no one has won three). [9] The librarians describe it as "the house of petrifying pop-ups". [9] 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." [10] In October 2009, Pieńkowski was a guest on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs. 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). [6]

In 1968, Pieńkowski began working with children's author Joan Aiken. He won the annual Kate Greenaway Medal for their 1971 book, The Kingdom Under the Sea and other stories ( Jonathan Cape), eleven "fairy tales from Eastern Europe and Russia" retold by Aiken. [7] That award by the Library Association recognised the year's best children's book illustration by a British subject. In retrospect the librarians call it "brilliantly illustrated in a highly original and recognisable silhouette style". [7] One year earlier he had been one of three Greenaway runners up for The Golden Bird ( J. M. Dent, 1970), written by Edith Brill. [8] [a]

a b c d e "Jan Pienkowski obituary". The Times. 22 February 2022. ISSN 0140-0460 . Retrieved 24 February 2022.

Although he was studying literature, even then Pieńkowski was busy illustrating for Granta magazine and designing posters for university theatre productions – in the process developing a lifelong interest in stage design. Before Cambridge, Pieńkowski had spent a couple of months in Rome, one of his favourite cities, where he discovered opera. This love of the arts was a constant in his life.

Summary

After leaving university Pieńkowski founded the Gallery Five greeting cards company. He began illustrating children's books in his spare time, but soon found the work taking over all his time. He began working with children's author Joan Aiken in 1968; he later won the first of two Kate Greenaway Medals in 1972 for his illustrations for Aiken's The Kingdom Under the Sea.