POP-UP BLOCKED
Children’s author and illustrator Jan Pienkowski, best known for the Meg and Mog series, has died aged 85. Born in Poland a few years before WWII, scary stories a neighbour told him as a child instilled in him a flair for the macabre. What Pienkowski witnessed after the invasion cemented his belief that children should learn to tackle fear at an early age, albeit in the safe and controlled environment of children’s stories. A more lighthearted fascination also took root during those years – a soldier making paper cut-outs from newspapers to entertain Pienkowski while in an air raid shelter led to a lifelong love of pop-up books, which would become his forte as an author. He was versatile with his talent – Meg and Mog’s stories of a witch and her cat utilised a more minimalist style, whereas pop-ups such as Haunted House went all out on detail. He was a unique hit for Bibliogryphon’s Bookworm Food.
Jan Pienkowski
8 August 1936 – 19 February 2022, aged 85
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