Jan Pieńkowski

The lovely Jan Pieńkowski has died aged 85. I loved sharing his 'Meg and Mog' creations with my children, his wonderfully graphic creation of space and landscapes popping with colour across the pages.  Jan had over 140 picture books published and won the Kate Greenaway award in 1971 for his silhouette illustrations of Joan Aiken’s The Kingdom Under The Sea and again in 1980 for Haunted House. Jan was a clever sculptor and engineer of paper, leading to a natural skill in creating pop-up books. Many of Jan's works were made in collaboration with his life partner, the writer David Walser.