In this brand new collaboration with David Walser, Jan Pieńkowski breathes new life into the tales of his homeland with vibrant and witty illustrations.

Polish fairy tales have a character all of their own and these stories are sure to captivate today’s children as much as they enchanted Jan Pieńkowski during his childhood in Poland. He created all of the pictures in this book from paper cut-outs, combining this traditional art form, which he learned as a child, with his trademark silhouette style. David Walser wonderfully retells the Polish tales to create a magical and compelling book, featuring classic stories such as “Pan Twardowski”, “The Glass Mountain”, “The Wawel Dragon” and “The Fern Flower”.

Jan Pieńkowski was born in Warsaw in 1936. His family were architects and artists. He made his first book when he was 8, as a present for his father – all about road rage, but featuring a horse and cart. The war made his childhood an adventure, if not a very comfortable one at times, taking him from Poland to Austria, Germany, Italy and finally bringing him in 1946 to England. After reading Classics and English at Cambridge, Jan worked in advertising, publishing, and doing graphics for the BBC children’s TV series Watch! In his spare time, he started to illustrate books for children.

David Walser was born in Singapore in 1937 and came to the UK in 1940. He was educated at Oxford and trained as an RAF pilot in Canada. He is a writer, translator, artist and musician.

The Glass Mountain: Tales from Poland
By Jan Pieńkowski and David Walser
Published by Walker Books, September 2014
ISBN 978-0763673208
Buy online