International Companion Encyclopedia of Children’s Literature

The Czech and Slovak special interest in illustration is reflected in the establishment
of the Biennale of Illustration Bratislava (BIB), an international competition for picture
book artists.

Poland

In the nineteenth century, the Polish language was banned in schools in most of the
country but this only increased the wish of parents to teach their children about their
cultural heritage. One book which was read by nearly every girl was a journal fashioned
out of the life of the Countess Françoise Krasinska by Klementyna Tanska Hofmanowa,
which provided a detailed picture of life during the eighteenth century and which was
just the kind of literature which appealed to the nationalistic spirit of the oppressed
Poles. In the late nineteenth century, Adolf Dygasiński wrote stories with animals as
central characters and these were much enjoyed by children. Maria Konopnicka and
Julian Tuwim, both lyricists of great imagination, were amongst the most successful
poets for children. After Poland regained its independence in 1918, children’s writers
were in the forefront of educational and social reform, and included authors who
continued in the pattern already set such as M. Dombrowska (1889–1964) and more
radical writers such as Helen Bibinska (1887–1968). A major figure at this time was
Janucz Korczak (1878–1942), an early children’s rights activist who produced a classic
children’s novel, Krol Macius Pierwzy [King Matt the First] (1923).
Children’s books continued to be published during the German occupation, some of
those produced by the underground press calling for resistance. After the war many
children’s books used a wartime setting and this practice has continued. Krystyna
Siesicka (1928-), who edited Filipinka, a magazine for young girls, wrote novels dealing
with the problems of young people. Although her popularity reached a peak in the late
1960s, her finest achievement is considered to be Moja droga Aleksandro [My Dear
Alexandra] (1983). This depicts the lives of four generations of women and shows the
importance of family traditions in Poland. Through letters supposed to be written in
1944 and the retrospective memories of the narrator, she depicts life during the Second
World War and the German occupation.
Since 1989 publishing for children has boomed. Fairy tales, now in luxury editions,
are still popular but Bible stories and other religious literature have reappeared. Marian
Murawski’s work as an illustrator is an indication of the quality of modern Polish picture
books; in 1989 he won the BIB Grand Prix. As a child, he lived in eastern Poland where
Polish traditions mixed with Byelorussian and Jewish legends. He has illustrated both
Byelorussian tales, Niewyczerpany dzban [A Bottomless Jug] and Ksiegabajek Polskich
[A Book of Polish Fairy Tales], enriching the traditional stories through the pictures
based on his own memories and experiences.

The Former Yugoslavia

The six republics or provinces which make up the former Yugoslavia each has its own
literature; each has a long history of national heroes celebrated in folk-tale epics and
ballads. Before the Second World War, there was a distinction between the poorer and

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