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| Nieves Pick 8 |
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Miroslav Sasek (Czechoslovakia, 1916 – 1980)
Sasek's This is... series provides a unique service for children by introducing them to great countries, cities, and landmarks in an entertaining and understandable way. Sasek approached his books as if he were visiting a place for the first time, as he often was. His impressions in word and picture form the basis of the books and throughout the series he retains a childlike sense of wonder in his verbal and visual descriptions.
Sasek was educated as an artist in Czechoslovakia, but left in 1948 when the Communist Party came into power; he settled in Munich, but chose to remain stateless. Sasek started writing for children while on vacation in Paris. He noticed that parents in families of tourists tended to stay absorbed in their surroundings. Feeling these young people deserved to know about the things they would or could be seeing, Sasek created This is Paris in 1959; he eventually published nearly twenty books in the series.
Sasek was awarded the New York Times Choice of Best Illustrated Children's Book of the Year in 1959 for This is London and in 1960 for This is New York, which also received the Boy's Club of America Junior Books Award in 1961. This is the United Nations was listed on the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) Honor List in 1979. |
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