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Sasek, Miroslav
European author and illustrator, 1916-1980, Colorful panoramas and precise architectural drawings are characteristic of Sasek’s illustrated travel books for children. Sasek’s distinctive style is not only informative but also entertaining and witty. It captures the ambiance of cities (Paris, London, Rome, New York, Edinburgh, Munich, Venice, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C.) countries (Israel, Greece, and Australia), and other places of interest (Cape Kennedy, Hong Kong, Texas, and Historic Britain).
Sasek left his homeland for studies in Paris upon the Communist takeover of Czechoslovakia after World War II. For several years he traveled and studied throughout Europe and North Africa until he settled in Munich, where he worked for Radio Free Europe. Noticing that young tourists were ill prepared for sightseeing, Sasek wrote and illustrated his first book, This Is Paris, in 1959. This was quickly followed by volumes on London and Rome, which met with such success that the "This Is" series continued for thirteen additional titles.
Sasek’s education in art and architecture merged effectively with his peripatetic nature. His renderings of historic buildings, soaring cathedrals, and other significant structures arrest the eye with their clarity of detail. Sasek intersperses these tourbook sites with glimpses of everyday life. He is careful to include scenes of interest to children: parks and zoos, shops, signs and vehicles, policemen, schoolchildren, and tourists like themselves. Sasek’s picture-book format is deceptive, for his books demand an inquiring eye. Each one demonstrates Sasek’s creative mind and attention to small, telling details. Native languages, stamps, currency, flags, costumes, and customs are skillfully integrated into the plentiful illustrations. Sasek used several art techniques in his illustrations. Cityscapes and countrysides are impressionistic. Photographs authenticate statuary, postage, and postcards. The features of cartoon-style people are similar from culture to culture, though their expressions and dress are distinctive. White space is used effectively to frame an object or person and to focus attention. Bright colors of the present provide a lively contrast to the muted tones of the past. The oversize books are easily recognizable by their format. The bright, bold covers feature a native resident in uniform or in national costume. Coins, statuary, documents, and other derivative symbols decorate the frontispiece. The locale is also reinforced by the lettering and incidental drawings of the title page. Tongue-in-cheek sketches of the artist, portfolio under arm, begin and end each sojourn.
No longer in print, the Sasek books have been replaced by other series books with color photographs, maps, charts, and facts-at-a-glance. Only Roxie Munro’s "Inside-Outside" books and Mitsumasa Anno’s travel books offer the original and expressive approach that distinguished Sasek’s series. Sasek’s text is enlivened by his humor, his use of quotations, and his distinctive introductions, some of which provide historical notes or legends. The text offers a pattern of captionlike sentences combined with longer factual and descriptive sections. The books conclude with wit, wisdom, or wistfulness, and a sense that there are other places to visit. - J.E.G.