Biography
Born: 16 November 1916, Prague, Czechoslovakia
Died: May 1980, Wettingen, Switzerland.
Education & career
According to cover notes in Stone is Not Cold, Mr. Sasek trained as an architect in Prague because his parents didn't approve of him becoming a painter. He studied for some time at l'Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris. He escaped from Prague in 1948 when the Communist Party came to power, and settled in Munich (he claimed he would be happy anywhere and ended up in Munich because his wife's work was there). From 1951-57 he worked for Radio Free Europe before starting on the This Is series, with This is Paris.
He was married with one stepson. At the time of his death in 1980 he was divorced and living in Paris. He died while visiting his sister Vera in Switzerland.
Books
See Bibliography.
Interviews and articles
- Interview from Books are by people from 1969.
- Obituary: Children's Literature Review
Awards
- New York Times Choice of Best Illustrated Books of the Year, 1959 for This is London.
- New York Times Choice of Best Illustrated Books of the Year, 1960 for This is New York.
- Boys' Clubs of America Junior Book Award, 1961 for This is New York.
- International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) Honor List 1979 for This is the United Nations.
- Award for Excellence, Society of Illustrators
Annual National Exhibition, New York, 1960 - The Leyton Prize, London, 1961.
- Best book of the year for Loisirs Jeunes, 1962 and 1965
