Nov 3, 2025
Art by Bohdan Butenko
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Art by Bohdan Butenko
between the tournaments minigame 3
hello and welcome to another minigame designed to make you think back with nostalgia to your childhood. (or at least my childhood). today we are looking at some iconic children's books illustrators!
you can vote either for the most iconic one (ok we know thats butenko), or your fave from when you were a kid, or the one most aesthetically pleasing to you currently, or whatever criteria you deem right
whose children's books illustrations do you like the most? (examples under the poll)
Bohdan Butenko's
Joanna Olech's
Janusz Grabiański's
Teresa Zalewska-Hoya's
i know butenko and grabiański are the most iconic ones but i hope we can get some appreciation for the others too <3
Bohdan Butenko:
Joanna Olech:
Janusz Grabiański:
Teresa Zalewska-Hoya:
there are many many more amazing children's books illustrators. from me personally honorable mention shoutouts go to paweł pawlak and piotr rychel. share your own faves who didn't make it to the minigame in the tags!
Polish Christmas postcard by Bohdan Butenko
Butenko Pinxit
Bohdan Butenko, signing his pictures "Butenko Pinxit", made many children think THIS was his name.
Considering his illustrations were everywhere, from early reading magazine "Świerszczyk" to poem books to collage comic strips, he definitely left an impression on Polish children of a certain era.
His drawings may seem simplistic...
But he was a master of humor. Here is his "Self-portrait":
(the arrow says "This one, thirtieth from the left")
However what most probably remember the best are his combinations of text and pictures. Entire pages of hand-transcribed poems of Jan Brzechwa, with relevant pictures added:
(poem about a snail, obviously :))
He was a student of Jan Marcin Szancer (see here) but has created a style entirely of his own. Even though they have covered the same authors - Szancer has also illustrated some of Brzechwa's poems.
In fact, a child's bookcase can be considered lacking if it doesn't contain one of each.
He also designed entire books, with their unusual layout and typography playing into the storytelling:
(Ciril, Where Are You?, Wiktor Woroszylski)
And then there was the Dong who had a luminous nose, and Jumblies and other creatures by Mr Lear.
The cover:
Some Jumblies in their sieve:
(you can read the part of the poem over their heads)
BOHDAN BUTENKO /
Illustration for 'Trąba' (trumpet) 1961
Illsutration : Bohdan Butenko
8 lutego
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Bohdan Butenko to potrafił robić książki! Oto krótka lekcja mistrza: Zawsze powtarzam, że w książce nie ma stron lepszych i gorszych, podobnie jak w udzierganym swetrze, z którego nie można nic wyjąć, bo reszta się spruje. Kiedy opracowuję książkę, zajmuję się jej całością, chwytam wszystkie ogniwa. Liczy się dla mnie każdy szczegół, wyzwaniem staje się każda kolejna strona, każda rozkładówka, od…
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