Janina Domańska Explained

Janina Domańska (28 July 1913 – 2 February 1995) was a Polish-born American artist, author and illustrator. She is best known for her self-illustrated children's books. She won a Caldecott Honor for her book If All the Seas Were One Sea in 1972.[1]

Personal life

Domańska was born in Warsaw. She graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, Poland in 1939. She was held briefly in a concentration camp in Germany, before being released to stay with a doctor and his family in Germany. In 1946 Domanska studied painting in Italy, and then emigrated to the United States in 1952. She worked designing textiles before she began creating book illustrations. She was married to writer Jerzy Laskowski. And later to Ernest Nossen. She lived in New Fairfield, Connecticut.

Career

Domańska wrote, adapted and translated 22 books with her own illustrations. She also illustrated 23 books by other authors. Her own titles include The Tortoise and the Tree, Din Dan Don It's Christmas, Spring is, and The Best of the Bargain. Her book King Krakus and the Dragon received a starred Kirkus review highlighting the "rich color, sumptuous design, and a splendid peacock of a dragon [that] adorn this old Polish tale of King Krakus who founded Krakow."[2]

The books she illustrated that were written by others include an edition of Trumpeter of Kraków, the Newbery award winning children’s novel by Eric P. Kelly. Astrid Lindgren's Mischievous Meg; the 1992 version of The Bremen Town Musicians by the brothers Grimm; and Ten and a Kid by Sadie Rose Weilerstein, which won the 1962 National Jewish Book Award for children's literature.[3]

She also created a poster supporting poetry in 1975 for the Children's Book Council[4]

Legacy

The Ezra Jack Keats/Janina Domanska Research Fellowship was established at the University of Southern Mississippi through the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation, the Janina Domanska Literary Estate, and the de Grummond Children's Literature Collection. The aim of the program was to support “scholars engaged in projects based substantially on the holdings of the de Grummond Children's Literature Collection.”[5] [6]

A selection of Domanska's papers relating to 14 books that she published between 1962-78 are held in the Children's Literature Resource Collection at the University of Minnesota Library.[7] Damanska’s correspondence from 1966-1990 as well as books and cards she created are part of the Grummond Collection at the McCain Library at the University of Southern Mississippi.[8]

Publications

Author and illustrator

Illustrator of books by other authors

Notes and References

  1. Bethel University, Caldecott Winners and Honors: 1972 Winner & Honorees https://bethelindiana.libguides.com/c.php?g=972173&p=7026522
  2. Kirkus Review. Aug. 1, 1979. King Krakus and the Dragon. https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/a/janina-domanska-2/king-krakus-and-the-dragon/
  3. National Jewish Book Award. https://web.mnstate.edu/schwartz/natonaljewishbookaward.htm
  4. Free Library of Philadelphia. Children's Literature Research Collection. Digit Item. http://libwww.library.phila.gov/digital/item/63848
  5. Ezra Jack Keats/Janina Domanska Research Fellowship Program. https://www.degrummond.org/fellowships
  6. Margaret Ann Macloud. Ezra Jack Keats Foundation Celebrates 35th Anniversary of Annual Book Award. 03/09/2021. https://www.usm.edu/news/2021/release/ezra-jack-keats-award-winners.php
  7. Janina Domanska Papers. https://archives.lib.umn.edu/repositories/4/resources/3495
  8. Janina Domanska Papers. https://www.lib.usm.edu/legacy/degrum/public_html/html/research/findaids/domanska.htm
  9. Anne Pellowski. “Books on Poland for Children.” Polish American Studies, Vol. 28, No. 2 (Autumn, 1971), pp. 66.
  10. Alexander Taylor, Eight Current Children's Books: A Mixed Bag, Children's Literature, Volume 3. pp. 198-202.

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