Krystyna Lipka-Sztarbałło

Krystyna Lipka-Sztarbałło
Born in 1949, she studied at the Warsaw Academy of Arts, Department of Interior Design,
graduating with distinction in 1974. She works as an illustrator and takes part in undertakings
aiming to improve the quality of children's books. She has illustrated twenty books on her
own and eleven textbooks in a team. Six books with her illustrations have appeared abroad
(five under Polish licence). Major books with her illustrations published abroad: The Balloon
Sailors by D. Swanson (Annick Press Ltd., 2003, Canada), Eine Gelbe Geschichte (Żółta
zasypianka) and Wo ist mein Trauml (Sen, który odszedł) by A. Onichimowska, translated
into German by Natalie Weber; Petit conte jaune (Żółta zasypianka) by A. Onichimowska,
translated into French by Margot Carlier. Also, the book Sen, który odszedł (The Sleep that
Went Away) has been published in Korea in Jiwone Lee's translation.
Awards for illustrations:
1989, 1st prize in the competition for children's book design and illustrations (Poznań) for
illustrations to Pinocchio by C. Collodi; 2001, BIB'01 Plaque (Bratislava, Slovakia) for
illustrations to the book Sen, który odszedł by A. Onichimowska and, for the same book,
honorary mention in the PTWK competition for the Best Designed Books of the Year and the
IBBY Polish Section's 'Book of the Year 2001' prize; the book has been entered on the IBBY
Honour List 2002; 2nd prize in the 'Pro Bologna 2002' competition (Warsaw) for illustrations
to Żółta zasypianka (Yellow Lullaby), a short story by A. Onichimowska; honorary mention
in the PTWK competition for the Best Designed Books of the Year 2003 for illustrations to
Moje - nie moje (Minę - Not Mine) by L. Bardijewska; honorary mention in the Polish IBBY
Section's 'Book of the Year 2004' competition for illustrations to the poem Nie wiem kto
(Don't Know Who) by D. Wawiłow, graphic design by Joanna Gwis, and, for the same book:
honorary mention in the PTWK competition for the Best Designed Books of the Year 2004,
and honorary mention in the 'Child-friendly World' competition; honorary mention in the
IBBY Polish Section's 'Book of the Year 2005' for the Żółta zasypianka by A. Onichimowska.
2006 – Bestseller of the Year – for the book A ja tak chcę (And I want that) by B. Ostrowicka;
honorary mention in the Book of the Year 2008 PS IBBY competition for illustrations to the
poem Nic (Nothing) by M. Mariańska-Czernik and the same book was placed on the List of
Books for Children Treasure Museum and the third prize in the competition of Halina
Skrobiszewska (2009), 2010 - Korean Ministry of Culture Award for the book Mapy mówią
(Maps say) by Heekyoung Kim (Nonjang 2009) and listed on the international list of finalists
of 4th CJ Picture Book Awards Seoul Korea (2011). The German edition of Wo geht's lang?
(Gerstenberg Verlag, 2011) got the title of Buch des Monats of the Akademie für Kinder-und
Jugendliteratur, in July 2011, and a nomination from the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis 2012.
For her work for the children's book she got the Gold Badge of PTWK in 2004 and the Silver
Medal Gloria Artis of Ministry of Culture in 2006.
(source: 1990-2005 Twórcy dzieciom – Artists for children, Almanach Polskiej Sekcji IBBY,
Warsaw: 2006)
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