Jan Brzechwa

Hello! My name is Jan Brzechwa, but that was my special writer's name. I was born Jan Wiktor Lesman on August 15th, 1898. Ever since I was a little boy, I loved words! I thought they were like building blocks you could use to create funny rhymes and magical stories. My cousin, Bolesław Leśmian, was also a famous poet, and he showed me how much fun you could have with language. He helped me see the magic hidden inside every single word, just waiting to be discovered.

When I grew up, I had two jobs. My daytime job was being a lawyer, where I helped other writers and artists. But my favorite job was the one I did in my heart: writing for children just like you! I loved to twist words around to make them sound silly and surprising. In 1938, I wrote a poem called 'The Needle Danced with the Thread,' which was about a needle and thread having a little adventure. A year later, in 1939, I wrote about a very silly duck in my poem 'Weird Ducky.' It was so much fun to make animals and everyday objects come to life with my words.

My most famous story is about a magical school called Mr. Kleks' Academy. I wrote the first book about it in 1946. Mr. Kleks was a wonderful, quirky headmaster with a rainbow beard who taught lessons that were actually amazing adventures! The students didn't just sit at desks. They learned geography by playing with a globe that was also a ball, and they had classes in ink-blot making to spark their creativity. I wanted to create a place where learning was the most exciting thing in the world, and where imagination was the most important school subject.

I wrote many stories and poems throughout my life. I lived to be 67 years old, and my time came to a close on July 2nd, 1966. My greatest joy is knowing that my books are still being read by children all over Poland and beyond. I hope my funny rhymes and magical worlds continue to make children laugh, dream, and believe that anything is possible with a little bit of imagination.