70 Years of Picture Books: Mayurpankhi at the International Children’s Book Exhibition
- Mitia Osman
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
From 6 December 2025 to 15 March 2026, the 70th International Children’s Book Exhibition is being held at the Klingspor Museum in Offenbach, Germany—a landmark event in the global history of children’s publishing.
This year’s edition is especially meaningful for us at Mayurpankhi, as Bengali picture books are included in this historic exhibition for the very first time.
Illustration: Tatjana Prenzel. Design: turbo type
About the Klingspor Museum
The Klingspor Museum is dedicated to modern book art, typography, calligraphy, illustration, and graphic design. Named after the historic Klingspor type foundry—an important centre of European type design in the early 20th century—the museum holds an exceptional collection of original drawings, type specimens, manuscripts, and archival materials.
Beyond exhibitions, the museum is deeply engaged in research and preservation. Since 2022, large parts of its collection have been digitised and made accessible through the Klingspor Type Archive, allowing visitors and researchers worldwide to explore its holdings online. Today, the Klingspor Museum is internationally recognised as a vital space for book culture and visual storytelling.
A Unique Exhibition with a Long History
The International Children’s Book Exhibition at the Klingspor Museum has been organised annually since 1955, making it one of the longest-running exhibitions devoted to children’s books and illustration anywhere in the world. The very first exhibition was presented under the title Bunte Kinderwelt (“Colourful Children’s World”), at a time when international exchange in children’s publishing was still limited.
Over the past seven decades, the exhibition has grown into an important reference point for publishers, illustrators, designers, educators, and researchers. Each year, around 150 carefully selected picture books from many countries are displayed—chosen not for commercial success, but for their artistic quality, narrative depth, and thoughtful design.
Walking through the exhibition today, one can sense how deliberately this tradition has been built and sustained over generations.
Reflecting 70 Years of Change in Children’s Books
The 70th edition looks back at how picture books have evolved alongside society itself.Early books from the 1950s often presented an idealised, harmonious image of childhood, with fixed roles and simple narratives.
From the 1970s onwards, children’s books began to change in noticeable ways. Progressive publishers introduced stories that addressed children’s real emotions, social challenges, and political realities. Children were increasingly seen as individuals with their own perspectives and questions.
In recent decades, picture books have become spaces for exploring identity, diversity, migration, war, environmental concerns, gender roles, and inclusion, always from a child’s point of view. At the same time, illustration styles have expanded, embracing experimentation, mixed media, and visual storytelling that treats the picture book as a serious art form.
Birthdays and Cultural Traditions
This year’s exhibition also explores the theme of birthdays and celebrations around the world. While birthday cakes and candles are common in Germany, the exhibition highlights how different cultures mark life milestones in their own ways—such as longevity noodles in China, piñatas in Latin America, or name days taking precedence over birthdays in Greece.
These traditions remind us that childhood is shaped by culture, ritual, and shared memory—elements that picture books often capture quietly but powerfully.
Highlight: Ivan Gantschev
A special focus of the exhibition is the work of Ivan Gantschev, the Bulgarian-born illustrator whose poetic picture books shaped children’s literature in the 1970s and 1980s.More than 40 original watercolours and acrylic artworks are on display, offering rare insight into his gentle, atmospheric visual language.
Seeing these originals up close reveals how much intention and emotional restraint went into illustrations that may appear simple at first glance. Gantschev’s work continues to influence how many illustrators think about mood, silence, and space in picture books today.
Involvement in Selection and Curation
This year, I had the privilege of being directly involved in the selection and curation of the exhibition. Reviewing picture books from many countries and across different decades offered a unique perspective on how global children’s publishing has evolved—and how certain themes continue to return in new forms.
Working with the books day after day—sometimes slowly, sometimes intuitively—changed how I look at picture books, not only as a publisher, but also as a reader. Being part of the curatorial process during the 70th anniversary edition made the experience especially meaningful.
Mayurpankhi on the Global Stage
For Mayurpankhi, this exhibition marks an important milestone.For the first time, Bengali picture books are presented within this historic international exhibition, standing alongside outstanding works from publishers around the world.
This inclusion represents not only our publishing journey, but also the growing visibility of Bangladeshi and Bengali children’s literature in international cultural spaces. It is a moment of pride for our authors, illustrators, and readers—many of whom rarely see stories in their own language represented beyond national borders.
Looking Forward
The 70th International Children’s Book Exhibition is both a celebration of the past and a quiet reflection on the future. It shows how picture books continue to adapt, respond to change, and create connections across cultures and generations.
We are honoured that Mayurpankhi is part of this historic moment—and we look forward to continuing our work of creating thoughtful, carefully made picture books for children, in Bangladesh and beyond.
Written by Mitia Osman, publisher and founder of Mayurpankhi, whose work centres on creating and sharing meaningful picture books for children across cultures.
Coverage of Mayurpankhi’s publishing work and professional involvement at the 70th International Children’s Book Exhibition at the Klingspor Museum.
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