Muzeum Książki Dziecięcej

What to expect

The Children’s Book Museum is a special department of the Warsaw Public Library at Koszykowa 26/28 – not a standalone building with a sign out front, but a scholarly reading room tucked inside the library’s annex. Anyone looking for an interactive museum for five-year-olds has come to the wrong address. Anyone looking for one of the oldest and largest collections of children’s literature in Europe is in exactly the right place.

The collection numbers nearly 100,000 volumes. The oldest items date to 1801. Polish and foreign fiction for children and young readers (about 20 per cent foreign editions), children’s periodicals, literary criticism, pedagogy, children’s theatre history, library science. The collection grows through legal deposit, purchases of foreign titles and donations. Parts have been digitised and are available through the Mazovian Digital Library.

The museum was formally established in 1938, though its roots go back to a 1926 book trade exhibition. The founder was Maria Gutry (1899-1988), a pioneer of Polish children’s librarianship. Until 2015 it was housed near plac Hallera in the Praga district; it then moved to its present home on Koszykowa.

Each year the museum announces the “Lista Skarbow” (Treasures List) – a selection of the best children’s books published that year. It is a prestigious distinction in the Polish publishing world. The museum also runs a reprint series called “Children’s Book Museum Recommends” and since 2019 awards the “Laur imienia Joanny i Jana Kulmow” prize in two categories.

Rotating exhibitions cover thematic surveys of Polish children’s authors, painting exhibitions, and collaborations with cultural institutes (Goethe-Institut, Swedish, Slovak and Danish Institutes). Author meetings and book launches are regular events. School groups are welcome by prior arrangement – educational sessions include discussion of exhibitions, shared reading and sometimes puppet theatre elements.

Tips

• Monday, Wednesday, Friday 13:00-19:00. Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday 9:00-15:00.
• Free entry.
• This is a scholarly reading room, not a walk-through museum – collections are consulted on-site, not borrowed. Primarily used by researchers, philology and pedagogy students, publishers, authors.
• Group visits by phone appointment – 22 537 40 26. Educational sessions for school classes last 45-90 minutes.
• The “Treasures List” – published annually, listing the best children’s books of the year. An excellent resource for parents looking for quality reading.
• Branch in Zoliborz: Izba Pamieci Marii Kownackiej – dedicated to the author of “Plastusiowy pamietnik.”

Getting there

Tram: Lines 10, 11, 17, 33 – Koszykowa stop, 1 minute walk.

Bus: Lines 159, 175, 517, 525 – Koszykowa stop, 2 minutes.

Metro: Politechnika (M1) – about 600 m walk.

Nearby museums

Koszykowa sits in an academic-museum belt. Nearby: Geological Museum (PIG) (ul. Rakowiecka 4, 800 m), National Museum (al. Jerozolimskie 3, 1.2 km).