Miroslav Šašek (November 18, 1916, Prague – May 28, 1980, Wettingen, Switzerland) was a Czech émigré author and illustrator, best known for a series of books for children, originally published by W. H. Allen & Co., titled This Is..., which he signed M.
In 1947 Miroslav Šašek moved with his wife Jindřiška (née Tumlířová) to Paris and started studying at the Ecole des Beaux Arts.
He finished the illustrations for the Czech edition of Gabriel Chevallier's novel Clochemerle (as Zvonokosy) and started preparatory work on drawings for a tourist guide for the city for the Czech publishing house Ladislav Kuncíř.
[2] This Is Paris appeared in 1959, starting what ultimately grew into a series of eighteen books.
This Is New York also received the Boy's Club of America Junior Books Award in 1961, while This Is the United Nations appeared on the International Board on Books for Young People Honor List in 1979.