King Matt the First

Contributors

By Janusz Korczak

Translated by Richard Lourie

Introduction by Esme Raji Codell

Formats and Prices

Price

$23.99

Price

$30.99 CAD

Format

Trade Paperback

Format:

Trade Paperback $23.99 $30.99 CAD

Janusz Korczak was a Polish physician and educator who wrote over twenty books–his fiction was in his time as well known as Peter Pan, and his nonfiction works bore passionate messages of child advocacy. During World War II, the Jewish orphanage he directed was relocated to the Warsaw ghetto. Although Korczak’s celebrity afforded him many chances to escape, he refused to abandon the children. He was killed at Treblinka along with the children.

King Matt the First, one of Korczak’s most beloved tales, is the story of a boy who becomes king and sets out to reform his kingdom. He decrees that all children are to be given a piece of chocolate at the end of each day. He visits faraway lands and befriends cannibal kings. Whenever his ministers tell him something’s impossible, he puts them in jail. He disguises himself as a soldier and becomes a hero. But, as in real life, fantasy is tempered by reality:Matt’s fellow kings become jealous of his success–and in the end, Matt falls, although it’s clear that he was the greatest king there ever was.

Now this rediscovered classic is available again, and with a vibrant new cover by award-winning artist Brian Selznick. This timeless tale shows that only through the honesty and spontaneity of children can grown-ups begin to imagine and to create a better world.

On Sale
Oct 15, 2004
Page Count
344 pages
Publisher
Algonquin Books
ISBN-13
9781565124424

Janusz Korczak

About the Author

Janusz KorczakK wrote the classic children’s book King Matt the First and many nonfiction works. To mark the centennial of Korczak’s birth, the United Nations declared 1979 the International Year of the Child and dedicated it to him. Korczak perished in 1942 in Treblinka, along with the Jewish orphans he refused to abandon.

Sandra Joseph is a children’s therapist based in London.

Learn more about this author