King Matt the First

Rating:
Summary: Need to bring this book back
Review: In Esme Raji Codell's new book, How to Get your Child to Love Reading, she devotes a page to this book and refers to it as "the greatest read-aloud of all time". Her book will result in a lot of demand for King Matt the First, so I hope it will be republished in the US>

Rating:
Summary: Need to bring this book back
Review: Janusz Korczak (pseudonym for Henryk Goldszmit) is one of Poland's most beloved children's authors. There is not only this story, but also a sequel... . (One can see why an American publisher might not have wanted to publish the translation.) I am only sorry that neither of these stories are always in print in English. If you can read German you can get both it and its sequel in German from Amazon.de.

The first English translation, brought out by Roy Publishing, was one of the joys of my childhood. I was lucky - a decade or so later I wrote to the librarian at the library where I had checked it out so often in childhood - I wanted the publishing information so I could look for it - and she sent me the book! It is one of my cherished possessions, and I bless that dear librarian always. I like to write, and Januzs Korczak is one of my primary influences, others being C.S. Lewis and Francis Hodgson Burnett (for stories about children who become kings or queens). If you can't read King Matt's story, I recommend those authors, and also E. Nesbit, Connie Willis, Arthur C. Clarke, Ray Bradbury, R.A. MacAvoy, James Blaylock... This list could go on forever, but I will always think it imperfect as long as Korczak cannot be at the top because his stories are unavailable in English.

Lourie's translation gives more of a European flavor to the story; the earlier translation is softer, and it appears that some detail was omitted. My guess is that the earlier translators wanted to present an impression of the story that did not show as much of the sad, or the tongue-in-cheek, quality of the original, because the Polish people were then under occupation by the Nazis. I rather wish Lourie would translate the sequel, and that both books would stay in print in English FOREVER.

Rating:
Summary: Children's Classic
Review: Janusz Korczak (pseudonym for Henryk Goldszmit) is one of Poland's most beloved children's authors. There is not only this story, but also a sequel... . (One can see why an American publisher might not have wanted to publish the translation.) I am only sorry that neither of these stories are always in print in English. If you can read German you can get both it and its sequel in German from Amazon.de.

The first English translation, brought out by Roy Publishing, was one of the joys of my childhood. I was lucky - a decade or so later I wrote to the librarian at the library where I had checked it out so often in childhood - I wanted the publishing information so I could look for it - and she sent me the book! It is one of my cherished possessions, and I bless that dear librarian always. I like to write, and Januzs Korczak is one of my primary influences, others being C.S. Lewis and Francis Hodgson Burnett (for stories about children who become kings or queens). If you can't read King Matt's story, I recommend those authors, and also E. Nesbit, Connie Willis, Arthur C. Clarke, Ray Bradbury, R.A. MacAvoy, James Blaylock... This list could go on forever, but I will always think it imperfect as long as Korczak cannot be at the top because his stories are unavailable in English.

Lourie's translation gives more of a European flavor to the story; the earlier translation is softer, and it appears that some detail was omitted. My guess is that the earlier translators wanted to present an impression of the story that did not show as much of the sad, or the tongue-in-cheek, quality of the original, because the Polish people were then under occupation by the Nazis. I rather wish Lourie would translate the sequel, and that both books would stay in print in English FOREVER.

Rating:
Summary: Great, unique, funny, wise; how do I get a copy?
Review: This is a truly unique book. The author has a great understanding of the way a kid thinks. The main character is a young boy who is crowned king. He has various adventures as he learns about the world of grownups: going to war, starting a parliament for kids, traveling, etc. My only regret is that I read a library copy and I want to own my own but it is out of print.