King Matt the First

King Matt the First

by JanuszKorczak (Author)

Synopsis

This moving fable follows the adventures of Matt who becomes king when just a child and decides to reform his country according to his own priorities. Ignoring his grown-up ministers, he builds the best zoo in the world and decrees that children should be given chocolate every day. He fights in battles, braves the jungle, and crosses the desert, but perhaps the most life-altering thing of all is that the lonely boy king finds true friends. This timeless book shows us not only what children's literature can be, but what children can be. King Matt the First was written by Janusz Korczak, a Polish orphanage director who died in Treblinka after refusing to abandon the children he cared for.

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More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 352
Edition: New edition
Publisher: Vintage Classics
Published: 04 Aug 2005

ISBN 10: 0099488868
ISBN 13: 9780099488866
Children’s book age: 9-11 Years
Book Overview: 'A masterpiece. We need King Matt now, in our world, more than ever' Maurice Sendak, author of Where the Wild Things Are

Media Reviews
Unforgettable to the last full stop. One of the great classics -- Michael Morpurgo, Children's Laureate Janusz Korczak is an important writer... His message is still relevant today, that children matter; indeed that they should be a priority in our culture, because it's only with a child's imagination that grown-ups can begin to conceive a better world -- Yann Martel, author of 'Life of Pi' Absolutely wonderful. A gripping and classic entertainment from start to shocking finish. Definitely a book for all ages -- Matt Haig, author of 'The Last Family in England' The spirit of Korczak, living on, could make a better world for all humans Publisher's Weekly Droll and melancholy, wry and touching, King Matt is a fable that offers a fierce, truthful picture of children struggling to make sense of grown-up nonsense... This small masterpiece is a rare tribute to the psychological depth and marvellous workings of a child's heart and mind -- Maurice Sendak, author of 'Where the Wild Things Are'
Author Bio
Janusz Korczak was born in 1878 and died in 1942. He 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 non-fiction 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. His works have not been forgotten, especially by teachers: there are Janusz Korczak societies in over a dozen countries.