The Champion of Children: The Story of Janusz Korczak - Hardcover

Bogacki, Tomek

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0374341362 ISBN 13: 9780374341367

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR), 2009

Synopsis

In 1912, a well-known doctor and writer named Janusz Korczak designed an extraordinary orphanage for Jewish children in Warsaw, Poland. Believing that children were capable of governing themselves, he encouraged the orphans to elect a parliament, run a court, and put out their own weekly newspaper. Even when Korczak was forced to move the orphanage into the Warsaw Ghetto after Hitler's rise to power, and couldn't afford to buy food and medicine for his charges, he never lost sight of his ideals. Fully committed to giving his children as much love as possible during a terrifying time, Korczak refused to abandon them.

In his most beautiful and heartfelt book to date, with evocative acrylic illustrations and spare, poignant prose, Tomek Bogacki tells the story of a courageous man who, during one of the grimmest moments in world history, dedicated his life's work― and ultimately his life itself―to children.

About this title

About the Author

TOMEK BOGACKI grew up in Poland. He has written and/or illustrated over a dozen books for children, including Five Creatures by Emily Jenkins, a Boston Globe–Horn Book Award Honor Book. He lives in Long Island City, New York.

Reviews

Grade 4–7—Korczak was a doctor, writer, and advocate for children's rights in pre-World War II Poland. He ran an orphanage for Jewish children and acted as a beloved father figure right up until he and the children perished together in Treblinka. Bogacki's picture-book biography is heartfelt and well researched. However, it seems overwhelmed by its own subject, as the author condenses the details of Korczak's upbringing and the context of the Holocaust into a backdrop for the story of the orphanage. As a result, Korczak doesn't come across as the fascinating man he was, and the book is a bit confusing. Bogacki's childlike illustrations seem wrong for the dark subject matter and dark scenes, particularly since most children don't learn about the Holocaust until fifth grade, and these pictures seem too young for that audience.—Heidi Estrin, Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel, Boca Raton, FL
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Edition details

• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
• Publication date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0374341362
• ISBN 13: 9780374341367
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Bogacki Tomek
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 40