Can you remember the fairy tales youâve read? The story usually goes like this: if you do good, somehow youâll be rewarded at the end. However, King Matt the First and its sequel, King Matt on the Desert Island by Janusz Korczak, tell a more realistic fairy tale. With that, they challenge the reader to think, âWhat if doing good brings you more trouble? Will you still do the right thing?â
Which is, unfortunately, often the case. The doctor who saves a life, the reporter who tells the truth, or the crew that brings food to refugees are either killed or sent to prison. In the face of this fact, how can readers make responsible decisions?
In case you want to read the books (which I strongly encourage you to do), I do not want to reveal too much. But I can tell you one thing that is not a fairy tale: the real life of Janusz Korczak. When the Nazis invaded Poland, his friends arranged an escape for him. Instead, he stayed with the children of his Jewish orphanage to the very end in the gas chambers.
I can only recommend both books. They are so beautifully written and contain so much wisdom, especially considering many of his thoughts were pioneered when the books were published in 1923. For example, he wrote about children’s education, children’s and girls’ rights, the dangers of fake news, and both the importance and the fallacies of democracy.
Have you read his books? Which one would you recommend I read next?
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