Materials from Poland
When her university professor father is sent by the Gestapo to a concentration camp, seven-year-old Anna travels the Polish countryside with the mysterious Swallow Man during World War II.
See the review at WOW Review, Volume 8, Issue 4
A nine-year-old Jewish girl, helped by Irena Sendler and the Zegota organization, is smuggled out of the Warsaw ghetto, given a new identity, and sent to live in the countryside for the duration of the World War II.
November 1940. A circus parade walks through the streets of Warsaw, waving a flag and singing. They are 160 Jewish children, forced by the Nazis to leave their beloved orphanage. It’s a sad occasion, but led by Doctor Korczak, their inspirational director, the children are defiantly joyful. Their new home is in the ghetto, a prison for Jews. Day by day, more people arrive. Some are forced to live on the street and freeze to death. Others die of disease and starvation. Though they lack food, warmth, and freedom, the children’s spirits are sustained by the steadfast respect and kindness of “Mister” Doctor. But these children will never grow up: in August 1942, they board the train that will carry them away to the death camps. Offered his freedom, Doctor Korczak refuses to abandon the children and proudly joins them on their last journey.
Dragons and kings, frogs and spells, witches and mermaids — all the hallmark characters of traditional Polish fairy tales are found in this magical collection. Jan Pienkowski draws on a distinctive cut-paper technique learned as a child in Poland to produce dramatic and vibrant illustrations for eight time-honored stories. Celebrating honesty, loyalty, and creativity, stories such as “The Krakow Dragon” and “The Warsaw Mermaid” will captivate today’s child as much as they did young Jan during his childhood.
What antics were going on in the land of Mamoko back in the times of fair maidens, kings, and courtiers? This is the third book in the revolutionary Mamoko series, in which the reader becomes the storyteller, telling aloud their discoveries as they use their eyes to uncover the castle-load of characters packed into every page.
As she tries to repair a torn feather pillow, Grandma tells about her childhood in Poland, about the Nazi persecution of Jews during World War II, and about the origin of this special pillow.
On Wednesday, Thelma is bored—so she decides to become a queen. She makes the royal announcement on Thursday and chooses the royal pets on Friday. But she needs a castle to keep the pets, and royally qualified trainers to tame them, and of course someone to clean up after the messes. It’s enough to give a queen a royal headache. And when Thelma realizes that there aren’t enough beds to hold her royal staff, she flings off her crown and decides that maybe being a regular girl isn’t so boring after all.
All the animals escape from the zoo, and it seems there is nothing the old zookeeper can do to bring them back. Then he wakes up. Thank goodness, it was only a dream! Or was it?…
King Matt the First 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.
Kaytek, a mischievous schoolboy, is surprised to discover that he is able to perform magic spells and change reality. He begins to lead a double life as a powerful wizard in the dress of an ordinary boy. Kaytek has great fun using magic to cause strange incidents in his school and neighborhood, but soon his increasing powers cause major chaos around the city of Warsaw. Disillusioned, he leaves the country and wanders the world searching for the meaning of his unique abilities and their consequences.