Customer Reviews

King Matt the First

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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.

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.

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>

If a wise man wanted to share his wisdom with children, he would write "King Matt the First".
I have read "King Matt" 5 times over the last 45 years. I am excited about this new translation and I am looking forward to reading it again! I'd only wish that the second volume "King Matt on a Deserted Island", was available, too.
This is a deep book; underneath the exciting adventures of the little king, it offers a deeply penetrating, child's eye view of our world: Monarchy versus democracy, the upper v. lower class, differences between cultures and countries, the cunningness and hypocrisy of both domestic and international politics, the bureaucracy, racial relations, relations between children and adults, children's rights, boys v. girls, both the value and the absurdities of traditions and customs and just about every other aspect of life.

The second volume, "Matt on a Deserted Island", is unique among children's books. As the little king isolated on a deserted island, spends time alone, reading, writing, thinking, and growing wiser. This volume too is beautiful and full of love and surprising adventures. Unlike most "deep" books for adults, "King Matt" is remains a thriller even as it writes about deep introspection and contemplation of the meaning of life and death, love, friendship, togetherness and aloneness.

At the end, after many spellbinding adventures, Matt returns to his own country, where he establishes democracy.

To me the great value of this book is that it does not offer any answers. It does not promote any belief systems, religion, or values. Instead it opens up an existential inquiry and encourages the readers to think and find their own answers! This approach is characteristic of Jaunsz Korczak's deep respect for the intelligence of his young readers. It is a rare approach in the world where most writers try to stuff the minds of their readers with ready-made answers.

I recommend this book to every intelligent human being from any country, culture and religious background.

Veet Vivarto

This book is a great adventure! Korczak succeeds again to describe our world in the eyes of a child; the games of power, envy, the lack of sensibility, the contempt to important things, and, most important, the beauty of life.

A child king, with no friends and no mentors in whom he can fully trust, Matt has to learn all the ways of life in the hard way. He learns, for example, that if you give too much, people (and even children!) will want more and more; everyone needs limits. He also understands that experience cannot be learned in the castle, it has to be lived outside the walls; you cannot rule an army if you have never seen the battlefields. He learns that friendship is a two-way road of trust and love; if you give you will receive. And he learns that you cannot solve all the problems of the world at once, even in the most efficient scheduled day; the body needs rest and peace of mind.

King Matt is a wonderful teacher to a healthy and ethical life, told in a simple language and amusing stories. I warmly recommend this book for children, parents, and educators.

Anyone can love this book, it's exciting, sophisticated, and is overall fantastic. This book should be lined up as a classic, and should be at the top of childrens literature with books such as 'A Wrinkle In Time', 'Holes', 'Number The Stars', and many more. It's that good.

Here's sort of a preview/commercial for the book.

A boy's father dies, leaving him an orphan. But the boys father was king of the land, so the boy became a king. Better known as King Matt the First. He still hardly knows how to read, so he fits that all into his schedule. Humorous rules and actions are put into play, making the scene more interesting. He goes on adventures, life threatening, suicidal, and very intimidating ones. Read the book, and you'll expierience the legend of King Matt the First.

This is truely a gem, something you should pass on. I recommend this.

Check my 'Battlezone' review.

I read this book as a child and wanted my daughter to read it. I was so happy to see her fall in love with King Matt the First.

I also love Janusz Korczak. I hope that more people read this book and learn more about this wonderful man.

King Matt the First is a very good book about how a king does his work. Once King Matt, who is 10 years old, snuck away to join the army even when he wasn't supposed to. I recommend this book to everybody because it is very exciting and each chapter ends as a cliffhanger.

King Matt is a good book its funny , sad ,action, but most of all its great.In the begining his father is dieing ,and his mother as already died.He has to be the king.Now that he's king three other countries tried to have a war with him because he's little and he don't know how to fight a war.But he still wins and know he gos to there countries to meet with the other three kings.They are scared of him now.He is little but he has mind of a real king.But thats because he is a real king now.I leave the ending for you to find out how it ends...


King Matt is a reat book you should buy it or get it from your local Library.

This should be mandatory reading for all. It is the story by an amazing man who spent his whole life dedicated to the betterment of humanity and perished in the Holocaust side by side with the children of the orphanage he was in charge of. Like many of his works, this one is drenched with the love of children and people in general.

[This review is a slight spoiler so if you're pedantic about not finding out anything then this won't help] The story is set in some Eastern European monarchy in the early 20th century (or so it seems from the descriptions). Matt is a boy younger than 12 who becomes king when his father the king dies. He is immediately introduced to the clash between his childlike idealism and the overprotective, overbearing and obfuscated world of his ministers and the cogs of government. The neighbouring nations immediately attack but instead of being in comfort, he sneaks away to the frontlines to fight in the war. Upon his return, he sets about instituting reforms for his country, makes friends with the uncivilised African cannibal nations (these sections read strangely nowadays but it seems like Korczak's subtle commentary of the racism he saw in his homeland) and even opens a childrens' parliament, dedicated to protecting the enriching the lives of children.

Unfortunately, the ending is truly tragic as corruption, espionage, conspiracy and betrayal lead to the ultimate demise of his rule. The book has everything from thoughtful moments musing about justice and war and what it means to be an adult or child to fun parts where King Matt just enjoys his "natural" age.

A great book for children and adults. I've just discovered this book has a sequel so am off hunting for it.