A Voice for the Child: The Inspirational Words of Janusz Korczak [Hardcover]

Sandra Josephs (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 25, 1999

Janusz Korczak brings a humane, compassionate voice to help us honor children as independent beings worthy of utmost respect.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"For the World today, Jaunusz Korczak is a symbol of true religion and true morality" Pope John Paul II

About the Author

Sandra Josephs, the Editor of this book is a children's therapist. She is passionate about Korczak's ideas and is determined to make him as well known in the UK as Oskar Schindler.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Thorsons (October 25, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0722538065
• ISBN-13: 978-0722538067
• Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 4.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,824,626 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The inspirational views of a great 20th century pedagogue, November 19, 1999

By 

"jwberding" - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Voice for the Child: The Inspirational Words of Janusz Korczak (Hardcover)

The editor of this beautiful book, Ms Sandra Joseph, has put together various of Janusz Korczak's texts, from a number of books, such as 'How to Love a Child' and 'The Child's Right to Respect'. Janusz Korczak (1878-1942) was a Polish-Jewish doctor, playwright and pedagogue, who was deeply involved with the education of orphans in Warsaw, Poland. He became famous for his radical views on the right of the child to be respected and treated in a humane way. As an 'advocate of the child' he claimed, long before the 'official' rights of the child were established by the UN, fundamental rights for children and youngsters. His life, and that of the orphans, ended when in 1942 the Nazis put them on transport to Treblinka. Since the 70s his ideas and views are studied around the world. For a number of reasons, this book is very welcome. In the first place it contributes to the reception of Korczak in the English-speaking world. In the past years only few works on Korczak were published in English; the Lifton biography 'The King of Children' being best known. In the second place, this book presents in a nutshell both Korczak's life and general ideas and a generous selection from his texts. Now we have at last a source that can be used when one wants to refer to Korczak in English. In the third place this little book is published in association with the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) in the United Kingdom, to which the author donates part of her royalties; so Korczak's ideas are clearly linked to a very topical and pressing problem, that of the cruelty to and maltreatment of children. Ms Joseph ends her introduction by saying the following: 'Korczak deserves to be recognized and honoured today, not because he was a martyr, not because he was a great writer and doctor, not because he cared for the most neglected and poorest of children, not because he made a unique contribution to the world of education -but because he was a man of great humility, who lived and died solely because of his deep belief in and love for children. Korczak truly was 'The Champion of the Child'' (p. xxii-xxiii). I do hope that this little book will find its way, especially in the English speaking countries. Those already familiar with Korczak will find new inspiration; those new to him will find a source of wonder and challenge.

Joop Berding author of a book and some articles about Janusz Korczak; member of the board of the Dutch Janusz Korczak Association; co-editor of the Janusz Korczak International Newsletter.