10 partsKing Matt the First
A nine-year-old inherits the throne. War, a children's parliament, a journey to Bum-Drum — and the question of whether a country can be ruled more gently.
Author
Janusz Korczak
1878–1942 · doctor · educator · writerOne of the first people to say out loud that a child has rights — and who wrote a novel about it that children still read in dozens of languages. His King Matt is an illustrated audiobook at Audio Opowieści.
Who he was
The doctor who listened to children
He was born in Warsaw as Henryk Goldszmit. He trained as a paediatrician, but his real calling was never medicine — it was children. In 1912, together with Stefania Wilczyńska, he opened Dom Sierot (the Orphans' Home) on Krochmalna Street: a place where the children had their own parliament, their own peer court and their own newspaper. Adults did not decide everything there. The children learned responsibility because someone had genuinely handed it to them.
He wrote for children and about children — How to Love a Child (1919), The Child's Right to Respect (1929) and, above all, King Matt the First (1922) and its sequel King Matt on the Desert Island (1923). As "the Old Doctor" he gave radio talks that the whole of Poland listened to.
In August 1942, in the Warsaw Ghetto, he refused offers of rescue for himself and walked with the children of the orphanage to the train bound for Treblinka. What he had done his whole life — never leave the children alone — he did at the end as well.
"There are no children — there are people."Janusz Korczak
Why it matters to children across Europe
Korczak's idea — that a child is a person here and now, not only "once they grow up" — was half a century ahead of its time. When the United Nations adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989, the draft came from Poland and the spirit of the document was Korczak's. Today schools in Germany and Switzerland carry his name, as do associations in France, Israel and the Netherlands — and his books have been translated into dozens of languages.
King Matt the First is not a fairy tale about a king. It is a story about what happens when a child is given real power and real responsibility — about war, reforms, a children's parliament, failure, and the fact that grown-ups are not always right. A nine-year-old will find an adventure here; a parent will find questions worth asking over dinner.
Children's rights
A pioneer of the idea that found its way into the 1989 UN Convention — a document ratified by almost every country in the world.
Dom Sierot 1912–1942
An orphanage with a parliament, a peer court and a newspaper run by the children — a laboratory of self-government.
Dozens of languages
King Matt exists in English, German, French, Hebrew, Japanese and many more. Audio Opowieści adds an audio edition with illustrations.
Timeline
- 1878Born in Warsaw as Henryk Goldszmit.
- 1912Opens Dom Sierot on Krochmalna Street — with Stefania Wilczyńska.
- 1919How to Love a Child — his educational credo.
- 1922King Matt the First. A year later — King Matt on the Desert Island.
- 1929The Child's Right to Respect.
- 1942Deported from the ghetto to Treblinka together with the children of Dom Sierot.
- 1989The UN adopts the Convention on the Rights of the Child — on Poland's initiative, in Korczak's spirit.
- 2026King Matt as an illustrated audiobook in English at Audio Opowieści; Polish and German editions on the way.
Korczak's books at Audio Opowieści
Two halves of one story
Audio in English, with a character gallery, scene illustrations and the full text in the app. Polish and German editions are in production.
10 partsThe sequelKing Matt on the Desert Island
A former king in exile. A lighthouse keeper, a diary, the birds — and an attempt to start again. The end of Matt's story.
Questions
What people ask
Who was Janusz Korczak?
Janusz Korczak (born Henryk Goldszmit, 1878–1942) was a Polish paediatrician, educator and writer. He ran the Dom Sierot orphanage in Warsaw, wrote books for children and about children, and gave radio talks as the Old Doctor. He is regarded as a pioneer of the idea of children's rights.
Which of Korczak's books are available as audiobooks?
At Audio Opowieści: King Matt the First (full edition and a 10-part serial) and King Matt on the Desert Island (7 parts) — as illustrated audiobooks in English, with a character gallery and the full text in the app. Polish and German editions are in production.
What age is King Matt the First for?
From about 8–9 years. In Poland it is also supplementary school reading for ages 10–14. Adults read it just as happily — it is a book about power and responsibility, not just a fairy tale. More guidance: for parents.
Why does Korczak matter to Europe?
Because his idea — that a child is a person here and now, not only in the future — became the foundation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), drafted on Poland's initiative. Schools and associations bear his name in Germany, Switzerland, France, Israel, the Netherlands and many other countries.
See also: Kornel Makuszyński — The Devil from the Seventh Grade · Polish children's classics in English · why we make Audio Opowieści · guide for parents