For Polish-heritage families
Share the stories Polish grandparents grew up with. Janusz Korczak's King Matt and Kornel Makuszyński's Devil from the Seventh Grade are books almost every adult in Poland remembers from childhood. Here they are as illustrated audiobooks in English — for children in London, Chicago, Toronto, Dublin or Melbourne whose strongest language is the one they speak at school.
The gap
Many Polish families abroad know the feeling. Your children understand Polish, maybe speak it with their grandparents, but books? Those are in English. School, friends and every screen are in English, so that is the language they read and dream in. Handing them a Polish novel written a hundred years ago can feel like homework — for them and for you.
Yet the stories themselves are part of the family. Ask any Polish grandparent about Król Maciuś Pierwszy or Szatan z siódmej klasy and you will probably get a smile and a memory. These books have been read at home and at school in Poland for generations. They belong to your children too — and the story matters more than the language it first reaches them in.
That is the idea behind this page: let children meet the Polish classics in the language they think in, and let the Polish grow around the story — in conversation, in names and titles, in what grandparents add. It is not a replacement for Polish at home or at Saturday school. It is a way in.
What we offer today
English audio, the full English text and illustrations in the app, and a free sample for every title. Honestly: there is no Polish audio yet — Polish editions of King Matt the First and The Devil from the Seventh Grade are in production.
Start hereA nine-year-old inherits a throne, goes to war in disguise, sets up a parliament for children and learns what power costs.
SecondThe boy who was king, sent into exile: a lighthouse, a diary, the birds — the quieter, wiser end of the story.
For teensA schoolboy detective, a country manor and a riddle left behind by a Napoleonic officer — with plenty of laughs.
Families in the United States: The Devil from the Seventh Grade is still under copyright there until 2033, so we cannot sell it to customers in the US. Both King Matt books are available. The narration is a licensed AI voice (ElevenLabs), labelled on every title — listen to the free sample first. All books →
Where to start
The age lines are soft — these are classics, and a child who loves being read to will manage a year earlier, especially listening alongside a parent. A simple path:
Who wrote them? Janusz Korczak (1878–1942) was a Warsaw paediatrician who ran an orphanage where the children had their own parliament, court and newspaper. Kornel Makuszyński (1884–1953) was Poland's great humorist. More background in Polish children's classics in English.
Names that travel
In English he is Matt; to a Polish grandmother he will always be Maciuś. Little differences like that are an easy first conversation.
At home
Put a part on at bedtime or in the car. One part of King Matt is about an hour — one evening. The app remembers where you stopped, and you can download it for offline listening (Android now, iOS coming).
Afterwards, ask in Polish: Co się stało? Let your child answer in whatever mix of languages comes out. Understanding the plot in English makes talking about it in Polish much easier.
Teach the original names — Król Maciuś Pierwszy, Szatan z siódmej klasy. They are the words that will make a grandparent or a Polish teacher light up.
Ask them what they remember of Maciuś or the Devil. Children love hearing that Babcia or Dziadek met the same characters, and the call happens naturally in Polish.
Our Polish book pages have the opening chapter in the original, free: Król Maciuś Pierwszy and Szatan z siódmej klasy. Once the story is familiar in English, the Polish is far less daunting.
This is a story first, not a lesson. If a part lands well, talk about it; if not, just enjoy it. Liking the book does more for Polish than any worksheet.
Saturday schools and teachers
Polish Saturday schools often teach children who speak English better than Polish. An English audiobook of a Polish classic can help: the class follows the plot in English, then works with the original in Polish. The free samples and the materials on the book pages — character galleries, scenes from chapter one, timelines, a memory game and the first chapter — work in any browser, with no account.
For teachers there is a ready-made, printable 45-minute lesson plan for King Matt the First (ages 9–12), written for English lessons with non-native speakers and for Polish Saturday schools: listening with the free sample, ten words from chapter one, a discussion about children's rights, a worksheet and homework. More ideas are on the page for schools.
We do not have an institutional price list yet. If you want to equip a class, a library or a Saturday school, write to info@audio-opowiesci.com and we will find a way together.
Questions
In English. The narration, the full text in the app and the illustrations are all in English today. Polish editions of King Matt the First and The Devil from the Seventh Grade are in production; we will not call them available until they are. The opening chapter of both books can already be read in Polish, free, on our Polish book pages.
That is exactly the family we had in mind. The child follows the story in the stronger language, and the conversation about it can happen in Polish — at dinner, in the car or on a call with grandparents.
King Matt the First from about 9, its sequel King Matt on the Desert Island from about 8 (but listen to it second), and The Devil from the Seventh Grade from about 12. Younger children often enjoy listening together with a parent. More in the guide for parents.
No. The book is still under copyright in the United States until 2033, so it is not available to customers there. It is available in the UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia and elsewhere. Both King Matt books have no such restriction.
A licensed synthetic voice (AI, ElevenLabs), with no cloning of real narrators, labelled on every title. Every book has a free sample, so you can judge the voice before you buy.
A full book is €14.99 (US$14.99). Both King Matt books can also be bought one part at a time for €2.99 (US$2.99), roughly an hour of story each. No subscription and no ads — you buy a book once and keep it. See the app page for listening on your phone.
See also: Polish children's classics in English · Janusz Korczak · Kornel Makuszyński · guide for parents · all books
Play the free sample of King Matt the First tonight. If it catches, Part 1 is €2.99 — yours to keep, on the web and in the app.
