Bankructwo małego Dżeka

by Janusz Korczak

Only children's advocate, pediatrician, and orphanage director Janusz Korczak could have come up with a children's book in which the hero is a child who is learning the ways of a man of business. Billy does everything an entrepreneur should do. Moreover, Billy is determined to run his business with the highest standard of ethics. As in Korczak's other masterful pieces of children's literature, most notably "King Matt the First," our hero ends up in ever deeper trouble, mainly because he cannot fit in the adult world. In other words, the world of the adult is not a friendly place for children; in fact, it can be downright hostile. The book's unexpected ending might seem sad, but there is hope; it is only a matter of where and how to find it.

Alas, this book has never been reprinted and is quite rare. However, anyone interested in Janusz Korczak should be aware of this important title, the first of his many works to have been translated into English.

Genres: Audiobook, Polish Literature, Fiction, Childrens

First published January 1, 1924

About the author

Janusz Korczak was a Polish-Jewish children's author, pediatrician, and child pedagogue, also known under the pseudonym "Stary Doktor".
He was born Henryk Goldszmit in Warsaw on July 22, 1878. During his youth, he played with children who were poor and lived in bad neighborhoods; his passion for helping disadvantaged youth continued into his adulthood. He studied medicine and also had a promising career in literature. When he gave up his career in literature and medicine, he changed his name to Janusz Korczak, a pseudonym derived from a 19th century novel, Janasz Korczak and the pretty Swordsweeperlady.
In 1912, Korczak established a Jewish orphanage, Dom Sierot, in a building which he designed to advance his progressive educational theories. He envisioned a world in which children structured their own world and became experts in their own matters. Jewish children between the ages of seven and fourteen were allowed to live there while attending Polish public school and government-sponsored Jewish schools, known as "Sabbath" schools. The orphanage opened a summer camp in 1921, which remained in operation until the summer of 1940.
Besides serving as principal of Dom Sierot and another orphanage, Nasz Dom, Korczak was also a doctor and author, worked at a Polish radio station, was a principal of an experimental school, published a children’s newspaper and was a docent at a Polish university. Korczak also served as an expert witness in a district court for minors. He became well-known in Polish societyand received many awards. The rise of anti-Semitism in the 1930's restricted only his activities with Jews.
In 1934 and 1936, Korczak visited Palestine and was influenced by the kibbutz movement. Following his trips, Korczak was convinced that all Jews should move to Palestine.
The Germans occupied Poland in September 1939, and the Warsaw ghetto was established in November 1940. The orphanage was moved inside the ghetto. Korczak received many offers to be smuggled out of the ghetto, but he refused because he did not want to abandon the children. On August 5, 1942, Korczak joined nearly 200 children and orphanage staff members were rounded up for deportation to Treblinka, where they were all put to death.

Source: Janusz Korczak Communication Center and U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum

Reviews

[Asia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Takie przyjemne fajne takie

[Daniel L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Billy Goes Bankrupt but Gains Life's Experiences
A review of Big Business Billy
by Janusz Korczak
translated from the Polish by Cyrus Brooks
illustrated by Edward Manteuffel

It's hard to say which title I prefer - "Bankrupt Jack" or "Big-Business Billy." The former was closer to author Janusz Korczak's original title; the latter is that of Cyrus Brooks, the first person to translate and publish into English one of the works of noted Polish pediatrician, educator, orphanage director, children's rights advocate, and writer Janusz Korczak. Both titles capture the essence of this wonderful book for young readers. Korczak tells the story of Billy Fulton (as his name is given here), a young boy in America who follows the ways of his parents: a decent life through honest, hard work - not a life of luxury, but a secure existence, nevertheless, one in which "the family will lack neither bread nor soap."

Billy had always enjoyed playing shop. He knows, however, that "make-believe can never come up to reality" and sets out to learn by observing real-life shops. His father, however, disapproves of Billy's ambitions, saying that a shopkeeper does not produce anything, but lives off the labor of other people. Billy's mother, though, reminds his father that her parents were operating a shop and certainly are honest, decent people.

In school, Billy notices that the children in Grade 6 operate a school store. Furthermore, the children his own age in Grade 3 always needed school supplies. An older schoolmate tells of a student who had set up a stove but went bankrupt. His friend explains to Billy what "bankrupt" means and what could lead to bankruptcy.

Billy quickly acquires a working knowledge of how to start a business - identifying a need, doing market research, drafting a business plan, doing a cost-benefit analysis, and keeping an accurate record of profits and expenses. He decides to set up a "community shop" to serve the needs of his fellow students. Of course, Billy makes mistakes along the way; however, he has the grit and determination to learn from his errors and rebuild.

In his characteristic didactic, yet gently humorous style, Korczak adds, "'If only I had known before,' we say to ourselves. But the whole trouble is just that we don't know before - though grown-ups claim to know everything in advance and often say, "Didn't I tell you? Didn't I warn you? I knew that would happen.' Well, well, sometimes they know, and sometimes they only pretend to know." This is one of the many interjections Korczak, as narrator, makes to comfort children and warn adults (and not the other way around). As is common with the books of Janusz Korczak, things do not always end well for the hero. Why should the Old Doctor want to do such a thing? While Korczak, ever the pragmatist, never romanticized childhood, he always maintained a sense of optimism, of hope. He left it to the reader to imagine the child hero would learn from his mistakes and set things right - provided the adults are sufficiently sympathetic and open-minded to listen.

[Daria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Piękne to było ❤️
Jak ja lubię głównego bohatera. Chciałabym żeby moje dzieci i uczniowie tacy byli.
Super książka dzieci, których interesują pieniądze oraz dla dorosłych, bo jest o fajnych dzieciakach (takich jak wszędzie).

[theelizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

W miare git bylo (nic nie pamietam, na konkurs trzeba bylo czytac)