FOREIGN RIGHTS
Patricia is in the fourth grade and lead singer in the “Ryki z Kostaryki” band. This red hair girl disregards fashion trends but loves helping people. One day a banner appears on Ray Street: “All children should be carted off!”. Over the following days more banners appear along similar lines. All showing hatred towards children. Who is behind it? Brave and innovative Patty kicks off her investigation with the help of her classmates. Throughout the exploration she befriends a wicked neighbor, promotes a healthy lifestyle, organizes a street festival in her neighborhood… Even the local newspaper describes her antics, leading to even more adventures.
Slippery Buttery makes sure that the bread always falls butter side down. TV Speaker sees to it that the commercials always make you jump. Boring Snoring ensures that the sick children are always nicely bored. Funny – just like the others from his tribe – would really like to help people but he doesn’t know how to do anything. But will they always call him Dummy?
A modern fairy-tale including text messages. emails, films and the Internet. The story shows that fear can be a good adviser (for example, when you are fighting a dragon) and that sometimes it’s better not to play the hero. There is a way out of every situation, even from a dragon’s cave. People should not strive for superficial ideals (for instance, the ones served up on the TV screen) because they may end up overlooking someone truly wonderful, for example – the brave royal gardener. This is a story about looking for happiness and then finding it. Renowned author Dorota Suwalska received an honourable mention in the first Polish-Italian Contest for the Best Screenplay for Children’s Film (2006) as well as an honourable mention in the Book of the Year contest organised by The International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) in 2007 and 2016. She has worked with TVP (the Polish state television company) on artistic films and writes articles for children
Casper jumps into a lake to save a dog. The puppy survives but the boy ends up in hospital with a broken bone. His convalescence turns out to be a long and arduous process so Casper starts to become a little aggressive. Only Tom – his classmate who has ADHD – understands what Casper is going through. Julie, who has just woken up from a coma, joins their team. Together, the children imagine a magic land – JuCaTo – to help them get through this difficult time. They remain friends after leaving the hospital. Suddenly, it turns out that Jucato is a real place and they’re able to travel to this land, where they have some wonderful adventures in this magical place. Unfortunately, not everything goes according to plan. Each of them must face a difficult challenge. This story teaches young readers the art of empathy and how to be understanding. They also learn how our psyche works and how it influences our behavior in difficult situations. The topics discussed in this book are not easy but by setting the action in a magical land, the author, Magdalena Kiermaszek, can deal with them in a lighter and more entertaining manner. Funny episodes make the setting of the story – a hospital – as well as health issues in general less overwhelming. The patients’ behavior is wonderfully portrayed. The author, Magdalena Kiermaszek works with disabled children as a psychologist so she has many opportunities to observe their behavior. Kamila Kozłowska’s illustrations help to create the magical atmosphere of the story and make this book even more special.
Kacper is ridiculed and bullied by his school mates. At home, he writes a diary, designs super-modern jets and dreams of becoming a commando. He has a head full of great ideas, but unfortunately putting them into practice usually ends in complete disaster… His life changes when he meets a witch who turns out to be a former maths teacher. His new friend wears army boots and camouflage, practices yoga and lives in the forest. They are both different, and not everyone likes it. Together they can do something really good (and not at all weird). A spiritually uplifting book. A must-read for everyone who is not always accepted or understood.
The hero of the book is little Frankie Lightening, who doesn’t like Brussels sprouts, but loves puzzles, even crime mysteries. Fortunately, he has a lot of opportunities to put himself to the test, because in his neighbourhood strange things often happen. So Frankie has to figure out where the glass egg found in the excavations came from, who the sixth pineapple is, who stole the tires of Horace’s tractor and where the brooch, which is not a brooch, has gone – and these are not the only unusual things that he has to deal with. The good preschooler is helped out by his mother, as well as neighbours and strangers who also get involved. The book should appeal to children because of a main character they can relate to, interesting, sensational action combined with solving puzzles. The boy’s adventures are accompanied by beautiful full-colour illustrations that help build up the mood of the book.
The book contains 20 fairy tales with the lead role played by brilliant morals-of-the-story. Just like in fairy tales, there are talking animals and objects, fantastic creatures, one punctuation mark and from time to time some people. From the instructive (though sometimes rather unexpectedly) story we will learn many things like how to cure a clock cuckoo suffering from a runny nose, how to help the Yeti find his purpose in life, and how to assist a balding lion. We will also have the chance to cheer on a snail in his attempt to win the race for the Queen Bee Cup, look into the eyes of the Scarecrow and take part in the fierce duel of the gold fish with a genie on demand.
Such are the fairy tales from this book, permeated with absurd, and a sometimes slightly peculiar sense of humor, a ton of word games and unusual, surprising situations.
The fairy tales are accompanied by excellent, charming illustrations by Wojciech Pawliński with fresh and tasteful colours.
Jonathan and Luke are in the same class, but they don’t like each other. They will be brought together by a book they read and a proposal from Ronnie the Raven. This will help them sort out their problems. But at what price? The boys don’t think too much about that. All the more so because some amazing adventures await them, sometimes dreadful and sometimes funny. There’s fun to be had when aliens land outside and decide to go to school. The Kingdom of Crunch with its master and dungeons is just plain awful. Will the boys come to realise what is really important in life? The text is accompanied by colourful illustrations by Marcin Minor, which wonderfully reflect the spirit of this story.
It was no longer safe in Machinesville, the angry wail of police sirens could be heard more and more often, and botcops in pursuit of robots breaching the peace had almost become a everyday event. All because of a virus for which an effective cure had yet to be found. The authorities try to cover up the problem and promptly remove any infected unit. Machines showing symptoms of the disease are sent to Workshop, a forbidden place from which no one had yet returned. Screwy’s father is also among the infected. The young robot wants to save him at all costs. Can he find a way? Does he stand a chance? The mission seems impossible…
Josie Strife is almost 11 years old and has a lot of problems in life: her parents don’t get on, her best friend is moving out, and her grades aren’t exactly impressive. As if that wasn’t enough, the girls didn’t make the team for the school football tournament. Can it get any worse? As it turns out, yes. Josie’s great-great-grandmother had written in her diary that she could not study painting as she had dreamed, because she was … a woman!Josie won’t just look on as her life falls apart.Together with her friend Angie, she comes up with a plan.
Will Snowflake find happiness and not hurt her parents? Where did the strange woman in a beautiful dress take the sick girl? How did the two talking cats help the golden shoes find their way back to their owner? What did Kate find behind the old bookshelf and what is the queen scared to death of? You’ll find all the answers in these fairy tales. The book contains five contemporary stories that also make reference to famous fairy tales or fairytale themes. The narrators are houses and items of furniture. Extraordinary beings suddenly appear among ordinary people. A dark and mysterious atmosphere prevails. The author does not follow well-trodden paths, but forges new ones instead. She does not always fully explain what is happening. She treats the young reader as seriously as an adult. Her literature gives food for thought rather than the usual bland fare. Krystyna Chołoniewska, in addition to her books, also writes television and radio dramas as well as theatre plays for children and teenagers.
A young man has something to sort out in his hometown. Unexpectedly, he stays overnight with someone from high school he didn’t use to get on with. They spend the long hours until dawn in dramatic conversation. They return to their school years that were marked by the shadow of tragedy: a mate of their named Maciek, rejected by the class and bullied, committed suicide. He was the only student to stand up to the omnipotent class tutor, known as the Queen Mother. The others more or less obediently tried to fulfil her ambitions to create the best class. She broke the kids down, bribed them, maintained an army of spies – to achieve her objective whatever the cost. The whole town was afraid of her. The exceptions were Maciek and an English teacher, adored by the students, a lady who respected and understood them, and who also lost in a confrontation with the Queen Mother. It turns out that the disliked classmate, currently working in a corporation, also has memories of those years. They relive old emotions; new facts come to light and secrets are revealed. The classmate confesses that Maciek had a crush on him.
Marek Emanuel Snarski, a resolute thirteen-year-old, doesn’t want to be a child anymore. He yearns to embark on a new stage in life – wouldn’t it be great to become an adult all in one go? This proves to be no easy task, so the boy decides to get himself some help. He starts by writing a blog. Then, from a mysterious magician he meets on the Internet, he buys some special adult pills. Unfortunately, the problems don’t go away; quite the contrary – they grow to monstrous proportions. A coming-of-age novel full of adventures. A wise message lies behind the fast action and humour. It is not about being an adult, but about being mature. Mark’s troubles only cease when he stops selfishly viewing the world as if it revolved around his bellybutton – when he observes that other people also need a little help and understanding sometimes.