Kaytek the Wizard

Kaytek, a mischevious schoolboy who wants to become a wizard, is surprised to discover that he is able to perform magic spells and change reality. He begins to lead a double life: a powerful wizard in the dress of an ordinary boy. It's all great fun using magic to cause strange incidents in his school and neighborhood, but soon Kaytek's increasing powers cause major chaos around the city of Warsaw. Disillusioned, he leaves the country and wanders the world in search of the meaning of his good intentions, his unique abilities, and their consequences. Revolving around the notion that great power brings great responsibility, this story speaks to every child's dream of freeing themselves from the endless control of adults, and shaping the world to their own designs.

Janusz Korczak was the pen name of Dr. Henryk Goldszmit, a pediatrician and child psychologist who famously ran a central Warsaw orphanage on innovative educational principles. Korczak left behind a large written legacy, including books on education, plays, essays, letters, and of course, novels and stories for children, including King Matt the First. Antonia Lloyd-Jones is a translator of Polish literature. Her published translations from Polish include novels by Pawel Huelle and Olga Tokarczuk, short stories by Jaroslaw Iwaszkiewicz, and nonfiction by Ryszard Kapuscinski and Wojciech Tochman. Her translations of poetry have appeared in periodicals including the Edinburgh Review.