DUSZAN

   "Duszan" written by Antonina Todorović is a book that caught my attention when I was looking at the list of "10 books that are worth taking on holiday with a child" published by Newsweek. The mysterious title and the amazing cover with an old house and a bear encircling the top of it convinced me to buy that book. Soon it was in my hands. The hard cover, the yellowed pages and many beautiful illustrations by Dorota Wojciechowska confirmed that I made the right choice.

   Duszan and Janek are brothers who live in the city. Their parents work a lot and they rarely spend time with them. Right at the beginning of the summer, the boys go to their grandmother, who lives in the countryside. Zalesie turns out to be a magical place that allows them to have extraordinary adventures. They meet Mr Śmiejko, who is a good friend of their grandmother. He lives deep in the wood and is taking care of sick animals. He helps the boys to build a small wooden house. Janek learns how to ride a donkey and Duszan becomes friends with a grey wolf. They find the lake from Duszan's dream where the time passes very slowly and also meet the Silver Bear who makes the time go faster. 

   When I reached to the end of the book I felt slight degree of disappointment. The story had everything to make it special but I felt that something was missing. The characters were as they should be, the adventures were interesting but somehow they didn't move my heart the way I expected. Despite my negative feelings I believe the book is worth reading as it touches on important subjects such as raising children. Parents should spend more time with their children, support them in their interests and talk about their feelings.

"Duszan" by Antonina Todorović

MARIA KONOPNICKA

   Maria Konopnicka was a Polish poet, children's writer and activist for women's rights and for Polish independence. She used many pseudonyms, including Jan Sawa. She made her debut as a writer in 1870 with the poem "W zimowy poranek" (Eng. On a Winter's Morning). Her most famous pieces of children's literature include "O krasonoludkach i sierotce Marysi" (Eng. Little Orphan Mary and the Gnomes), "Co słonko widziało" (Eng. What the sun has seen) or "O Janku wędrowniczku" (Eng. About Janek the wanderer).

   When I was a child my mum bought me the poem "Na jagody" (Eng. For blueberries). The book became one of my favorites but unfortunately it did not survive my great interest. Some time ago I decided to look  in antique shops for the edition I had with illustrations by Anna Stylo-Ginter. It took me a while but finally I found the book in quite a good condition. The poem is about a little boy, who wanted to gather some blueberries in the forest for his mum. He couldn't find any fruits and decided to rest on a tree-trunk. He then saw the Blueberry King who invited him to his house. Janek met there seven blueberry brothers who helped him to gather a basket full of blueberries. Then they visited Mrs. Governess and her five bilberry maids. The girls helped Janek to gather a basket full of red bilberries. After this he woke up on the tree-trunk and noticed that both his baskets were full of berries. He wasn't sure if his extraordinary adventure was real or just a dream.

"Na jagody" by Maria Konopnicka

     The other book that I have with poems by Maria Konopnicka is "Moja Książeczka" (Eng. My book). It is a reprint of the first edition from 1891. The book has wonderful illustrations by Harriet Bennett. It is a collection of short poems about little children.

"Moja książeczka" by Maria Konopnicka