Book: Countries - Poland

Wayland Books Popcorn series is a set of books which aims to introduce younger readers to the countries of the world.  The Popcorn series is written in conjunction with a literacy consultant and so contain simple sentence construction which helps to build readers' confidence. This also makes the series ideal for those who have English as their second language.

Poland (2010), a recent title in this series, is written by Ruth Thomson. Themes covered in the book include, Where is Poland? , The Weather, Shopping and Sport. Readers are also provided with a few essential Polish phrases and instructions on how to make a ‘Polish papercut’ (which are said to be traditionally used by Polish women to decorate their homes). I know these little decorations as ‘paper snowflakes’.

The book offers a short fact about Poland on each page which I really enjoyed, so for example, people in the Polish countryside sometimes keep bees in straw beehives, the white of the Polish flag means peace and the red symbolises bravery and strength, and there are more than a 1,000 lakes in Poland.  

If you’re interested in buying this book it costs £10.99 in hardback edition (ISBN: 978 0 7502 6304 7)

Alternatively Newcastle Libraries and Information Services carry copies of this book on long term loan.

Also, if you visit the series website: www.waylandbooks.co.uk/popcorn you’ll find lots of downloadable educational resources for children including worksheets which correspond with this book series.

Book: Moving to Britain from Poland

Book recommendation: Deborah Chancellor, Moving to Britain from Poland, Franklin Watts: London, 2008 (photographs by Chris Fairclough). ISBN: 978 0 7496 7857

The Franklin Watts ‘Moving to Britain’ series includes the title ‘Moving to Britain from Poland’. This is a useful book for Polish families as it is designed to help children understand their new lives and remember the traditions of their country. In ‘Moving to Britain from Poland’ 11 year old Karolina was born in Bytom and has spent the past three years living in the south of England. She is photographed in her new hometown, with her family, at school and going about activities she enjoys. The book includes a few key phrases in Polish and a glossary and index of words to help simplify the book for younger readers. There is also a short fact file on Poland and some suggestions for further reading about Polish culture on the Internet. Karolina is shown enjoying preparing pierogi for the Christmas Eve meal and looking at cards on her name day with cousin, Igor. This book would make an excellent brief guide for any young child from Poland who is currently getting to grips with life in the UK.

More about the Franklin Watts Moving to Britain series can be found here: 
http://www.franklinwatts.co.uk/CITIZENSHIP-AND-PSHE_Books_MOVING-TO-BRITAIN_Series_26387_57540.htm

British children’s books, Polish illustrator: Pieńkowski

The bestselling Meg and Mog stories, first published in the 1970s and still a mainstay of British children’s literature today, were illustrated by Polish born Jan Pieńkowski. Pieńkowski came to live the UK in 1946 settling in Herefordshire. Design appears to have been in Pieńkowski’s blood as he comes from a family of artists and architects, and he showed a talent for poster and stage design when reading Classics and English at Cambridge. This inspirational Polish migrant helped pioneer the modern children’s pop-up book and will be remembered for his cult illustrations in the fantastically titled classic Meg’s Eggs (witches and dinosaurs, what more can a child want?!). I enjoyed Pieńkowski’s fabulous stories as a child and my son now reads them again, and again and again today. To find out more about Pieńkowski’s work visit the Jan Pieńkowski website: http://www.janpienkowski.com/home.htm where you can download a selection of his books and play some Meg and Mog themed games.

Polish-English children's book (III)

This is possibly the best present I’ve ever had! A British friend recently tracked down a copy of my favourite children’s book, The Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle, and worked her way through a Polish website to buy me the Polish edition of the book. I was so touched. What a great present!

W sierpniu dostałam najlepszy present, było Bardzo Głodna Gąsienica w języku polskim!

I especially love the fact that in the English (Canadian English) version of the book the caterpillar eats ‘a slice of Swiss cheese’, ‘a slice of salami’ and ‘a piece of cherry pie’, but in the Polish version the caterpillar (who’s female by the way) seems less fussy and eats non-specific cheese, sausage and cake. Rather than a cupcake she takes muffins (babeczkę) and she shows a specific interest in frankfurters - and then that evening her belly hurts (‘Ależ ją bolał wieczorem brzuch!’)

The Polish edition of this classic children’s book is published by Wydawnictwo Tatarak.
It makes me smile every time I read it. Każdym razem, gdy czytam tę książke, uśmiecham się do siebie.

Polish-English Children's Book (II)

Voytek the Soldier Bear

Thank you for your comments on my post about the Polish-English children’s book Little Monkey’s One Safe Place (Bezpieczne Miejsce Małej Małpki). I’ve found another book which might be of interest.

This time there’s an added local interest factor as the book’s author, Garry Paulin, is from Berwick-Upon-Tweed.
The book is called Voytek the Soldier Bear (Niedźwiedź Żołnierz o imieniu Wojtek) and recounts the true life story of the wild Iranian bear which became the mascot for the Polish Army in World War II. Voytek reportedly carried ammunition for the soldiers at the Battle of Monte Cassino (Italy) and then arrived with the Polish troops at Winfield Camp in Berwickshire in October 1946. He spent the rest of his days in Edinburgh Zoo and many local people still remember going to visit Voytek.

The book is written in Polish and English and is beautifully illustrated by former Glasgow Arts School student, Sophie Stubbs.

To find out more about 'Voytek the Soldier Bear' and buy a copy of the book (rrp.£5.99) go to: http://www.voytekbear.com/
To learn more about the Polish troops who knew Voytek (including Dymitri Szawlugo, Marian Blazejewicz and Mieczyslaw Gladysz Gryff) go to: www.voytekbear/com/polish-people-stories-history.html
There’s lots of good YouTube clips about Voytek. One of the best is linked here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ynz2QBeb5Ok


Niedźwiedź Żołnierz o imieniu Wojtek

Dziękuję za komentarze na temat mojego postu o książki polsko-angielski dla dzieci –Bezpieczne Miejsce Małej Małpki. Teraz znalazłam inną książkę, która może być interesująca.

Tym razem autora książki jest lokalnym człowiekiem- Garry Paulin, jest od Berwick-Upon-Tweed.

Książka nazywa się Niedźwiedź Żołnierz o imieniu Wojtek’ i opowiada prawdziwą historię o życiu niedźwiedzia z Iranu. Niedźwiedź stał się maskotką dla Wojska Polskiego w Wojnie Światowej II.
Wojtek lubił nanieść amunicji dla żołnierzy w bitwie pod Monte Cassino (Włochy). Następnie przybył z polskich żołnierzy w Camp Winfield w Berwickshire w październiku 1946 roku.
Wojtek umarł w grudniu 1963 r. w Edinburgh Zoo. W Berwick wiele lokalnych osób jeszcze mogą pamiętać odwiedzi Wojtek.

Książka jest w języku polskim i angielskim i to pięknie zilustrowane przez Sophie Stubbs.

Dowiedzieć się więcej o Wojteki lub kupić książki (£5.99) - http://www.voytekbear.com/
Dowiedzieć się więcej o polskich żołnierzy, którzy znali Wojtka - www.voytekbear/pl/polsko-ludzie-stories-history.html
Zobaczyć film o niedźwiedzia- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ynz2QBeb5Ok

Polish-English Children's Book

‘Little Monkey was playing high up in the treetops.’

‘Mała Małpka bawila się wysoko w koranach drzew.’

I thought I’d let you know about this beautiful Polish/English children’s book I bought to read to my baby.

Myślałam, że poinformuję o tej pięknej Polskiej / Angielskiej książki dla dzieci.

It’s called Little Monkey’s One Safe Place (Bezpieczne miejsce Małej Małpki) and it’s written in Polish and English (w języku polskim i angielskim).

The author is Richard Edwards and the illustrations are by Susan Winter.

Książka napisana przez Richard Edwards i ilustracje są przez Susan Winter.

Here’s a link to the book on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Little-Monkeys-Language-Polish-English/dp/184507856X#noop

My little monkey loves it! Moja mała małpka kocha tego!


[ Reminder! Tomorrow (Thurs 10th June)- The Made in Poland Festival is at The Side Cinema for a screening of Rabbit a la Berlin (12), dir. Bartosz Konopka (2009), tickets are £4 and doors open at 7.30pm. http://madeinpolandfestival.co.uk/mip10-10june.html ]