Janusz Korczak

No to Denying the Rights of Children

Part of They Said No

Translated by Rosie Eyre
Hardcover
$14.95 US
4-1/2"W x 6-3/4"H
On sale Aug 26, 2025 | 96 Pages | 9781644213056
Grades 6-12

See Additional Formats
A portrait of the famously heroic doctor, writer, and director of an orphanage who left a powerful legacy of creating a forum for and respecting the dignity of children’s lives.

In 1942 Janusz Korczak accompanied children of the Warsaw ghetto to the Treblinka concentration camp. That brave act became a lasting symbol of respect for the dignity of children. Korczak was the pen name of Polish doctor, Henry Goldszmit, an author of books for and about children including King Matt the First, and, most famously, the director of a Warsaw orphanage, which he called a "republic of children," where their rights, their voices, fairness and respect were paramount. Though some were very young, the children had a parliament, a newspaper, and a court with which to learn participation in citizenry and communal responsibility and care. When the Nazis invaded Poland, Korczak was given the opportunity by the authorities to escape before his charges were sent to the camps. After surviving the deprivations of the Warsaw ghetto together, he accompanied the children to Treblinka where it is assumed they all perished.

Janusz Korczak: No to Denying the Rights of Children shows the dedication of a humanist whose philosophy for empowering children inspired the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, and will compel readers to reconsider the status and welfare and agency of every child.
ISABELLE COLLOMBAT is a journalist by training. She tells the story of today's world through documentaries and novels aimed at young people. She often mixes in her books individual destinies and great movements of History. At Actes Sud Junior, she published the documentary album Heroes for the Earth and historical novels in the collection "They Said No," Janusz Korczak: No to Denying the Rights of Children, Chico Mendes: No to Deforestation, and Rachel Carson: No to the Destruction of Nature.
ROSIE EYRE is a literary translator from French and Spanish based in northwest England. Educated at the University of Cambridge and at the University of Manchester, her previous translations include  Caring in Times of Covid-19 (2020) by Spanish photojournalist Juan Zarza, 100 First Words for Toddlers (Rockwell Press, 2021), and the dystopian novel Survivor by Julie Guinand (Strangers Press, 2022).

About

A portrait of the famously heroic doctor, writer, and director of an orphanage who left a powerful legacy of creating a forum for and respecting the dignity of children’s lives.

In 1942 Janusz Korczak accompanied children of the Warsaw ghetto to the Treblinka concentration camp. That brave act became a lasting symbol of respect for the dignity of children. Korczak was the pen name of Polish doctor, Henry Goldszmit, an author of books for and about children including King Matt the First, and, most famously, the director of a Warsaw orphanage, which he called a "republic of children," where their rights, their voices, fairness and respect were paramount. Though some were very young, the children had a parliament, a newspaper, and a court with which to learn participation in citizenry and communal responsibility and care. When the Nazis invaded Poland, Korczak was given the opportunity by the authorities to escape before his charges were sent to the camps. After surviving the deprivations of the Warsaw ghetto together, he accompanied the children to Treblinka where it is assumed they all perished.

Janusz Korczak: No to Denying the Rights of Children shows the dedication of a humanist whose philosophy for empowering children inspired the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, and will compel readers to reconsider the status and welfare and agency of every child.

Author

ISABELLE COLLOMBAT is a journalist by training. She tells the story of today's world through documentaries and novels aimed at young people. She often mixes in her books individual destinies and great movements of History. At Actes Sud Junior, she published the documentary album Heroes for the Earth and historical novels in the collection "They Said No," Janusz Korczak: No to Denying the Rights of Children, Chico Mendes: No to Deforestation, and Rachel Carson: No to the Destruction of Nature.
ROSIE EYRE is a literary translator from French and Spanish based in northwest England. Educated at the University of Cambridge and at the University of Manchester, her previous translations include  Caring in Times of Covid-19 (2020) by Spanish photojournalist Juan Zarza, 100 First Words for Toddlers (Rockwell Press, 2021), and the dystopian novel Survivor by Julie Guinand (Strangers Press, 2022).

2024 Middle and High School Collections

The Penguin Random House Education Middle School and High School Digital Collections feature outstanding fiction and nonfiction from the children’s, adult, DK, and Grupo Editorial divisions, as well as publishers distributed by Penguin Random House. Peruse online or download these valuable resources to discover great books in specific topic areas such as: English Language Arts,

Read more

PRH Education High School Collections

All reading communities should contain protected time for the sake of reading. Independent reading practices emphasize the process of making meaning through reading, not an end product. The school culture (teachers, administration, etc.) should affirm this daily practice time as inherently important instructional time for all readers. (NCTE, 2019)   The Penguin Random House High

Read more

PRH Education Translanguaging Collections

Translanguaging is a communicative practice of bilinguals and multilinguals, that is, it is a practice whereby bilinguals and multilinguals use their entire linguistic repertoire to communicate and make meaning (García, 2009; García, Ibarra Johnson, & Seltzer, 2017)   It is through that lens that we have partnered with teacher educators and bilingual education experts, Drs.

Read more