"The Champion of Children: The story of Janusz Korczak" by Tomek Bogacki

The story of Janusz Korczak is inspiring and this nonfiction book highlights key parts of his life and describes his passion for helping children. Korczak was a Jewish man who grew up under tsarist Russia and was severely distrubed by the way many children were treated. Throughout his life he was a tutor to help support his family, then later a doctor during the Russo-Japanese War, a writer of children's books, and a children's rights advocate. He opened two orphanages and taught the children forgiveness and how to be self-sufficient. During World War II Korczak and his children in the orphanage were required to move to the ghetto. A couple years later they had to move to concentration camps, leading to his death. The dedication of Korczak to the children is inspiring. I think that by reading this book to students they could gain insight into life during tsarist Russia and World War II. They may also enjoy the connection to children that this book has and learn to appreciate what Korczak did throughout his life. This book has beautiful illustrations and is written as though it is a story. Many nonfiction books list facts while this one dives deeper and turns this man's life into a story.