The Six Bullerby Children

These books are about six children living in a small village in Sweden and are set in the late 1930s, a calm time in Sweden. The narrator is a little girl named Lisa; she tells us about her life and adventures in the small and neat Swedish village Bullerby (Bullerbyn in Swedish). Well-written and catching story for the whole family.

The village consists of three lined up houses in which live seven children with their parents and housekeepers: Lisa with her older brothers Lasse and Bosse, the siblings Britta and Anna, as well as Olle with his little sister Kerstin.

'In Desert and Wilderness' written by 20th century Polish writer Henryk Sienkiewicz who was a Nobel prize winner. The story takes place in the 19th century Egypt. A 14-year-old Polish boy Stanisław (Staś) Tarkowski and 8-year-old English girl Nel Rawlison live with their fathers and grow up in the city of Port Said. Their fathers are engineers. One day Staś and Nel are captured by a group of Arabs who hope that they can exchange the children for Fatima, who had been arrested by the British at the beginning of the novel. Nel and Staś are forced to travel through the Sahara Desert. The journey is difficult and tiring, especially for delicate and senstive Nel. Staś, who is a brave boy, protects his friend from the violence of Arabs. His plans to escape fail, and the children gradually lose their hope. The journey is full of dangers and adventures. The novel was translated into many languages and film adapted. Inspiring. Catching. Recommended not only for young readers.

Akademia pana Kleksa, a novel by Jan Brzechwa based on a story of Adaś Niezgódka. The plot contains of many unbelievable adventures of Adaś and his schoolmates of this academy. This is a fantasy book and an obligatory reading for four-grade students. It was first published in 1948. It was also filmed in 1983.

Quo Vadis

Rome during the reign of Nero was a glorious place for the emperor and his court; there were grand feasts, tournaments for poets, and exciting games and circuses filling the days and nights. The pageantry and pretentious displays of excess were sufficient to cloy the senses of participants as well as to offend the sensitive. Petronius, a generous and noble Roman, a man of the world much in favor at the court of Nero, is intrigued by a strange tale related by his nephew Marcus Vinitius of his encounter with a mysterious young woman called Ligia with whom Vinitius falls madly in love. Ligia, a captured King's daughter and a one-time hostage of Rome, is now a foster child of a noble Roman household. She is also a Christian. The setting of the narrative was prepared with utmost care. Henryk Sienkiewicz visited the Roman settings many times and was thoroughly educated in the historical background. As an attempt to create the spirit of antiquity, the novel met with unanimous acclaim, which earned the Nobel Prize in literature for the author in 1905. As a vision of ancient Rome and early Christianity it has not yet been surpassed, almost a century later.

The Little Prince

The Little Prince, French Le Petit Prince, a modern classic by French aviator and writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry that was published with his own illustrations in French a in 1943. The simple tale tells the story of a child, the little prince, who travels the universe gaining wisdom. The novella has been translated into hundreds of languages and has sold some 200 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling books in publishing history. . Based on the story by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, this magical musical fable begins as a pilot makes a forced landing on the barren Sahara Desert. He is befriended by a "little" prince from the planet Asteroid B-612. In the days that follow, the pilot learns of the small boy's history and planet-hopping journeys in which he met a King, a businessman, an historian, and a general. It isn't until he comes to Earth that the Little Prince learns the secrets of the importance of life from a Fox, a Snake, and the pilot. Really worth reading.

I have never liked reading especially texts that were obligatory at school. But this text makes a difference. For some students can be boring, because it is poetry reading but I was amazed by wonderful old-fashioned language and picturesque detailed descriptions. For us, Polish students it is compulsory and everyone who feels Polish needs to read it and to know 'Inwokacja' by heart. It was published in June 1834 in Paris and 'Pan Tadeusz' is known as the last great epic poem in European literature. One main character is the Friar Robak, as it turns out, as a hotheaded nobleman. To sum up, Pan Tadeusz brings the story of two feuding noble families, and the love between the title character, Tadeusz Soplica, and Zosia, a member of the other family. The end of Pan Tadeusz is joyous and hopeful, an optimism that Mickiewicz knew was not confirmed by historical events but which he designed in order to "uplift hearts" in expectation of, eventually, a brighter future. I really recommend this text to read and get to know a little from Polish history.