Getting to know a country and its culture always begins with art. Books, films, paintings, plays are the basis of the cultural code of any state.
To better understand the Polish people, their mentality and values, start with children's literature. After all, it is children's books that instill a cultural code in everyone. What books did your colleagues read as children? Who did they want to emulate and who taught them to distinguish good from evil, to value true friendship and to believe in miracles?
Most likely it was Jan Brzechwa and his "Akademia Pana Kleksa" (Jan Brzechwa, Akademia Pana Kleksa).
This is a story about a boy named Adam and his studies at a real wizarding academy. The book was written back in 1946, decades before Harry Potter and Hogwarts.
The academy is run by Mr. Blot. Only boys whose names begin with the letter "A" can get into his school. Strange... Well, no. Mr. Blot just doesn't want to remember all the letters of the alphabet. He also teaches the boys blot writing, letter knitting, and globe kicking instead of geography. Everything that happens in the school run by Mr. Blot is just a child's fantasy come to life: traveling through different fairy tales, eating from colored glass, and bathing in raspberry syrup.
There is friendship and lies, hooliganism and nobility in the book, and, of course, the struggle between good and evil. And where would a fairy tale be without magic? Just the story of the talking starling Mateusz is worth something!
All in all, if you want to discover Polish literature, check out the adventures of Jan Brzechwa.
It is not necessary to buy this book, you can take it from the library. Let us remind you that membership in libraries in Poland is free.
