Children's and adult literature. Children's literature: exchange of views

We re-read them with pleasure - first for our own pleasure in moments of nostalgia, then to amuse our children, and then we instill a love for these works in our grandchildren. This is how the continuity of generations is formed.

Children's books are dear to us for their atmosphere; with their characters, we regain a sense of carefreeness and regain fearlessness in the face of life's adversities. Let's be honest, the presence of children in the family is only a reason to once again plunge into the fantastic world of good old fairy tales.

Small volumes contain enormous power. They touch on eternal themes, such as friendship, love, devotion, dedication, and the search for true values. Sometimes they are more philosophical than the most abstruse novels of recognized classics. Today I want to offer you a selection of 15 wonderful books for both adults and very young audiences.

15 books for all ages

1. “Semyon Andreich, Chronicle in Doodles”, Narine Abgaryan

Picking up a colorfully illustrated publication, you will remember how the most selfless kindergarten friendship is born, what a child should do among always busy adults, and even how a child feels when his parents get divorced.

2. “The Wizard of the Emerald City”, Alexander Volkov

The main character and her faithful dog Totoshka are carried by a hurricane wind to a wonderful country. To return home, she needs to meet a wizard who lives in the very center of the Emerald City. Along the way, Ellie makes new friends, gets into exciting and dangerous adventures, and selflessly helps the local population.

3. “Tales of the Moscow Zoo”, Yulia and Konstantin Snigala

Are you still unsure whether you should read the book by Julia and Konstantin Snigal? “Then answer a couple of questions.” Have you ever met a flamingo poet in your life? And the peacock warrior? And what about the annoying crow with a nasty character? No? So what are you waiting for, go quickly to the Moscow Zoo, your guide is already waiting for you.

The responsible owl has prepared many fascinating stories and a list of unforgettable people who must be visited!

4. Peter Pan, James Barrie

James Barrie embodied the dream of eternal childhood in his most famous book, Peter Pan. However, the author has slightly reduced the ardor of inveterate dreamers. Residents of Neverland also face serious problems; they are no strangers to the pursuit of happiness, the search for love, and suffering from the betrayal of imaginary friends.

5. “I love walking on clouds”, Anastasia Orlova

“I Love Walking on Clouds” is an incredibly light and pleasant book with wonderful illustrations. It will be a breath of fresh air and help you take your mind off the drab everyday life. The main character, a six-year-old boy, will guide you and your children through the fluffy vault of heaven and tell a lot of non-trivial stories.

6. “Pippi Longstocking”, Astrid Lindgren

An unprecedented event took place in a respectable provincial town. A nine-year-old girl, Pippi, settled in the ancient villa “Chicken”. She has only a horse and a pet monkey for company. The main character has no parents, but she has a chest full of gold coins.

7. “Candle Girl”, Sofia Prokofieva

At the center of the story is an orphan girl living in a fantasy city, whose ruler is the Hunchback. The main character's spiritual light will help her find reliable comrades, save her mother, awaken the inhabitants of the royal castle and defeat the sorcerer.

On the issue of the avant-garde in adult and children's literature

Report at the 1st scientific conference in memory of Yu.S. Stepanova “Scientific generations and linguistic paradigms of civilization of the XX-XXI centuries.” at the Institute of Linguistics of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

At a conference dedicated to the scientific heritage of Yuri Sergeevich Stepanov, and more broadly, to scientific generations, I would like to talk about two things: firstly, about inheritance not only scientific, but also artistic (note that Yuri Sergeevich was no stranger to art and tried himself as a playwright), and secondly, about the generation that every person “carries within himself” - about the relationship between “adult” and “children” in the writer and reader. It is known that Yuri Sergeevich was interested in children's literature. Unfortunately, we almost didn’t talk about this, but this report of mine is like a continuation of the conversation... We will talk about two writers - Yuri Koval and Alexander Dorofeev, who are connected to each other by both aesthetic and family ties.

I will rely on two publications: “Beware of the Bald and Mustachioed” by Yuri Koval and “God’s Knot” by Alexander Dorofeev 1. Quite a lot has been written about Yuri Koval’s prose and about himself; the second edition of “Kovalya’s Book” has now been published, with about 50 authors, and one of the central ideas in this book is that Koval wrote in a way that was both interesting to adults and children. He himself left wonderful memories of Boris Shergin, Ivan Sokolov-Mikitov, Arseny Tarkovsky, with whom he was friends. There is an artistic inheritance here - Yuri Koval’s prose belonged to a certain tradition, which, on the one hand, is characterized by a fairy tale principle, a special love for words, and on the other, a love for nature. I wrote about this in a recent article about Yuri Koval in.

In turn, Koval’s heirs in the artistic sense are the writers from the “Black Hen” club, to which I belong, and which overlapped with Koval’s seminar (he led a seminar for several years at the magazine “Murzilka”). Here we can mention Marina Moskvina, Alexander Toroptsev, Boris Minaev and Alexander Dorofeev. In this report I will dwell in more detail on the work of Dorofeev. In my opinion, the works of Koval and Dorofeev can be called avant-garde in children's literature, this is a new quality of literature: now the so-called adult-children, bidirectional literature is emerging. Thanks to her, we begin to better understand what children's literature is and what adult literature is 2.

Starting from about 9-10 years old, an adult is formed in a child - and teenage literature appeals to this emerging adult with his responsibility and “adult” problems.

Many questions a child and an adult have in common – and one of these questions is ignorance of the future. You can remain ignorant, you can question, or you can try with all your might to find out about the future.

Let's take the story “Without a Roof” by Alexander Dorofeev. Musya, the main character's aunt, is not married - and in this situation, her future is as open as possible and arouses great interest. She sees signs everywhere and predicts the future based on dreams. On this basis, she even went crazy in some way - and she does not act very delicately: she literally tortures the main character every morning, asking what he dreamed about.

The main character and his mother find themselves in captivity with Musi. This is how the story begins:

Aunt Musya knew a lot about dreams. Each one turned into a kind of stump, or even a mound, on which she sat down, looked around, and decided where to go next in life. And she chose the right paths - so it seemed to her. Therefore, with readiness, like a nimble compass, she showed the way to those who wanted it, of which, admittedly, there were few - my mother and me. And not exactly willing, but rather forced.

Every morning my aunt interrogated me about what and how I dreamed. Sometimes there was nothing to remember. So, pale shadows, gray fog. But my aunt insisted, and I had to strain, to return the dreams, like weathered, half-destroyed poems.

- It seems like I’m sitting on a stool, and snails are crawling around...

- Eh, darling, sleep in hand! You shirk your studies and work.

So, Aunt Musya uses her knowledge to raise a teenager...

Musya finds out that a zoologist (and this is happening in a village) sat on a porcupine - and begins to interpret this event as an incident from a dream. But this is reality: a zoologist has a porcupine at home!

People live an absurd life that resembles a dream - and this absurdity, artistically expressed, turns out to be some kind of highest value, a joyful smile of existence.

However, absurdity can also turn into its evil side - when the aunt’s fiancé uses the image of a “house without a roof” in a conversation with her, she takes the metaphor for an image from a dream and says unpleasant words to the groom, the proposal hangs in the air, and there are lost hopes.

At that time, the exiled General Yevgeny Bochkin often visited us, and, of course, a decisive action was already expected from him. Like marriage.

That evening over tea, the general tapped his spoon on the glass and, standing up, said:

- Imagine, Musyon, I dreamed of a house without a roof...

Aunt visibly turned pale and turned away, and Bochkin continued:

- Brick mansion. Three floors. With a porch and a balcony. But without a roof. The meaning is obvious! Home is me. “You, dear, are a roof that needs to be put back in place,” he finished, and it became very quiet.

Finally, my aunt said with unexpected annoyance and anger:

- What do you understand about dreams?! This is not a “dead loop”, not a “corkscrew” and not a “barrel”! A mansion for me too!

Determined Evgeny Bochkin froze for a moment, as if in a downed plane before ejection, and pressed the red button:

- You understand a lot! General - did you hear!? - to trouble! For mercy's sake, what stupidity! However, you are dozing. I have the honor... I have it! – he clicked his heels as if he had shot himself, and left forever.

Everything happened so quickly. Air battle! Deadly and fleeting!

- How to understand, Musya?! - Mom exclaimed.

Aunt wandered around the table with gloomy eyes, and the teapot gleamed in them, behind which one could discern the dark abyss of omniscience.

“I believed until the last moment,” she whispered. - And he, the fool, has a house without a roof... This means that he will soon be completely retired, and besides, he will go bald. Scoundrel! – she waved her hand, as if putting an end to the general.

Yes, one could understand the aunt. But how sorry I am for Bochkin! The poor fellow does not know the sad future, but here, at the tea table, everything is known, everything is arranged, like a set, in its place. Just scary!

And to this day, when I see a house without a roof, I’m taken aback. One can see a bald general in trousers, with a hoe, near a bed of onions.

The next day, as usual, my aunt asked about dreams.

“I’m lying on the sofa,” I remembered. - And the stars float across the sky.

“It’s strange,” said my aunt, especially stern since yesterday’s tea party. – I didn’t expect it from you. Starry sky - for the fulfillment of desires.

She seemed jealous. Aunt had no idea what a modest desire I had. I dreamed of one thing - so that no one would look into my future, would not fool it, would not interpret me this way and that.

My future is dark. Or maybe it’s light. In any case, I don't know. Just don't dream of a house without a roof. Although, if you look at it, there’s nothing wrong with it.

The theme of the story is excessive curiosity, the desire to get into a person’s soul and a claim on his future... Family care, which is worse than hard labor.

This topic is interesting for adults and children - how many aunts and uncles have we met who undertake to judge us without asking permission... With the current infantilism of adults, childhood turns out to be the world in which a writer can unobtrusively navigate his trajectory without offending evil adults.

A writer who writes for children has a child inside him. It is this child (or rather, the image of this child) that helps an adult and children find a common language.

Through it, the writer conveys his message to the child reader.

The story “Without a Roof” is suitable for adults and children. What should they do?

In the most general form, we should consider the following scheme: the writer (on the right) gives the teenage reader a personal message on two levels at once: as a child to a child (red arrow) as an adult to a growing person (blue).

The reader’s childhood gives the text a new dimension - this is a different level: the child reader sees what is usually invisible to an adult. But an adult will also see in a children's story what is inaccessible to a child - this is how a stereoscopic reader arises, an adult child who is generally deeper, higher and more voluminous than an ordinary adult reader. To satisfy his taste, you need to try very hard.

A story that is suitable for adults and children has a special dynamic. Reading it has more meaning for a child than for an adult. After all, childhood is an action: and as information from the outside world comes in, the child grows, the teenager grows up, and at the end of the story he is no longer the same as at the beginning. This happens with an adult reader, you say, but an adult changes less, he is formed, and a child changes more, he is formed as a personality.

So, considering adult-children's literature, we see two differences from adult literature: the presence of two levels of perception and dynamics.

In this sense, the story of an adult-children's writer is much more voluminous than just the story of an adult or the story of a children's writer who appeals to a child. Such a story has that new quality that is associated with the avant-garde in literature.

Notes:

1 The book was published in 2013 by the publishing house, the story can be read.

2 There are, of course, stories for adults in which a child appears, stories about childhood... But this is a separate topic.

As a child, when we read a book, we don’t think about what it’s about, we just read. Ask a young child, “What is the book about?” He will tell you that it is about a prince and a princess and retell the plot. But many children's books actually contain deep thoughts that only adults can appreciate.

The editors of the site have prepared for you a selection of books that you should re-read with your children and discover something new. Let's get started!

Publisher: Eksmo

Some fans grew up with the book: Harry grew up, so did they. And today's children read all seven volumes in one gulp. If you first met the “boy-who-lived” as a child, now when you read it you will have completely different feelings and thoughts (especially this time, you know everything about Snape from the very beginning!).

Publisher: Eksmo

Classics of children's and adult literature. You can and should read at any age; every time you find something new to think about. - it’s also about the relationship between children and adults, about different views on the world. Therefore, it’s time to re-read it, since you also have a little prince or princess in your family.

Publisher: Azbuka

Publisher: Pink Giraffe

Dystopia for children is already quite interesting. A story about the rigid framework of an ideal world and about memory that must be preserved. It will teach both the children and you a lot. If you are a fan of Zamyatin and Orwell, but missed this work, take the book away from your children!

Publisher: Genres, Astrel

If you don’t remember a single philosophical quote from this book, urgently go read it aloud to your child, remember how deep this work is. Ours is, of course, wonderful, but about something completely different. And this is a touching story about a dad, his son and a bedtime story about the Magic Forest. Sometimes the little bear and his friends say things that make you run your eyes along the line for a long time and think: “But he’s so right!!!”

Publisher: Rosman-Press

An ideal lady with clear rules of life. It would be good for adults to follow them, otherwise they have already forgotten what it means to be “perfection itself.” Moreover, soon we will see Mary's return to the screens, and we can remind ourselves of the miracles she worked. And whether it was miracles or just education...

Publisher: Eksmo

Leaving Narnia is difficult. Her world consists of thousands of small details that you just want to dive into again and again. And this world was created as a gift for four children who were waiting out the bombing in the author’s house. Later, the images of the main characters were copied from them. At least this will make you look at a long-familiar work in a new way.

Publisher: ABC-Atticus, Machaon

A surprisingly adult work, with a detailed description of rocket science, a dystopia (even two) inside, and a very twisted plot. Let’s not forget about the topic of censorship and slave labor - yes, yes, all this is written in, if you forgot, re-read it!

Publisher: KompasGid

This is a story about a boy who traded his laughter for material wealth. Doesn't remind you of anything? What are you saying? "Faust"? I think, yes. A surprisingly deep thought that makes you think about the consequences of such a choice for both children and parents.

Publisher: Azbuka, Azbuka-Atticus

It’s like a fairy tale about rabbits, but what could be cuter and simpler? But that's not true. Here rabbits are a separate people with their own history, language and philosophy. And the problems the furry ones face are not childish at all - dictatorship, migration, moral choice. It is worth asking your child not to return the book to the library immediately after reading it.

Publisher: ABC-Atticus, Machaon

The young heroine of the fairy tale is impressive both in childhood and now. With the help of a strong character and a kind heart, she manages to achieve the almost impossible - to reconcile her sworn enemies, and even make friends with her former rival. And no magic, only human relationships and self-effort. This Roni is an amazing girl!

Publisher: AST, Malysh

There’s no need to tell you anything here, who doesn’t remember Tom Sawyer? Great humor, twisted adventures, first love, strong friendship, believe me - it’s also interesting to read as an adult. And you will no longer associate yourself with the eccentric Tom, you will rather think, oh, poor aunt! How does she cope with him?!

Publisher: Ripol Classic

A children's fairy tale that sometimes resembles a horror story. You probably read it as a child; it was part of the school summer reading program. But this fairy tale is also not so simple, to remember why you can’t rely on luck and always try to become better - you’ll have to re-read it.

Publisher: Eksmo

The boy who never grows up. Just think about how many years he lives as an eternal child and continues to kidnap children into Neverland? It's even a little scary. In addition, the book contains many mature and interesting thoughts that you will notice only now. A must read!

Happy reading and rethinking!

When preparing publications for children, not only children's, but also “adult” literature is used. Therefore, in publishing and editing, several concepts are used that characterize the field of publishing literature for children and youth.

There are such concepts as “children’s literature”, “literature for children”, “children’s reading circle”. Already from the names themselves it is clear that they intersect with each other and at the same time have independent content.

Understanding the meaning of each of these terms is important, first of all, from the point of view of the general approach to book publishing, since they determine the organization and methodology of forming the repertoire of publications, the sources of selection of works, and the features of the editor’s work with authors.

Let's consider the concept of “children's literature”; it is precisely this that is the starting point for characterizing the entire field of publishing for children.

Children's literature is created specifically for a children's readership. The writer takes into account the specifics of children's perception, trying to ensure that his work is well understood and assimilated by readers of a certain age.

Of particular importance is the author’s ability to recognize child psychology, focus on the interests, preferences of children, and their ability to perceive certain facts. They say that in order to create a work of children’s literature, it is necessary to preserve a “children’s vision of the world,” which allows one to clearly imagine the properties and qualities of children’s perception. A children's writer must understand and know the child and, of course, have a special talent that determines the author's skill - the talent to create living, unforgettable pictures of the world around him, recognizable by the child and instructing him.

When creating a work of children's literature itself, the specifics of a certain age are taken into account.

Obviously, a writer who turns to children's literature must have a special attitude towards life, imagine how the surrounding reality is perceived by a child, and note the unusual, bright - what is interesting to his future readers.

Certain methods have been developed for writing a work of literature specifically for children. Here is just one, fairly common technique associated with the special position of the author of the work - he looks at the world around him as if from the childhood he describes. The writer does not observe his characters from the outside, but views events through their eyes. This is exactly how the narrative develops in the stories “Childhood” by L. Tolstoy and “Childhood” by M. Gorky, “The Blue Cup” by A. Gaidar. The writer transforms himself into his characters, not allowing himself to step back for a minute and look at them through the eyes of an adult. Apparently, it is precisely the view of the world from childhood that imparts to the content of these stories one of the most essential qualities for works of children's literature - the quality of reliability of what is described and understandability for the reader.

Thus, children's literature is specially created for a certain age category of readers, taking into account the specifics of children's perception.

One of the important tasks of the editor is to create an asset of children's writers. Meanwhile, it can be difficult to find these writers, since children's writers are writers who have a special gift - to remember and understand childhood. V.G. Belinsky wrote: “One must be born, and not become, a children’s writer. It's a kind of calling. This requires not only talent, but a kind of genius... many conditions are needed for the education of a children’s writer... Love for children, deep knowledge of the needs, characteristics and nuances of childhood is one of the important conditions.”

Let's consider a broader concept - “literature for children”. This concept refers to both children's literature and adult literature that is of interest to children and understandable to them.

It is known that many writers whose works children readily read did not write specifically for children. For example, the famous Russian writer I.A. Goncharov admitted: “As soon as you sit down to write with the thought that this is for children, you don’t write and that’s all. You have to forget this circumstance, but how can you forget it? You can write for them not on purpose, without thinking about it... For example, Turgenev, without trying and without suspecting anything, wrote his “Bezhin Meadow” and some other things - for children. I also accidentally wrote a book for young people, “Pallada” (meaning “Frigate “Pallada.” - S.A.) ... I believe that you can’t actually write for children, but you can put something ready-made in a children’s magazine, which written and lying in the briefcase, a journey, a story, a history - everything that is suitable for adults and that does not contain anything that could harm a child’s mind and imagination.”

Writer N. Teleshov recalled: “Chekhov assured... that no “children’s” literature exists. “Everywhere they write only about Sharikov and Barbosov. What kind of “children’s” is this? This is some kind of “dog literature”.

In a letter to Rossolimo on January 21, 1900, A.P. Chekhov notes: “I don’t know how to write for children, I write for them once every ten years and I don’t like and don’t recognize so-called children’s literature. Andersen, “The Frigate “Pallada”, Gogol are read willingly by children and adults as well. We must not write for children, but must choose from what is written for adults.”

And A.P. himself Chekhov did not specifically create works for children, but his stories, such as “Kashtanka” and “Boys,” are read by children willingly.

Let us give the opinion of a modern writer. In response to a question about the specifics of children's literature, contained in a special questionnaire from the Children's Book House of the Children's Literature publishing house, A. Markusha wrote: “There is a lot of debate now about the specifics of children's literature. I don't believe in any specifics. There is literature (and there is little of it), and then there is “literature” (and there is a lot of it). Children should read adult books written by real masters, even if not everyone understands, at least they will get used to real art, and not be brought up on surrogates... Children need to know more about adults!” (from materials from the Children's Book House).

Thus, children’s reading covers not only specially written works, but is also replenished by adult literature. This is how the repertoire of publications for children is formed. It consists of children's literature and works written for adults, but of interest to children

From children's literature and literature for children, the so-called children's reading circle is compiled. The encyclopedic dictionary “Book Science” defines the reading range as follows: “A set of printed works that reflects the main interests and reading needs of a particular reader group. The range of reading is socially and historically determined. Identifying the reading range is one of the main tasks of specific sociological research in the field of reading.”

In relation to children's reading, the reading circle has its own characteristics. Let's dwell on them.

The “Children's Reading Circle” includes books that should be read specifically in childhood and that determine the reading of a child of a particular age. This is a dynamic phenomenon, since as a child grows, the scope of the literature he reads expands. The reading range shows a person’s interests and passions; individual publications “return” if the reader turns to them more than once. The composition of publications is constantly changing depending on the changing interests of children and the repertoire of published publications, and the richer and more diverse the repertoire, the greater the opportunity to influence the child, since his reading range will, to one degree or another, reflect this richness and diversity.

The formation of a children's reading circle is associated with solving educational problems. The literature that is specially written for children largely determines the appearance, character, and behavior of children. In addition, it is a source of cultural traditions and conveys a certain experience to readers. It is no coincidence that V.G. Belinsky paid special attention to determining the range of children's reading. Reflecting on its composition, the critic first of all pointed to the connection of the book with life, artistry, “depth” and humaneness of the idea, chastity of the content, simplicity and nationality. Among the works that should be included in children's reading, he named poems and fairy tales by A.S. Pushkin, a novel about the adventures of Robinson Crusoe by D. Defoe.

Children's literature shapes and determines the reading range of each child, changing and structuring its composition, and gradually this literature is replaced by “adult” literature, leaving children’s literature itself outside the reader’s interests. Considering that certain books can influence most effectively precisely the reader for whom they are intended, we can assume that literature included in the range of children's reading should be read at the appropriate age; books that did not “catch” the reader in time cannot have the influence on him that the author sought, and, therefore, do not fully fulfill their social functions. Indeed, the impact on a preschooler, an older schoolchild, or an adult of a fairy tale, for example, “Little Red Riding Hood,” is different, since at each age “its own” aspects of the work are of interest. Consequently, the reading range determines the degree and nature of the influence of the content of the work on the reader and is associated with the characteristics of the properties of various categories of readers.

When organizing book publishing for children, especially in the process of forming a repertoire, the editor focuses on the range of children's reading, selecting works for reprinting and including new literature in the publishing system.