Children's Literature. Children's literature is foreign. Children's fairy tales, riddles, poems

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

For many centuries, literature has played a leading role in shaping both public opinion in general and the personalities of individuals. This influence has always been taken into account in the domestic policy of totalitarian and authoritarian states. And even under a democratic form of government, this strongest lever of influence is by no means forgotten.

If what a person reads can be reflected in the worldview and actions of an already formed adult personality, then how much influence does children's literature have on the receptive and plastic psyche of a child?! Therefore, the choice of reading for the baby should be approached with all responsibility.

First steps towards the world of literature

From time immemorial, people began their acquaintance with the boundless world of literature from fairy tales. Moms and dads read them to their babies long before they themselves began to speak. Then, in addition to books, gramophone records appeared with wonderful audio recordings of fairy tales and stories. Today, TV has practically monopolized the duties of a guide to the world of wonders.

However difficultoverestimate the role that children's literature plays in human life. The list of literature that a child managed to read by adolescence can tell a lot about a person, her aspirations and life priorities. This is so because, on the one hand, everyone chooses to read what he likes, and on the other hand, what he read invariably affects the worldview of any individual.

For the youngest readers

In every nation, from generation to generation, pearls of folklore are passed on. True, for our convenience, they have long been collected in printed collections, which does not deprive folklore of its special charm inherent in it alone.

Children's tales occupy an honorable position in folk tales. Their heroes teach kids what is right and what is not. Fairy tales often talk about how important it is to help the weak, that you need to be true to your word and loyal friends. Children's literature is designed to instill in the child the concept of honor, duty and responsibility.

From passive listening to active dialogue

The very fact that you make time to read to your child means a lot for his development. But you can significantly increase the positive effect. Try discussing children's stories with your child. Perhaps, out of habit, this will seem difficult to you. However, after a while, you will definitely get used to it and begin to enjoy this kind of game yourself.

How and what to discuss? To understand this, just try to think that from the text you readcould be applied in real life. In this way, the child will not only receive practical lessons, but, more importantly, from a very tender age, he will learn to analyze information and draw conclusions. He will not only learn to see the obvious, but will be able to look much deeper - into the very essence of things. Subsequently, this skill will be very useful to him.

First steps towards the famous deduction

If we talk about the development of mental abilities, then various children's puzzles are perfect as excellent simulators. Children are happy to guess different puzzles and try to solve puzzles. Don't neglect this need of theirs.

Timeless riddles can be found in the literary heritage of Korney Chukovsky. The popular author Boris Zakhoder also composes good children's riddle poems for preschool children. Many folk developments will always remain relevant.

Memory training

Teach your child short nursery rhymes. This not only has a beneficial effect directly on memory, but also helps the baby learn to concentrate. You can choose both the verses themselves and different songs. It is better to choose those that the child especially liked. Then the learning process will be pleasant for both you and him.

Fiction in kindergarten

When your child reaches kindergarten age (regardless of whether you send him to some kind of preschool institution or prefer to leave at home), it is worth starting to introducehis "intellectual diet" short stories and novellas.

Authors recommended during this period include Gianni Rodari, Astrid Lindgren, Alan Milne and James Barry. Of course, this is not a complete list, but already a fairly confident start. Moreover, today it is not difficult to find the works of these writers.

Versatility and variety

Genres of children's literature organically occupy almost all the same niches as literature for adult readers. Here you will find fantasy, detective, adventure, modern realism, etc. Moreover, it is not uncommon for writers to work on a “serious” work, but in the end it is classified as a work for children. This happened, for example, with the author of "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" Mark Twain. He was even offended, having received an award for the best work of children's literature for his story.

The same fate befell R. L. Stevenson with his Treasure Island. But the work of Daniel Defoe "Robinson Crusoe", on the contrary, was adapted for youth, because initially his language was too heavy. The same applies to Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels.

How to determine what exactly belongs to a given genre? First of all, children's literature is what children themselves like to read. It happens that some stories filled with serious philosophical meaning can fall into this category. The guys may not catch this meaning at this stage, but the plot of the plot itself completely satisfies them.

What can pleasedomestic writers

Russian children's literature is rich and diverse. As a rule, it is characterized by clearly expressed moral values. Good always triumphs over evil, and vice is either corrected or punished. Let's take a closer look at some of the books worth adding to a young reader's library.

Even in the preschool period, it is worth turning to the stories and novellas of the wonderful writer Nikolai Nikolaevich Nosov. His works are written about children and for children. Tellingly, Nikolai Nosov did everything to protect his stories from political ideology. And it was not at all easy at the time when the writer lived and worked. Children's literature of the 20th century (at least the beginning of it) had to meet clearly defined criteria and standards.

That is why the talented writer was forced to create a fairy-tale world in which he settled his most recognizable heroes - the mischievous Dunno and his friends. But his stories about ordinary schoolchildren have not lost their relevance to this day.

Also don't deprive the younger generation of Ellie and her friends' exciting journey to the Emerald City. Let your child accompany these heroes along the yellow brick road and experience many adventures with them. And Alexander Volkov will serve as their guide, retelling the tale of the American writer Layman Frank Baum in his own way and providing it with a whole cycle of sequels. The first and most famous book by Alexander Volkov is title "Wizard of Oz".

And if your child prefers space travel to fabulous countries, make him happy with the stories of Kira Bulychev. It is especially worth paying attention to the series about the adventures of Alisa Selezneva. The sparkling humor and ease with which her space travels are described will not leave anyone indifferent.

Besides, Alice is a diligent student and a modest girl who hates to lie. Agree that this is a good example to follow. The idea of the importance of friendship and mutual assistance runs through all the stories about her adventures.

The series of works by Eduard Uspensky about a boy named Uncle Fyodor, Andrei Nekrasov's story "The Adventures of Captain Vrungel" and Evgeny Veltistov's book "Electronics - a boy from a suitcase" continue to enjoy continued success with readers.

Foreign-language literary artisans

But children's literature was created not only in our country. The foreign creative workshop also worked at full capacity, thanks to which everyone's favorite heroes recognizable in different parts of the world appeared.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer has long been a classic of world literature. This story is even studied in high school. The same can be said about the hero of the "Jungle Book" Mowgli, who was introduced into literature by an English writer. Rudyard Kipling.

Swedish writer Astrid Lindgren gave the world a whole constellation of diverse original characters. Among them are Carlson, Pippi Longstocking, Emil from Lönneberga and Kalle Blomkvist.

Lewis Carroll's fairy tales "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking Glass" deserve special mention. And not only because these works are made in a rather rare genre of the absurd and in general they themselves had a huge impact on the development of the fantasy style. The fact is that these fairy tales are replete with humor built on the linguistic play on words. And if you translate them strictly according to the text, the Russian-speaking reader will get some kind of obscure nonsense at the output. A rare exception and a real gem among the translations into Russian of these fairy tales is the work of Boris Zakhoder. Instead of strictly following the text, turning it into ponderous philosophizing, he was able to convey the meaning and atmosphere of the storytelling of these light and funny tales.

Famous literary heroes who moved to the big screen

Children's literature gives enterprising screenwriters a lot of exciting stories. The foreign film industry is happy to screen fairy tales and stories popular among children. A prime example of this is the Harry Potter series by JK Rowling.

But this medal has two sides. Just as a good book motivates a director to make a movie, a good movie can be used to develop a child's interest in books. Modern children's literature is perfect for this.

It's no secret that children don't really like books these days. And they see no point in reading any work on their own in the presence of a film adaptation. How to get them interested?

Firstly, it is worth noting that not everything that is described in the book gets on the screen. And often very entertaining episodes remain behind the scenes, and sometimes full-fledged storylines.

Secondly, you can play on the desire to know how it all ends. With Harry Potter, this, of course, will not work. But, for example, of the seven parts of the Chronicles of Narnia series by Clive Lewis, only three have been filmed at the moment.

And third, help your child see for themselves that no multi-million dollar budget can create special effects that can compete with our own imagination.

Unobtrusive learning

Children's fiction can be a powerful learning tool. Some authors have managed to create stories from which the reader gets more accurate knowledge of specific sciences than from the entire school course. And this is done discreetly and with pleasure.

Such statements look quite natural, if we recall the stories of Ernest Seton-Thompson, which describe the life and habits of different animals. But, for example, Vladimir Korchagin wrote the book The Secret of the River of Evil Spirits. Despite the mystical title, it tells about the very mundane adventures of a small group of teenagers and a few adults in the open spaces. Siberia.

The author of this book is obviously selflessly in love with geology. But the facts about various minerals and rocks are so organically woven into the outline of the story that they absolutely do not look alien or insipidly instructive there. So don't be surprised if your child starts collecting rocks after reading this book.

To instill a love for mathematics, perhaps, Alexander Kazantsev's novel "Sharper than a Sword" will help. The action takes place during the time of the Musketeers and is not devoid of various intrigues and duels, but at the same time, the main character manages to witty get out of some troubles precisely with the help of mathematical formulas.

But the cycle about the adventures of the Polish boy Tomek, created by Alfred Shklyarsky, will give the young reader extensive knowledge of the geography of all continents. Perhaps, in this regard, the candidacy of Jules Verne will be the first to be remembered, but his novels are too fed up with dry facts, which, to be honest, you just want to skip when reading. Alfred Shklyarsky managed to avoid this unpleasant aftertaste.

Why you should instill in your child a love of reading

It may seem that it is much easier to turn on your kid's favorite cartoon than to carve out time for reading together in a busy daily schedule. And it will be much less nerve-wracking to let a teenager play electronic games than to try to convince him of the fascination of a book. However, the long-term benefits of reading will outweigh any temporary inconvenience a hundredfold.

Firstly, even children's literature is significantlyexpands the reader's vocabulary. This, in turn, helps in communicating with different people and as a result adds confidence in yourself and your abilities.

Secondly, it is well known that reading improves memory and develops thinking. In addition, those who read a lot write competently even without memorizing numerous rules.

Third, the need to follow the plot helps in the ability to better concentrate on the tasks assigned to you.

Besides, people who love to read tend to be creative and witty.

Now think for a moment how this bunch of positive factors will help your child in the process of learning in school. Practice shows that those who love to read get higher marks during their studies. They are much less likely to need the help of tutors. And the process of preparing homework in most cases takes place without any intervention from the parents.

Therefore, try to see in your reading with your child not just a momentary effect, but a very long-term and many times repaid investment in his future.