Over the centuries, literature has played a leading role in shaping both public opinion as a whole and the personalities of individuals. This influence has always been taken into account in the domestic politics of totalitarian and authoritarian states. And with a democratic form of government, this powerful leverage is far from being forgotten.
If what a person reads can affect the worldview and actions of an already mature 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.
The first steps towards the world of literature
From time immemorial, man began with fairy tales his acquaintance with the vast world of literature. Moms and dads read them to their babies long before they themselves began to speak. Then, in addition to books, records appeared with wonderful audio recordings of fairy tales and stories. Today, the duties of a guide to the world of miracles have almost monopolized TV.
However, it is difficult to overestimate the role that children's literature plays in human life . The list of literature that the child managed to read to adolescence can tell a lot about the personality, its aspirations and life priorities. This is so, because, on the one hand, everyone chooses to read what he likes, and on the other, what he reads invariably affects the worldview of any individual.
For the smallest readers
In every nation, pearls of oral folk art are passed down from generation to generation. True, for our convenience, they have long been collected in printed collections, which does not deprive folklore of the 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. Often in fairy tales it is told about how important it is to help the weak, that you need to be true to your word and devoted 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 mere fact that you take the time to read your child means a lot to his development. But you can significantly increase the positive effect. Try to discuss children's tales with your baby. Perhaps out of habit it will seem difficult to you. However, after some time, you will surely get comfortable and start to enjoy this kind of game yourself.
How and what to discuss? To understand this, just try to think what of the read text could be applied in real life. In this way, the child will not only receive practical lessons, but also, more importantly, from a very tender age 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.
The first steps to the famous deduction
If we talk about the development of mental abilities, then in the role of excellent simulators various children's puzzles are perfect. Children are happy to guess different puzzles and try to solve puzzles. Do not neglect their need.
Timeless puzzles can be found in the literary heritage of Korney Chukovsky. Popular author Boris Zakhoder also compiles good children's riddle poems for preschool children. Many national developments will always remain relevant.
Memory training
Learn short children's verses with your child. This not only has a beneficial effect directly on the memory, but also helps the baby learn to focus. You can choose both verses and different songs. It is better to choose those that the child himself liked most. Then the learning process will be pleasant for you and him.
Fiction in kindergarten
When a child reaches kindergarten age (regardless of whether you will send him to some preschool or prefer to leave at home), it is worth starting to introduce small stories and short stories into his “intellectual diet”.
During this period, authors such as Gianni Rodari, Astrid Lindgren, Alan Milne and James Barry can be recommended . Of course, this is not a complete list, but it is already a fairly confident start. Moreover, today it is not difficult to find the works of these writers.
Versatility and Diversity
The genres of children's literature organically occupy almost all of the same niches as literature for adult readers. Here you will find fiction, a detective story, adventures, modern realism, etc. Moreover, there are frequent cases when writers work on a “serious” work, and as a result it is referred to as works for children. This happened, for example, with the author of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Mark Twain. He was even offended by receiving an award for his novel in the category of the best work of children's literature.
The same fate befell R. L. Stevenson with his Treasure Island. But the work of Daniel Defoe's “Robinson Crusoe”, on the contrary, was adapted for the youth, because initially his language was too heavy. The same applies to Gulliver's Journey, created by Jonathan Swift.
How to determine what exactly belongs to this 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 even grasp this meaning at this stage, but the plot plot itself completely satisfies them.
What domestic writers can please
Russian children's literature is rich and diverse. As a rule, it is characterized by clearly expressed moral values. Good always conquers evil, and vice is either corrected or punished. Let's take a closer look at some of the works that should be included in the library of a young reader.
Even in the preschool period, one should turn to the stories and short stories of the remarkable writer Nikolai Nikolayevich Nosov. His works are written about children and for children. What is characteristic, Nikolai Nosov did everything to protect his stories from political ideology. And it was not easy at the time when the writer lived and worked. Children's literature of the 20th century (at least of its beginning) 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 students have not lost their relevance to this day.
Also, do not deprive the younger generation of the exciting journey of Ellie and her friends to the Emerald City. Allow your child to accompany these heroes along the yellow brick road and experience many adventures with them. And Alexander Volkov will serve them as a guide, retelling in his own way the tale of the American writer Lyman Frank Baum and providing it with a whole series of sequels. The first and most famous book of Alexander Volkov is called “The Wizard of the Emerald City”.
And if your child prefers space travel to fairy-tale countries, please him with the stories of Kira Bulychev. It is especially worth paying attention to a series about the adventures of Alice Selezneva.
The sparkling humor and ease with which her space travels are described will not leave anyone indifferent.
In addition, Alice is a diligent student and a modest girl who hates lying. Agree that this is a good example to follow. Across all the stories of her adventures, the idea of ​​the importance of friendship and mutual assistance is a red thread.
You can still recommend the novel by Veniamin Kaverin “Two Captains”, the stories of Victor Dragunsky about Denisk, the fairy tale “The Little Humpbacked Horse” written in poems by Pyotr Yershov and the stories about animals by Vitaliy Bianka.
A series of works by Eduard Uspensky about a boy named Uncle Fedor, the novel by Andrei Nekrasov “The Adventures of Captain Vrungel” and the book “Electronician - A Boy from a Suitcase” by Yevgeny Veltistov, continues to enjoy continued success with readers.
Foreign literary artisans
But not only in our country children's literature was created. The overseas creative workshop also worked to its full potential, thanks to which all beloved heroes appeared, recognizable in different parts of the world.
"The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" has long been included in the classics of world literature. This story is even being studied in high school. The same can be said about the hero of The Jungle Book, Mowgli, who was introduced into the literature by the English writer Rudyard Kipling.
The Swedish writer Astrid Lindgren presented the world with a whole constellation of diverse original characters. Among them are Carlson, Peppy Longstocking, Emil of Lönneberg and Calle Blomkvist.
Special mention deserves the tales of Lewis Carroll "The Adventures of Alice in Wonderland" and "Alice Through the Looking Glass." And not only because these works are made in a rather rare genre of absurdity and generally in themselves had a huge impact on the development of the fantasy style. The fact is that these tales abound in humor, built on the linguistic play of words. And if you translate them strictly according to the text, the Russian-speaking reader will receive some unintelligible nonsense at the output. A rare exception and a real diamond among the translations into Russian of these fairy tales is the work of Boris Zakhoder. Instead of strictly following the text, turning it into a heavy philosophizing, he was able to convey the meaning and atmosphere of the narrative of these easy and funny tales.
Famous literary heroes who moved to the big screen
A lot of exciting stories gives enterprising screenwriters children's literature. The foreign film industry is happy to film popular fairy tales and novels among children. A striking example of this is the series of books about Harry Potter, written by Joan Rowling.
But this coin has two sides. Just as a successful book encourages a director to create a motion picture, an interesting film can be used to develop a child’s interest in books. Modern children's literature is perfect for this.
It is far from a secret that in our time, children do not particularly favor books. And even in the fact that they independently read any work in the presence of an adaptation, they do not see the point at all. How to interest them?
Firstly, it is worth noting that not everything that is described in the book gets on the screen. And often behind the scenes are very entertaining episodes, and sometimes full storylines.
Secondly, you can play on the desire to find out how it all ends. With Harry Potter, of course, this will not pass. But, for example, of the seven parts of the Clown Lewis Chronicles series, only three are currently filmed.
And thirdly, help your child make sure that no multi-million dollar budget is able to create special effects that can compete with our own imagination.
Unobtrusive training
Children's fiction can serve as a powerful learning tool. Some authors have managed to create novels from which the reader derives more accurate knowledge in specific sciences than from the entire school course. And this is done quietly and with pleasure.
Such statements look quite natural if we recall the stories of Ernest Seton-Thompson, which describes 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 name, she talks about the very mundane adventures of a small group of teenagers and several adults in the vast Siberia.
The author of this book is clearly 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 freshly instructive there. So do not be surprised if, after reading this book, your child undertakes collecting stones.
To instill a love of mathematics, perhaps, will help Alexander Kazantsev’s novel “Sharper than the sword”. The action takes place at the time of the musketeers and is not without various intrigues and duels, but at the same time, the protagonist manages to witly wit out of some troubles with the help of mathematical formulas.
But the cycle about the adventures of the Polish guy Tomek, created by Alfred Shklyarsky, will give the young reader extensive knowledge on the geography of all continents. Perhaps Jules Verne’s candidacy will be the first to be recalled, but his novels are too full of dry facts that, frankly, you just want to skip reading. Alfred Shklyarsky managed to avoid this unpleasant aftertaste.
Why it is worth instilling in your child a love of reading
It may seem that it’s much easier to turn on your favorite cartoon to your baby than to cut out time for a joint reading in a tight daily schedule. And much less nerves will go away if you let the teenager play electronic games than try to convince him of the fascination of the book. However, the long-term benefits of reading will be one hundred times greater than all temporary inconveniences.
Firstly, even children's literature significantly replenishes the reader’s vocabulary. This, in turn, helps in communicating with different people and as a result adds confidence in oneself and one's strengths.
Secondly, it is well known that reading improves memory and develops thinking. In addition, those who read a lot write correctly even without memorizing numerous rules.
Thirdly, the need to follow the plot helps in the ability to better concentrate on the tasks set for oneself.
In addition, people who like to read are usually creative and witty.
Now think for a moment how this bouquet of positive factors will help your child in the process of learning at school. Practice shows that those who love to read get higher grades during training. 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 lessons with your child not just a momentary effect, but rather long-term and repeatedly paying off investments in his future.