The works of Chukovsky, known to a wide circle of readers, are, first of all, poems and rhymed tales for children. Not everyone knows that in addition to these creations, the writer has global works on his famous colleagues and other works. Having become acquainted with them, you can understand what kind of works by Chukovsky will become your favorite.
Origin
It is interesting that Korney Ivanovich Chukovsky is a literary pseudonym. A truly literary figure was called Nikolai Vasilyevich Korneychukov. He was born in St. Petersburg on March 19, 1882. His mother Ekaterina Osipovna - a peasant woman in the Poltava province, worked as a maid in the city of St. Petersburg. She was the illegitimate wife of Emanuel Solomonovich Levinson. The couple first had a daughter, Maria, and three years later their son Nikolai was born. But at that time unequal marriages were not welcomed, so in the end Levinson married a wealthy woman, and Ekaterina Osipovna and her children moved to Odessa.
Nikolai went to kindergarten, then to the gymnasium. But he could not finish it due to low social background.
Prose for adults
The writer's literary activity began in 1901, when his articles were published in Odessa News. Chukovsky studied English, so from the editors of this publication was sent to London. Returning to Odessa, he took a feasible part in the 1905 revolution.
In 1907, Chukovsky translated the works of Walt Whitman. He translated books into Russian and other English writers: Twain, Kipling, Wilde. These works of Chukovsky were very popular.
He wrote books about Akhmatova, Mayakovsky, Blok. Since 1917, Chukovsky has been working on a monograph on Nekrasov. This is a long work that was published only in 1952.
Poems of a children's poet
It will help to find out what are the works of Chukovsky for children, a list. These are short poems that kids learn in the early years of their lives and in primary school:
- "Glutton";
- "Piglet";
- "The elephant reads";
- "Hedgehogs are laughing";
- "Temper";
- "A sandwich";
- Fedotka;
- "Mumps";
- "Garden";
- "Turtle";
- "A song about poor boots";
- "Tadpoles";
- Bebek
- "Camel";
- "Joy";
- "Great-great-great-grandchildren";
- "Christmas tree";
- "Fly in the bathhouse";
- "A hen".
It will help to find out the small poetic works of Chukovsky for children in the list presented above. If the reader wants to get acquainted with the name, years of writing and a summary of the tales of a literary figure, then the list is below.
Chukovsky’s works for children - “Crocodile”, Cockroach ”,“ Moidodyr ”
In 1916, Korney Ivanovich wrote the fairy tale "Crocodile", this poem was met ambiguously. So, the wife of V. Lenin N. Krupskaya criticized this work. Literary critic and writer Yuri Tynyanov, on the contrary, said that finally, children's poetry has opened. N. Btsky, having written a note in the Siberian pedagogical journal, noted in it that the children enthusiastically accept the Crocodile. They constantly applaud these lines, listen with great enthusiasm. One can see how sorry they are to part with this book and its heroes.
Chukovsky’s works for children are, of course, also the “Cockroach”. The tale was written by the author in 1921. At the same time, Korney Ivanovich came up with Moidodyr. As he himself said, he composed these tales in just 2-3 days, but he had nowhere to print them. Then he proposed to establish a periodical for children and call it “Rainbow”. There, these two famous works of Chukovsky were published.
Miracle Tree
In 1924, Korney Ivanovich wrote The Miracle Tree. At that time, many lived in poverty, the desire to dress beautifully was only a dream. Chukovsky embodied them in his work. Not leaves, not flowers, but shoes, boots, shoes, stockings grow on a wonderful tree. In those days, children still did not have tights, so they wore cotton stockings, which were mounted on special pendants.
In this poem, as in some others, the writer speaks of Murochka. It was his beloved daughter, she died at the age of 11, having contracted tuberculosis. In this poem, he writes that little blue knitted shoes with pompons were ripped off for Murochka, he describes what it was for the children who their parents took from the tree.
Now there really is such a tree. But they do not tear objects from it, but hang it. It is decorated by the efforts of fans of the work of the beloved writer and is located near his house-museum. In memory of the tale of the famous writer, the tree is decorated with various items of clothing, shoes, ribbons.
“Fly-clatter” - a fairy tale created by the writer, rejoicing and dancing
The year 1924 was marked by the creation of the Tsokotuhi Flies. In his memoirs, the author shares interesting moments that occurred during the writing of this masterpiece. On a clear, hot day on August 29, 1923, Chukovsky embraced immense joy; he felt with all his heart how wonderful the world was and how good it was to live in it. Lines began to be born by themselves. He took a pencil, a piece of paper and quickly began to sketch lines.
When writing the fly’s wedding, the author felt like a fiance at this event. Once he tried to describe this fragment, but could not draw more than two lines. That day came inspiration. When he could not find more paper, he simply tore off a piece of wallpaper in the corridor and quickly wrote on it. When the author began to tell in verses about the wedding dance of the fly, he began to write and dance at the same time. Korney Ivanovich says that if someone saw a 42-year-old man who wears a shamanic dance, shouts out words, immediately writes down on a dusty strip of wallpaper, he would suspect something was amiss. With the same ease, he completed the work. As soon as it was finished, the poet turned into a tired and hungry man who had recently arrived in the city from his summer house.
Other works of the poet for a young audience
Chukovsky says that when creating for children, it is necessary to at least for some time turn into these little people to whom the lines are addressed. Then comes a passionate uplift and inspiration.
In the same way, other works by Korney Chukovsky were created - “Confusion” (1926) and “Barmaley” (1926). At these moments, the poet experienced a "heartbeat of childish joy" and with pleasure wrote down rhymed lines that quickly appeared in his head on paper.
Other works did not come to Chukovsky so easily. As he himself admitted, they arose precisely at the moments of the return of his subconscious to childhood, but were created as a result of hard and long work.
Thus he wrote “Fedorino Gore” (1926), “Telephone” (1926). The first tale teaches children neatness, shows what laziness and unwillingness to keep your house clean leads to. Excerpts from the “Phone” are easy to remember. Even a three-year-old baby can easily repeat them after their parents. Here are some useful and interesting works by Chukovsky, the list can be continued with fairy tales “The Stolen Sun”, “Aibolit” and other works of the author.
“The Stolen Sun”, stories about Aibolit and other heroes
“The stolen sun” Korney Ivanovich wrote in 1927. The plot tells that the crocodile swallowed the sun and therefore everything around was plunged into darkness. Because of this, various incidents began to occur. The animals were afraid of the crocodile and did not know how to take the sun from him. For this, a bear was called, who showed miracles of fearlessness and, together with other animals, was able to return the sun to its place.
Aibolit, created by Korney Ivanovich in 1929, also talks about a brave hero - a doctor who was not afraid to go to Africa to help the animals. Less well-known are other children's works by Chukovsky, which were written in subsequent years - these are “English folk songs”, “Aibolit and Sparrow”, “Toptygin and the Fox”.
In 1942, Korney Ivanovich composed the fairy tale “Overcome Barmaley!”. With this work, the author ends his stories about the robber. In 1945–46, the author created The Adventure of Bibigon. The writer again glorifies the brave hero, he is not afraid to fight evil characters who are several times bigger than him.
The works of Korney Ivanovich Chukovsky teach children goodness, fearlessness, and accuracy. They glorify the friendship and kind heart of heroes.