Scientific and educational children's book. Scientific and educational story - what is it? Scientific and educational literature What is a scientific educational story

Maria Prigozhina

cognitivestories

Preface

Once upon a time there was a boy named Kirill. He loved to read. And not only fairy tales, but also scientific and educational books - about stars and planets, about animals and plants, about natural phenomena and much more. Friends asked him every now and then, and he always answered everyone, and not just like that, but with detailed explanations. “You’ll probably be a great scientist,” the guys said, having received an answer to their next question. - Why do you have to be a scientist? - Kiryusha was surprised. “I’m just interested in learning about everything.” Everyone should be able to understand the things that surround us. Not only boys and girls came to Kirill with their questions about nature, about space, about the current and past inhabitants of the earth, but these inhabitants themselves sometimes dropped in and also asked about something. And then they told each other about those meetings. Although how could they ask and retell? After all, animals can’t talk! But if they could, they would definitely ask. Perhaps that’s why Kiryusha embellished some of the stories a little, just to make it more interesting. This is how educational stories appeared.

Story1. Why is a spider not an insect?

Story 2. chocolate tree

A little boy Sasha, who lived in the next apartment, came to visit Kiryusha. He loved all kinds of sweets, especially chocolates, and his mother hid them from him so that he wouldn’t overeat and get sick with some strange, terrible disease called “Allergy”. Sasha was worried about this and, no matter what they talked about, he always remembered chocolates. “If it weren’t for Al-ler-gia,” he lamented, “I could have chewed chocolates all day long!” And why did they make them both tasty and harmful at the same time? “Ask the chocolate tree about that,” Kiryusha grinned. - Ha-ha-ha! - Sasha burst out laughing. - Chocolate! Is it made of chocolate? Also tell me, you can cut off pieces of bark from it, eat it and drink tea. If I listen to you, there is a candy tree! “Yes,” confirmed Kiryusha. - The candies that grow on it taste like raisins. And the chocolate tree, of course, is not made of chocolate, but chocolates are made from its seeds. Add sugar, milk, nuts, raisins, etc. You can add a lot of things, but the main thing in any chocolate is the seeds of the chocolate tree, cocoa beans. There is also a strawberry tree, and berries grow on it that are very similar to strawberries. Little Sasha went home with his mouth open - probably he was afraid to forget about the fabulous chocolate tree. He then dreamed about it at night and very politely apologized for his Allergy.

Story 3. For whatdrink kefir in the evening

One boy named Slavik did not like kefir. And every time in the evening when his mother poured him a full cup of this sour drink, Slavik winced, became capricious and demanded candy. “Before bed, just kefir,” my mother said, and she didn’t take out the candy. -- But why? - asked Slavik. - Why should the very last food in the evening be kefir? “I don’t know,” my mother admitted. - Ask someone else. Once Slavik came to see Kiryusha and saw that he had a lot of interesting things and books. “You read so much,” said Slavik. - Maybe you know why they drink kefir in the evening without sweets? “Of course, I know,” answered Kiryusha, “it’s written about in books.” Kefir is good because beneficial microbes live in it. They are very weak and do not take root well in the intestines, where they should live and work and help us digest food. But bad, harmful microbes have plenty of freedom there! That’s why they drink kefir before bed, so that weak beneficial microbes can somehow take root overnight and push out the harmful ones. “I see,” Slavik said and sighed. - That is, it’s completely unclear. And why do these beneficial microbes live in kefir and not in sweets? If I were them, I would choose candy.

Story 4. So different ohblac!

One day a little pig named Zucchini was tumbling in the sand and suddenly saw clouds. He had never looked at the sky before and did not know that there were clouds there, and even so different - white, gray, curly, plump and all sorts of others. And the little pig decided to ask the mole where the clouds come from. He is so dignified and thoughtful in appearance, which means he must know a lot of things. But the mole had never seen any clouds in his life for the simple reason that he endlessly rummaged underground, where there was no need to see at all. However, he did not want to admit ignorance, and, sticking his nose out of the hole, he muttered displeasedly: “Clouds, clouds... Some have nothing to do!” I build underground tunnels and get food. I have no time for clouds! Then Zucchini asked his question to the rooster, who often flew up onto a high fence and sat there for a long time. He must have known about the clouds to climb so high. No wonder his feathers look like cirrus clouds! The rooster did not want to admit that the clouds were as far from him as they were from the piglet, and he thought about feathers only when he plucked them after another fight, and therefore arrogantly declared: “I have no time to stare at the heavens in vain, to look for clouds.” I just watch the sun so I can crow on time. And then the piglet went to Kiryusha. Kirill Kabachka listened and told him everything he knew about clouds. And that they consist of water vapor, that is, of tiny droplets of water, and when it’s cold, of ice crystals, and that clouds are different at different altitudes, and even about the rarest and most unknown mother-of-pearl and silver clouds, which are very high they climb into the sky. You can’t see those extraordinary clouds during the day; the sun’s rays obscure them. They are visible either early in the morning or late in the evening, when the sun illuminates them from over the horizon. As soon as the rays of light break through and shine a little lower, the unusual clouds seem to disappear. “All clouds are extraordinary and each one is uniquely beautiful,” the boy explained to the pig, not noticing how confused he was, “but what they look like and what falls out of them depends on what is in the cloud.” And there can be only water vapor, only ice, or both together. If water droplets or ice crystals in clouds become too large, they become heavy and fall to the ground. And then we have rain, snow or hail. For example, cirrus clouds, so named for their external resemblance to rooster feathers, consist only of ice crystals. And the hail... Kiryusha spoke for so long, explaining in such detail that the piglet was completely confused and asked: “Come on, I’ll come to you again, then you’ll tell me about the hail.” “Perhaps you’re right,” Kirill agreed. - About the hail next time. Come, I'm always happy to help.

Story 5. hail

The zucchini came, as promised, next time. But that next time did not come soon, but only when a large hailstone reminded of itself. She did it rather unceremoniously - she simply fell on the piglet's back. Behind her, and another, and a third, and a fourth... The poor fellow barely reached the saving barn in which he lived, and immediately promised himself that he would certainly deal with the unscrupulous precipitation that took advantage of his tender back, like drumsticks with a drum. That same evening, a pig, wet and angry, came to Kirill and shouted from the threshold: “Hail is the most terrible thing that falls from the clouds!” Just stone rain some! “Well, not stone,” the boy corrected, “but ice.” But sometimes hailstones grow to significant sizes. Then, of course, it is unpleasant to be in their way. “It’s not me, but they were on my way,” muttered the piglet. - And why do such huge pieces of ice continue to cling to the cloud and not fall to the ground while they are small? I could have tolerated the little ones somehow. And in general, I don’t like your vaunted clouds! “You shouldn’t be offended by them,” Kirill smiled. - They bring us a lot of benefit. Water, for example, is supplied and the sun's rays are regulated. And what helps prevent hailstones from falling is the wind or, scientifically, vertical air currents, which, by the way, also hold birds and allow them to soar for a long time at high altitudes without flapping their wings. “I thought the wind only blows sideways, but that means it can also blow upwards?” “And up, and down, and even in a spiral,” Kiryusha grinned. “Then it’s called a cyclone.” But come on, about him some other time next time, but for now, listen further about the hail. A cloud for small pieces of ice is like your barn, your home, they are in no hurry to leave it, they “feed” on cold drops of water and grow fat, overgrown with ice scales. And the time comes when there are too many hailstones in the cloud. It’s cramped for them, the fat ones bump into each other, and then it snows, but if they suddenly collide with drops of water, it will turn out to be hail. And the thick ice floes jump out, no wind can stop them, and they fall to the ground and beat the unwary Zucchini. “Yes,” the piglet thought. - I wish I knew their schedule. “Also about weather forecasting next time,” the boy laughed.

Story 6. Origin of people

Two friends once learned about biological evolution, namely, that all living things are constantly changing and developing, and from simple creatures more complex ones arise. And the guys argued about how people appeared on earth. One said that they appeared here directly as a result of this most wonderful evolution, and the second claimed that they flew from outer space. “I’ll resolve your dispute very simply,” said Kiryusha. - And who is right? - the guys asked in unison. - Both of you are right! - How is this possible? It can not be! - But it can! Because there is evolution, and we are from space. All living things come from space, or rather, from the stars. The fact is that stars form --complex-- compound particles, from which living beings are then formed, almost like cubes. Stars are also not immortal, and from time to time one of them explodes, and then those amazing particles scatter throughout the Universe, but they do not find suitable conditions everywhere. On our planet, once upon a time, a very, very long time ago, such conditions existed, and so, first primitive ones appeared, and then, as a result of evolution, more complex living creatures.

Story 7. How cancer surrendered to tweezers

In the summer, Kiryusha brought a red swamp crayfish from the school living corner. Mom bought an aquarium and a water filter and made two grottoes from plastic packaging. It turned out, if not a swamp, then almost a real coastal area. Cancer, who lived in a basin at school, should have liked it. He probably liked it because he behaved appropriately, as an arthropod representative of aquatic fauna should behave in natural conditions - he pretended to have died long ago, even probably rotten, and for this reason was of no interest to the surrounding predators, who All they did was endlessly rush around, shouting, knocking and scattering the remains of tasty prey. The cancer very skillfully took advantage of the sluggishness of its enemies, picking up tidbits while the screamers ran away to hunt in other places. And at night he studied the hospitable dwelling, rested near the filter, which he had noticed from the first day, rearranged the grottoes and checked if there was anything edible left. Unfortunately, there was never anything left, but in the morning the food appeared again, so there was no reason to be upset. One day, the electrical outlet to which the filter was connected failed. It turned out she was too overloaded. Dad determined the reason in the evening, and until that time the water in the aquarium had not been purified and soon began to resemble the not very pleasant slurry in which the cancer lived in the school basin. Therefore, when the filter started working, the owner of the “coastal” rushed towards it with all his might and, apparently, decided not to let the more useful item out of sight. However, the opposite later turned out to be true. Cancer mistook the cleaning device for a competitor who had taken over the best corner of the aquarium, and as soon as mom pulled out the filter to wash it, he immediately took the elite place. Mom tried to pull her pet away in a proven way - using plastic tweezers. It worked before... And now the cancer regularly grabbed it with its claws, but as soon as the terrible two-horned monster attacking it began to drag its prey (well, of course, to devour it or, at best, drive it away and take possession of the wonderful place!), it immediately let go of the tweezers . Then mom simply moved the stubborn guy to the side and installed the filter. And I was surprised to discover that the cancer had turned over on its back and raised its claws upward. - He gave up! - Dad exclaimed. And everyone agreed with him. Only one cancer, probably, did not understand anything. After all, he was not kicked out and eaten, but left to live in a beautiful coastal area with such terrible, but absolutely harmless predators!

Although L.N. Tolstoy is known throughout the world as a master of monumental prose; among the writer’s creative heritage there are many small works. A separate category consists of stories for children, including pupils of the Yasnaya Polyana school.

Works of Tolstoy for children

Among Tolstoy's works for children, several main genres can be distinguished. The first of them is fairy tales. Most of the fairy tales are processed folk stories (such as “The Three Bears”), which were included in Tolstoy’s famous “ABC”.

Another genre loved by Tolstoy is the story. In such works, he describes events that happened in reality, but artistically processes them. The famous “Filipok” and “The Lion and the Dog” belong to this type.

Created by writer a large number of realistic stories, the heroes of which are often children themselves. These include the works “Fire”, “Girl and Mushrooms”, etc.

Finally, the last genre in which Tolstoy created stories for children was scientific educational stories. Let's talk about it in more detail.

Scientific and educational stories by Tolstoy

Among the most famous scientific and educational works of Tolstoy for children are the stories:

"Hares".
"What kind of dew happens on the grass."
"About Ants"
"How wolves teach their children."
“Why can you see in the dark?”
"Apple trees."
"How trees walk."

Already from the titles of the works it is clear that most of them are devoted to the description natural phenomena. Tolstoy talks in detail about the habits of animals, various plants, etc. At the same time, the presentation style is quite laconic, but succinct. This helps children better perceive the material and learn the most important points regarding a particular topic.

Tolstoy's scientific and educational stories are an excellent example of how a work of art can be combined with an educational function. Children remember well a vivid image, and after it the main facts that relate to the scientific characteristics of the subject of the story.

Scientific and educational story - what is it? Popularization of scientific knowledge about the world around us is a necessary link in the education system. It makes it possible to convey complex information about the content of various branches of science (natural and humanities) in an accessible form, literary language. Popular science literature includes biographies of historical figures, scientists and cultural figures, and travel narratives, stories about nature and physical phenomena, and historical events.

Optimal genre

More specifically, in relation to children's consciousness, who is just beginning to master the variety of phenomena and objects known by man, then for the development of needs, scientific and educational literature is necessary first of all. It can be represented by various genre formations. The simplest and most appropriate for children's perception is a story. Compact in volume, it allows you to focus on any one topic, on homogeneous phenomena, choosing the most characteristic ones.

Artistic or informative?

A story as a genre presupposes narration, plot, and a sequential presentation of facts or events. The story should be of interest, contain intrigue, an unexpected, vivid image.

What is a scientific educational story, and how does it differ from a fiction story? The latter does not have as its goal the transmission of any accurate information about the surrounding world, although it cannot but be present there. An artistic story creates, first of all, an artistic image of the world, based on both knowledge and fiction.

The writer uses the factual material known to him not in order to introduce someone to it and expand knowledge about the subject, but in order, firstly, to create a convincing image (to draw in words), and secondly, to express his attitude to the depicted realities: your feelings, thoughts - and infect the reader with them. That is, to express your creative potential.

To what category can M. Prishvin’s prose miniatures about nature be classified? “Gadnuts” - an artistic or scientific-educational story? Or his “High Melts”, “Talking Rook”?

On the one hand, the author absolutely reliably describes in detail the appearance and habits of the birds. On the other hand, he composes a dialogue that the chickadees supposedly conduct among themselves, and makes it very clear what surprise and admiration these birds evoke in him. He speaks in the same spirit in other stories. Of course, these are artistic stories, especially since in general they form a broad mosaic picture, which allows us to evaluate them in the categories of artistic natural philosophy. But you can’t deny them educational value either.

Fiction and educational literature

A number of specialists in literary criticism and teaching literature at school introduce such a concept as artistic and educational literature. Of course, the stories of M. Prishvin, as well as those of V. Bianchi and N. Sladkov, fully fit into this concept and correspond to it.

This example clearly shows that the concept of “scientific educational story” can hardly have a precisely defined and limited framework. Strictly speaking, we must admit that its functions serve primarily educational purposes. What matters is not only the content - certain information necessary for assimilation, but also how it is organized, how it is communicated to the reader.

What is a scientific educational story? Its functions

A scientific educational work reveals its theme from a historical perspective, in development and in logical interconnectedness. Thus, it contributes to the formation logical thinking, helps to understand the cause-and-effect relationship between phenomena. A clever story can facilitate the transition from objective thinking to operating with abstract concepts.

It is intended to introduce into the mental life of a child (or teenager) an idea of the special terminology used in a particular branch of knowledge. Moreover, this should happen in stages: from disclosing the content of strict scientific concept to more complex texts using certain terminology.

A scientific educational story stimulates the student to master special reference literature, helps him learn to use encyclopedias, dictionaries, and reference books on various fields of knowledge. It helps create a clear understanding of the system reference manuals, clearly revealing the terminology or essence of the subject of interest.

Educational literature and education

Expanding the volume of knowledge, the information base of the emerging personality and at the same time cultivating intellectual activity, stimulating mental growth - this is what a scientific educational story is. A skillfully and talentedly composed text of a story necessarily touches on the emotional sphere. Only a machine can operate with “pure”, “naked” knowledge.

Assimilation of the material occurs much more successfully against the background of interest. A scientific educational story should evoke a desire to read something new and create a desire for knowledge. Therefore, a personal attitude, a personal author’s intonation - and this is a trait fiction- are still a necessary component of such a work.

The inevitability of artistic bias

Here we will have to return to the comparison of fiction and scientific literature. Its elements, illustrativeness, descriptiveness, the creation of a verbal picture and, above all, the presence of an emotional aura and individual intonation give the work an educational function. They awaken curiosity in the little reader and help them decide value attitude to the world around us, with value orientations.

Therefore, artistic and educational literature is indispensable for perception at early school age. Between these two types educational literature there is no impassable abyss. Artistic and educational stories correspond to the very first step educational process, it precedes the reading of scientific educational stories.

Scientific educational story (definition)

So what is it? A scientific educational story is a type of teaching aid introduced into the educational process since the mid-70s as extracurricular reading. At the same time, a methodology for using this literature was developed, methods for assimilating and memorizing it, and ways to motivate reading were developed. Its functions are defined: cognitive, communicative, aesthetic.

The authors of such works, for their part, use various techniques, facilitating understanding and memorization of the presented information. The narrative is constructed in the form of questions and answers, in the form of a dialogue with the reader. The author, narrating in the first person, acts as a mentor, friend, advisor. A scientific educational story is also a guide to performing various experiments and experiments; it includes their description and instructions.

Know yourself

Man as an object of knowledge, as a biological and social phenomenon, as well as natural history, social history - all this is also a subject of study. A scientific educational story about a person can be devoted to an endless variety of topics.

The primary need for the younger generation is to become imbued with the norms of public morality created by generations of people, on which human solidarity rests. It is precisely this kind of material that is provided, for example, by stories about great people of the past, people's leaders, political figures, geniuses of science and culture - all those who created human civilization.

Scientific and educational story - what is it? Popularization of scientific knowledge about the world around us is a necessary link in the education system. It makes it possible to convey complex information about the content of various branches of science (natural and humanities) in an accessible form, in literary language. Popular science literature includes biographies of historical figures, scientists and cultural figures, and travel narratives, stories about nature and physical phenomena, and historical events.

Optimal genre

More specifically, in relation to children's consciousness, which is just beginning to master the variety of phenomena and objects known by man, then for the development of needs, scientific and educational literature is necessary first of all. It can be represented by various genre formations. The simplest and most appropriate for children's perception is a story. Compact in volume, it allows you to focus on any one topic, on homogeneous phenomena, choosing the most characteristic ones.

Artistic or informative?

A story as a genre presupposes narration, plot, and a sequential presentation of facts or events. The story should be of interest, contain intrigue, an unexpected, vivid image.

What is a scientific educational story, and how does it differ from a fiction story? The latter does not have as its goal the transmission of any accurate information about the surrounding world, although it cannot but be present there. A fictional story creates, first of all, a world based on both knowledge and fiction.

To what category can M. Prishvin’s prose miniatures about nature be classified? “Gadnuts” - an artistic or scientific-educational story? Or his “High Melts”, “Talking Rook”?

On the one hand, the author absolutely reliably describes in detail the appearance and habits of the birds. On the other hand, he composes a dialogue that the chickadees supposedly conduct among themselves, and makes it very clear what surprise and admiration these birds evoke in him. He speaks in the same spirit in other stories. Of course, these are artistic stories, especially since in general they form a broad framework that allows us to evaluate them in the categories of artistic natural philosophy. But you can’t deny them educational value either.

Fiction and educational literature

What is a scientific educational story? Its functions

A scientific educational work reveals its theme from a historical perspective, in development and in logical interconnectedness. Thus, it contributes to the development of logical thinking and helps to understand the cause-and-effect relationship between phenomena. A clever story can facilitate the transition from objective thinking to operating with abstract concepts.

It is intended to introduce into the mental life of a child (or teenager) an idea of the special terminology used in a particular branch of knowledge. Moreover, this should happen in stages: from revealing the content of a strict scientific concept to more complex texts that use certain terminology.

A scientific educational story stimulates the student to master special reference literature, helps him learn to use encyclopedias, dictionaries, and reference books on various fields of knowledge. It helps create a clear understanding of the system of reference guides that clearly reveal the terminology or essence of the subject of interest.

and education

Assimilation of the material occurs much more successfully against the background of interest. A scientific educational story should evoke a desire to read something new and create a desire for knowledge. Therefore, a personal attitude, the author’s personal intonation - and this is a feature of fiction - are still a necessary component of such a work.

The inevitability of artistic bias

Here we will have to return to the comparison of fiction and scientific literature. Its elements, illustrativeness, descriptiveness, the creation of a verbal picture and, above all, the presence of an emotional aura and individual intonation give the work an educational function. They awaken curiosity in the little reader, help determine their value attitude towards the world around them, and their value orientations.

Therefore, artistic and educational literature is indispensable for perception at early school age. There is no impassable gap between these two types of educational literature. Artistic and educational stories correspond to the very first step of the educational process; it precedes the reading of scientific and educational stories.

Scientific educational story (definition)

So what is it? A scientific educational story is a type of teaching aid introduced into the educational process in the mid-70s, as at the same time a methodology for using this literature was developed, methods for its assimilation and memorization, and ways to motivate reading were developed. Its functions are defined: cognitive, communicative, aesthetic.

The authors of such works, for their part, use various techniques to facilitate understanding and memorization of the information presented. The narrative is constructed in the form of questions and answers, in the form of a dialogue with the reader. The author, narrating in the first person, acts as a mentor, friend, advisor. A scientific educational story is also a guide to performing various experiments and experiments; it includes their description and instructions.

Know yourself

Man as an object of knowledge, as a biological and social phenomenon, as well as society - all this is also a subject of study. A scientific educational story about a person can be devoted to an endless variety of topics.

The majority of children's literature consists of fiction and poetry. However, the scientific and technological revolution in society ensured the development of the corresponding type of literature. Meaning scientific and educational children's book has increased significantly in modern society.

The description and classification of this branch of literature was carried out by N.M. Druzhinina. The purpose of a scientific and educational children's book, she believes, is to cultivate the mental activity of the reader and introduce him to the great world of science. Two types of scientific and educational books help achieve this goal: a scientific-fiction book and a popular science book. Let's compare them by ways of achieving the goal.

Science fiction book develops a child's creative curiosity using an arsenal artistic means: teaches to compare events, analyze them, draw conclusions independently, depicting the general in the particular, typical in the individual, showing the process of researching a problem, comprehending individual cognitive elements of a scientific topic. A specific form of generalization in scientific and artistic literature is an image used in a fascinating plot narration, in an artistic essay, story, or fairy tale. Such genres are designed by the illustrator, emphasizing the educational idea of the work in the pictures accompanying the texts. Types of books by structure: book-work and books-collections.

Popular science book communicates available knowledge to children as fully as possible, showing the general in general, the typical in the typical, based on the final results of the study of the world, revealing a certain system of knowledge in scientific topic. A specific form of knowledge transfer is information using names, concepts and terms, which is contained in articles, documentary essays and stories. Such genres are decorated with photo illustrations, documentary materials, and drawings for them are made by artists who are specialists in a certain field of scientific knowledge. Popular scientific works are published in reference books, encyclopedias, industry dictionaries, in special series “Whychkin’s Books”, “Know and Be Able”, “Behind the Pages of Your Textbook”, etc. Popular scientific publications are supplemented with bibliographic lists, diagrams, tables, maps, comments, and notes.

How to use both types of publications of scientific and educational books? The ways of reading such literature must correspond to the specificity and nature of the work. A scientific and artistic book requires a holistic emotional perception, the identification of cognitive material in the artistic outline of the work, in the author’s intention. Books of reference type are read selectively, in small “portions” of text, they are consulted as needed, with learning goal, they are repeatedly returned to and memorized (recorded) the main material.

Examples of scientific and fiction books: V.V. Bianki – “Stories and Tales”, M.M. Prishvin - “In the Land of Grandfather Mazai”, G. Skrebitsky - “Four Artists”, B.S. Zhitkov - “About an Elephant”, “About a Monkey”, Yu.D. Dmitriev - “Who lives in the forest and what grows in the forest”, E.I. Charushin - “Big and Small”, N.V. Durova - “Corner named after Durov”, E. Shim - “City on a Birch”, N. Sladkov - “Dancing Fox”, M. Gumilevskaya - “How the World is Discovered”, L. Obukhova - “The Tale of Yuri Gagarin”, C .P. Alekseev - “The Unprecedented Happens”, etc.

Examples of popular science books: “Children's Encyclopedia” in 10 volumes, “What is it? Who it? A Companion for the Curious” for younger schoolchildren, M. Ilyin, E. Segal – “Stories about what surrounds you”, A. Markush – “ABV” (about technology); E. Kameneva - “What color is the rainbow” - dictionary fine arts; A. Mityaev - “The Book of Future Commanders”, V.V. Bianchi – “ Forest newspaper»; N. Sladkov - “White Tigers”, G. Yurmin - “From A to Z in the Country of Sports”, “All works are good - choose according to your taste”; A. Dorokhov “About You”, S. Mogilevskaya - “Girls, a book for you”, I. Akimushkin - “These are all dogs”, Y. Yakovlev - “The Law of Your Life” (about the Constitution); encyclopedic Dictionary young philologist, literary critic, mathematician, musician, technician, etc.

The purpose of scientific and artistic literature is to educate such human qualities as curiosity, cognitive interest, activation of thinking, formation of consciousness and materialistic worldview. Popular science literature promotes knowledge about nature, society, man and his activities, machines and things, broadens a child’s horizons, and complements the information about the world around him that he received at school and others. educational institutions. The artistic component sometimes captivates the young reader so much that he does not master the knowledge contained in the text. Therefore, the perception of scientific and artistic literature is more difficult for a child, but more interesting. The perception of a popular science book is easier, but emotionally poorer. Authors who popularize knowledge strive to include elements of entertainment in their texts.

Compare the scientific and artistic story “The Hedgehog” by M. Prishvin and the article about the hedgehog from the book “What is it? Who it?" Despite the obvious generality of the topic, the volume of information about the hero is significantly richer in the encyclopedia: information about the external appearance of the animal, habitat, habits, nutrition, benefits for the forest, etc. is given. A clear logical definition of the type of animal is given, the language of presentation of material about the hedgehog, as befits a scientific article - concise, strict style, correct, bookish, terminological vocabulary. Construction of the article: thesis – justification – conclusions. In Prishvin’s work, the story about the hedgehog is narrated by the narrator, who conveys his interested attitude to the forest animal. The narrator arranges such an atmosphere in his home so that the hedgehog seems to be in nature: a candle is the moon, feet in boots are tree trunks, water overflowing from a dish is a stream, a plate of water is a lake, a rustling newspaper is dry foliage. For a person, a hedgehog is an individual creature, a “prickly lump”, a small forest pig, at first frightened, and then brave. Recognition of the habits of a hedgehog is scattered throughout the plot: there is a beginning, a development of actions, a climax (the hedgehog is already making a nest in the house) and a denouement. The behavior of the hedgehog is humanized, the reader learns how these animals behave in different situations, what they eat and what “character” they have. The collective “portrait” of the animal is written in an expressive artistic language, in which there is a place for personifications, comparisons, epithets, metaphors: for example, the snort of a hedgehog is compared with the sounds of a car. The text contains direct speech, inversions and ellipses, giving the sentences a fabulous intonation of oral conversation.

Thus, the article enriches the child’s knowledge with information about forest animals and calls for observations in nature, and the story creates the image of a curious and active animal, gives rise to love and interest in “our smaller brothers.”

The master of scientific and educational children's books was Boris Stepanovich Zhitkov(1882-1938). About Zhitkov’s work, K. Fedin said: “You enter his books like a student entering a workshop.” Zhitkov came to literature as an experienced man, at the age of 42; before that there was a period of accumulation of life experience. As a child, Boris Stepanovich Zhitkov was a unique personality, which K.I. recalls with pleasure. Chukovsky, who studied with Zhitkov in the same class of the 2nd Odessa gymnasium. Chukovsky wanted to make friends with an excellent student Zhitkov, since Boris lived in the port, right above the sea, among ships, all his uncles were admirals, he played the violin, which was carried to him by a trained dog, he had a boat, a telescope on three legs, cast iron balls for gymnastics, he swam beautifully, rowed, collected herbarium, knew how to tie knots like a sailor (you can’t untie them!), predict the weather, he knew how to speak French, etc. and so on. The man had talents, knew a lot and was able to do. Zhitkov graduated from two faculties: natural mathematics and shipbuilding, he tried many professions, and as a long-distance navigator, he saw half the world the globe. He taught, studied ichthyology, he invented instruments, he was a “jack of all trades”, this boy from an intelligent family (father is a mathematics teacher, author of textbooks, mother is a pianist). In addition, Zhitkov loved literature since childhood and was an excellent storyteller. He wrote such letters to his relatives that they were read as fiction. In one of his letters to his nephew, Zhitkov essentially formulated the motto of a full-fledged school life: “It’s impossible for learning to be difficult. It is necessary for learning to be joyful, reverent and victorious" (1924).

“Is it surprising that such a person ultimately takes up the pen and, having picked it up, immediately creates books unparalleled in world literature,” wrote V. Bianchi. For Zhitkov, his entire previous life became material for creativity. His favorite heroes are people who know how to work well, professionals, masters. About such cycles of his stories " Sea stories", "ABOUT brave people". Let us remember his short stories about the beauty of people’s professional behavior: “Red Commander”, “Flood”, “Collapse”. An extreme situation is being created, from which only people of high responsibility and knowledge find the right way out. The girl choked on a fish bone (“Collapse”), the doctor rushes to the rescue, road builders help him overcome the path: they cleared the collapse of stones with a hydraulic ram pump. Help arrived in time.

Zhitkov, when choosing a situation for a story, hopes to immediately capture the reader in emotional captivity, to provide such an incident from life in which there is both a moral and practical lesson. You need to know what to do when there is an accident, when people are carried away on an ice floe into the sea, when the engine fails, when you are caught in a field in a snowstorm, when you are bitten by a snake, etc.

Zhitkov shows the production processes of printing - “About this book”, transmitting telegrams by wire - “Telegram”, features of the sailor service - “Steamboat”. At the same time, he not only reveals the content of the topic, but also chooses a masterful method of presenting it. A fascinating story about deck cleaning ("Steamboat") ends unexpectedly with a story about a tragic accident that occurred from excessive cleaning. The narrative includes messages about ship mechanisms, the propeller, the anchor, the port service...

The story “About This Book” reproduces the procedure for handling a book in a printing house: it starts with a facsimile (exact copy) of the book’s manuscript, shows its typesetting, layout, correction, printing, binding, revision... Zhitkov came up with the idea of talking about each stage of creating a book like this: what if this operation were skipped, what funny nonsense would result.

Compositional discoveries also characterize the story about the operation of the electric telegraph: this is a chain of sequential discoveries. In a communal apartment, one tenant needs to call 2 times, and another - 4 times. So a simple call can become a directed signal. Or you can arrange it so that whole words can be conveyed by calls. Such an alphabet has already been invented - Morse. But just imagine: they transmit using Morse code, dots and dashes, letters, words... By the time you listen to the end, you will forget the beginning. What should be done? Write down. So another stage has been passed. But a person may not have time to write everything down - a new difficulty. Engineers came up with the idea that a machine – a telegraph – would do this for a person. So, starting with a simple call, Zhitkov led the reader to the knowledge of a complex telegraph apparatus.

The writer, like a good teacher, in his work alternates between easy and difficult, funny and serious, distant and close, new knowledge is based on previous experience, techniques for memorizing material are suggested. It was especially important to do this in the encyclopedia for preschoolers “What did I see?” From the perspective of five-year-old Alyosha the Why, Zhitkov tells the story of how a little citizen gradually gets to know the world around him - his house and yard, city streets, going on trips, learns types of transport and rules of travel, while the writer compares something new with something already known , the narrative is permeated with humor, interesting observational details that emotionally color the text. For example, Alyosha and his uncle are traveling on a bus and meet troops on the way going on maneuvers: “And everyone began to repeat: the cavalry is coming. And these were just Red Army soldiers on horseback with sabers and guns.”

IN children's reading includes Zhitkov’s fairy tales and stories about animals “The Brave Duckling”, “About an Elephant”, “About a Monkey”, which are distinguished by a wealth of information and figurative accuracy. Zhitkov dedicated several stories to children: “Pudya”, “How I Caught Little Men”, “White House”, etc. Zhitkov is a real educator of children, giving knowledge with great respect for those who receive it.

Brother S.Ya. contributed to the development of scientific and educational books of the twentieth century. Marshak – M. Ilyin (Ilya Yakovlevich Marshak, 1895-1953), chemical engineer by first specialty. In the 20s, he had to part with the factory laboratory due to illness, and Ilyin successfully mastered a second profession - a fiction writer. His goal is to show children how man mastered the secrets of nature in order to improve his life and work. “What is the power and significance of the image in an educational book? The fact that it mobilizes the reader’s imagination to help the ability to reason... the image becomes absolutely necessary when science wants to become accessible to many,” Ilyin wrote in one of his articles (1945).

M. Ilyin looked for ways, including artistic ones, to show children the beauty of science, to make the achievements of technological progress visible, bright, to captivate children with discoveries, experiences and even experiments. The famous collection “Stories about Things” appeared in 1936; it was the history of the development of civilization in human society: “The sun on the table” - about lighting the home; "What time is it now?" - about the measurement of time; “In Black and White” - about writing; “One hundred thousand why?” - about things in the surrounding reality: about the house, clothes, dishes...

Ilyin begins his encyclopedia about things with riddle questions to evoke a feeling of surprise and then interest: What is warmer: three shirts or a triple-thick shirt? Are there walls made of thin air? Why is the bread pulp full of holes? Why can you skate on ice, but not on the floor? etc. Interspersing questions with answers, causing the work of the heart and mind, the writer travels with little friends-readers around the room, along the street, around the city, surprising and delighting them with the creations of human hands and minds.

In objects he reveals a figurative essence: “The main property of a spring is stubbornness”; “Washing clothes means erasing dirt from them, just as we erase what is written on paper with an eraser”; “People died, but the legends remained. That’s why we call them “legends” because they were passed on from one person to another.” Such comments force the reader to look and listen to the root meaning of words and develop attention to language. The statement “It is not the fur coat that warms the person, but the person that warms the fur coat” is the beginning, the impetus for the child’s thinking process: why is this so? Ilyin compares a person to a stove that produces heat, which a fur coat is designed to retain.

Together with his wife Elena Alexandrovna, Segal Ilyin compiled another encyclopedic book about complex world machines, technology, inventions - “Stories about what surrounds you” (1953), “How a man became a giant” (history of human labor and thought, history of philosophy for teenagers, 1946), “How a car learned to walk” - ( history of motor transport), “Journey to the Atom” (1948), “Transformation of the Planet” (1951), “Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin” (1953, about the scientist chemist and composer).

Showing the transformation of human life, Ilyin could not help but touch upon the role of the state and politics in this process (“The Story of the Great Plan” - about the five-year development plans of the Soviet state). The educational part of Ilyin’s books is not outdated, but everything related to journalism tends to lose relevance. Ilyin showed readers the poetry of knowledge, and this has lasting value in his work.

A classic of scientific and educational children's books is Vitaly Valentinovich Bianchi(1894-1959). “The whole huge world around me, above me and below me is full of unknown secrets. I will discover them all my life, because this is the most interesting, most exciting activity in the world,” wrote V.V. Bianchi. He admitted that he loved nature, like a wolf, and told a fairy tale about this wolf: “They once asked Soroka: “Soroka, Soroka, do you love nature?” “But of course,” the Magpie rumbled, “I can’t live without a forest: sun, space, freedom!” They asked the Wolf about the same thing. The Wolf grumbled: “How do I know whether I love nature or not, I didn’t guess or think about that.” Then the hunters caught Magpie and Wolf, put them in a cage, kept them there longer and asked: “Well, how is life, Magpie?” “Nothing,” the chirping girl replies, “you can live, they feed you.” They wanted to ask the Wolf about the same thing, but lo and behold, the Wolf died. The Wolf didn’t know if he loved nature, he simply couldn’t live without it...”

Bianchi was born into the family of a learned ornithologist; he received his biological education at home and then at St. Petersburg University.

Since 1924, Bianchi has written over two hundred works for children. different genres: stories, fairy tales, articles, essays, novellas, notes from a phenologist, composed quizzes and helpful tips how to behave in natural conditions. His most voluminous book, written together with his students, is the encyclopedia of the seasons “Forest Newspaper”, and in 1972-74 a collection of Bianchi’s works for children was published.

Bianchi is a natural history expert, naturalist and nature lover who, with scientific precision, conveys encyclopedic knowledge about life on earth to preschoolers and primary schoolchildren. He often does this in artistic form, using anthropomorphism (likening a person). He called the genre he developed the non-fairy tale. A fairy tale - because animals talk, quarrel, find out whose legs, whose nose and tail are better, who sings what, whose house is most convenient for living and so on. A fairy tale - because, while telling the story of how an ant hurried home, Bianchi manages to report on the methods of movement of various insects: a caterpillar releases a thread to descend from a tree; a beetle steps over plowed furrows in a field; The water strider does not drown because there are air cushions on its legs... Insects help the ant get home, since when the sun sets, the ant holes close for the night.

Each fairy tale, each story of Bianchi activates thinking and enlightens the child: does a bird’s tail serve for decoration? Do all birds sing and why? How can the life of owls affect the yield of clover? It turns out that you can refute the expression “a bear stepped on your ear” about a person who does not have an ear for music. The writer knows “The Bear is a Musician,” who plays a sliver of a stump like a string. It was just such a smart animal that the bear hunter (bear hunter) met in the forest. Clumsy-looking Toptygin is shown to be skillful and dexterous. Such images are remembered for a lifetime.

A naturalist storyteller teaches a child to observe and study natural phenomena. In the cycle “My Cunning Son,” the hero-boy, on a walk with his father, learns how to track a hare and see a black grouse. Bianchi is a master of portraits of animals: bittern, hoopoe, whirligig (“First Hunt”), quail and partridge (“Orange Neck”), a master of dialogue between animals (“The Fox and the Mouse,” “Teremok”), a master of depicting unusual situations: small the squirrel scared the big fox (“Mad Squirrel”); the bear extracts music from a tree stump (“Musician”).

Children's writer and animal artist Evgeny Ivanovich Charushin(1901-1965) depicts favorite characters - animal cubs: bear cubs, wolf cubs, puppies. Favorite story: the baby meets the world. Without resorting to the technique of anthropomorphism, the writer conveys the state of the hero in certain events of his life and does this good-naturedly, with humor Nikitka Charushinsky (now artist N.E. Charushin) and other boys (Petya and Shura in “A Scary Story”) also through the game and fears, gain life experience in communicating with big world. Charushin’s main collection is called “Big and Small”.

The famous saying “To protect nature means to protect the Motherland” belongs to Mikhail Mikhailovich Prishvin(1873-1954). The writer called his entry into literature at the age of 33 a happy accident. The profession of an agronomist helped him to know and feel the earth and everything that grows on it, to look for untrodden paths - unexplored places on the earth, to comprehend everyone who lives in nature. Prishvin reflected in his diaries: “Why do I always write about animals, flowers, forests, nature? Many people say that I limit my talent by turning off my attention to the person himself... I found a favorite pastime for myself: to look for and discover the beautiful sides of the human soul in nature. This is how I understand nature as a mirror of the human soul: only man gives his image and meaning to the beast, the bird, the grass, and the cloud.”

When creating images of nature, Prishvin does not humanize it, does not liken it to people’s lives, but personifies it, looking for something wonderful in it. A significant place in his works is occupied by descriptions made with the skill of a photographer. He carried his passion for photography throughout his life; the 6-volume collected works of Prishvin are illustrated with his photographs - as poetic and mysterious as the texts.

Prishvin's short works can be called prose poems or lyrical notes. In the book “Forest Drops,” a sketch of a picture from the life of a winter forest consists of one sentence: “I was able to hear a mouse gnawing a root under the snow.” In this miniature, a thoughtful reader will appreciate every word: “successful” - expresses the author’s joy at being entrusted with one of the secrets of nature; “hear” - there is such silence in the winter forest that it seems there is no life in it, but you have to listen: the forest is full of life; “a mouse under the snow” is a whole image of a secret life hidden from human eyes, the mouse’s home is a hole, the grain reserves have run out or the mouse has gone out for a walk, but it “gnaws the root” of a tree, feeds on frozen juices, life problems solves his problems under a thick snow cover.

As a traveler, Prishvin traveled around the lands of the Russian north: the book “In the Land of Unfrightened Birds”, containing ethnographic information, is about this; about Karelia and Norway - “Behind the Magic Kolobok”; The story “The Black Arab” is dedicated to the Asian steppes, Far East- the story “Ginseng”. But Prishvin lived in the heart of Russia, in the forests near Moscow, and Central Russian nature was dearest to him most of all - almost all the books about the “golden ring of Russia”: “Ship Thicket”, “Forest Drops”, “Calendar of Nature”, “Pantry of the Sun”...

The collection “Golden Meadow” (1948) brought together many of the writer’s children’s stories. The story "The Guys and the Ducklings" shows the eternal conflict between big and small; “Fox Bread” is about a walk in the forest to get the gifts of nature; The “hedgehog” came to visit a man; “Golden Meadow” is about dandelion flowers that grow in a meadow and live according to the sundial.

The fairy tale “The Pantry of the Sun” tells about Nastya and Mitrash, orphans of the war of the forties. Brother and sister live independently and with help good people. They don’t lack courage and courage, since they go to the terrible Bludovo swamp for cranberries, the main berry of those places. The beauty of the forest captivates children, but also tests them. A strong hunting dog, Travka, helps a boy in trouble.

All of Prishvin’s works convey a deep philosophical thought about the unity and kinship of man with nature.

Just as Gaidar came up with the noble game of Timurov’s men, so Yuri DmitrievichDmitriev(1926-1989) invented the game "Green Patrol". That was the name of the book he wrote, because some boys, when they come to the forest, destroy birds’ nests and do not know what to do with anything useful. I wanted to teach the children to protect nature, to protect it.

In the 60s, Dmitriev became a writer, and in the 80s he was awarded the International European Prize for his works about nature, “Neighbors on the Planet.” K. Paustovsky wrote about Dmitriev’s early stories: he has “Levitan’s vision, the accuracy of a scientist and the imagery of a poet.”

Library Series for Juniors school age marked “scientific and fiction” is represented by the voluminous book “Hello, Squirrel! How are you doing, crocodile? (favorites). Several cycles of stories and novellas are collected under one cover:

1) “Stories of the old forest man” (What is a forest); 2) “Tales about Mushonok and his friends”; 3) “Ordinary miracles”; 4) “A little story about Borovik, Fly Agaric and much more”; 5) “Mysterious night guest”; 7) “Hello, squirrel! How are you doing, crocodile? 8) “Cunning people, invisible people and different parents”; 8) “If you look around...”

The cycle that gives the book its title is subtitled “Stories of Animals Talking to Each Other.” Animals have their own language of movements, smells, whistling, knocking, screaming, dancing... The author talks about the expressiveness of the “conversation” of a wide variety of animals, small and large, harmless and predatory.

The cycle about cunning and invisible people is stories about how animals protect themselves by mimicking in nature, adapting to environment. “If you look around…” - a chapter about insects: dragonflies, butterflies, spiders. There are no beneficial and harmful insects, there are those that are necessary or harmful to humans, which is why he calls them that. The collective character Mishka Kryshkin appears, who catches and destroys everyone who is weaker than him. Young students learn to distinguish insects and treat them objectively.

Yu. Dmitriev in his books defends those who are easily offended in nature - ants, butterflies, worms, spiders, etc., talking about their benefits to the earth, grass, trees, and how they can be interesting to people.

Tireless travelers Yu. Dmitriev, N. Sladkov, S. Sakharnov, G. Snegirev, E. Shim considered themselves students of Bianchi and in the second half of the twentieth century created a wonderful natural history library for younger schoolchildren. Everyone went their own way. Sladkov, as a continuation of the “Forest Newspaper”, created the “Underwater Newspaper” about the life of the inhabitants of reservoirs; very actively uses for studying nature technical means scuba diving, a photo gun, that is, a device with a high-magnification lens, a tape recorder, etc., but also, as a teacher, he loves the genres of short stories and non-fairy tales, in which tropes, imagery, parables, figurative meanings of words are merged with the strict realism of the image.

The children's marine encyclopedia was compiled by S.V. Sakharnov, receiving several international awards for it. His stories about exotic animals are emotional and amazing. Books by G.Ya. Snegirev captivates readers with wonderful discoveries and knowledge of the laws of nature. Writers with academic degrees come to children's literature - G.K. Skrebitsky, V. Chaplin zoo worker; multilaterally educated - G. Yurmin, and specializing in favorite topics - A. Markusha, I. Akimushkin... And all together, the creators of a scientific and educational children's book about nature fulfill an environmental mission, instill in children an attentive and caring attitude towards the world around them.

One of the most complex scientific and artistic areas in children's literature is history book. Historical prose consists of works of the historical-biographical and homeland studies cycle. Special series “ZhZL”, “Little Historical Library”, “Legendary Heroes”, “Grandfather’s Medals”, etc. are published for children and youth.

Writers are interested in those events in the past of our Motherland that can be called turning points, the most important, and those fates of historical characters in which the traits of national character, features of patriotism. Taking into account the age needs of readers, writers give stories and tales an adventurous, adventurous character, and choose factual material that can have educational significance.

Historicism of thinking is inherent in many classic writers. Reading works on the topic of childhood, we learn a lot of important things about the era in which the hero lives, because the historical background and the private life of the character are always inextricably linked (V. Kataev, L. Kassil, etc.).

Often a story told for children is legendary. Writer CM. Golitsyn(1909-1989) introduces children to the past of Russia (“The Tale of the White Stones”, “About the White-Flammable Stone”, “The Tale of the Land of Moscow”) in the style of ancient epics (note the first word in the titles of the books). The formation of Russian statehood is shown using chronicle sources of knowledge.

Writer and artist G.N. Yudin(1947) began his literary career with the book “Bukvarenok”, created in the system game-based learning literacy The book “The Sirin Bird and the Rider on a White Horse” is clearly inspired by Slavic mythology. Egory the master, artist of the 16th century, lives during the time of Ivan the Terrible. Yudin, through language, makes the reader feel the spirit of the era, communicates the customs, rituals, and songs of that time. Another direction of the writer’s creativity is hagiographic literature. He writes books for teenagers about legendary saints - Ilya Muromets, Sergius of Radonezh etc. Subjects include apocrypha (non-canonical religious texts retold by the people), Orthodox prayers, philosophical judgments.

Children's reading includes: story by V. Yan « Nikita and Mikitka", which shows Moscow during the time of Ivan the Terrible, boyar life, the teaching of children in the historical past; story by Yu.P. Herman « That's how it was» about the blockade of Leningrad during the Great Patriotic War; stories about the heroes of that war A. Mityaeva, A. Zharikova, M. Belakhova.

Created a rich historical library for primary schoolchildren Sergey Petrovich Alekseev(b. 1922). Before the Great Patriotic War of 1941-45, he was a pilot. “Perhaps his fighting profession taught him not to be afraid of heights, to strive for more decisive and daring takeoffs each time,” S.V. wrote about Alekseev. Mikhalkov. Indeed, the plan of him, a former pilot and teacher, to create works about every major historical event of our homeland in stories for the youngest readers requires great courage. The idea was realized throughout his life and also during the time when Alekseev served as editor-in-chief of the magazine “Children's Literature”. Let us list his main books in the historical library: “The Unprecedented Happens” (about the times of Peter the Great), “The History of a Serf Boy” (about serfdom), “Bird of Glory” (about the War of 1812, about Kutuzov), “Stories about Suvorov and Russian Soldiers ", "The Life and Death of Grishatka Sokolov" (about the Pugachev uprising), "The Terrible Horseman" (about Stepan Razin), "There is a people's war" (about the Great Patriotic War)…

His “One Hundred Stories from Russian History” was awarded a state prize and is included in anthologies as texts for program reading in the lower grades of secondary schools.

A successful method of presenting historical material is one that suits everyone: young readers, teachers, and parents. Writers reproduce events and accurate facts, including specific real and fictional characters in the plot. The graphic nature of the descriptions and the dynamism of the narrative correspond to the specifics of children's perception of art and make it easier for children to perceive the text. The triumph of goodness, justice and humanism in works, the assessment of history through the prism of modernity makes complex historical books Alekseev is close to children, and history is empathetic. This is how the patriotic feelings of the young reader are nurtured.