home biology tutor Assessment of the state of popular scientific literature for children. Educational stories for children. How to develop a child's desire to read

Assessment of the state of popular scientific literature for children. Educational stories for children. How to develop a child's desire to read

The interest of children in science, of course, should be supported by all means, this is well known. Back in the days Soviet Union one of the most important factors for schoolchildren was popular science literature. Books that are accessible and interesting language tell about, say, nuclear physics, brought many young people to the engineering universities of our country. Today, measures are being taken to revive the interest of schoolchildren in the literature of this genre. Despite the temporary decline in interest in such a development of the genre in our country, of course, there are.

Why do modern children become less interested in popular science literature?

Compared with previous generations, schoolchildren today do not show much interest in books, popular scientific literature is no exception. This decline in interest is due to the fact that today there are a huge number of alternative sources of information that are more addictive to children than a book. It is much easier and faster to find out what interests us from a TV program or the Internet than to go to the library in search of a suitable book.

Another factor that cannot be ignored is, in fact, the lack of authors who can really interest a child, because popular science is a rather difficult genre. Writing for children is always difficult, because you need not only to convey information to the young reader, but also to keep his attention, to captivate him into the world of books. To date, there are only a limited number of noteworthy authors. If the 70s of the last century can be safely called the heyday, the time of the abundance of talented authors, then the 80s are already characterized by a significant decline, in the 90s it was hardly possible to find a publishing house of scientific and popular literature. Poor-quality works that were periodically published did not arouse great interest either among children or among their parents, which inevitably led to the fact that the genre of popular science children's literature was gradually forgotten.

Role in general education

Many believe that the literature of this genre can only serve to expand general content subjects taught in schools, but this is not the case. In addition to expanding the horizons of the child, which in itself is an extremely important task, there is another, no less important goal - motivation. Popular science literature for children helps arouse genuine interest in the world that surrounds us, take a different look at seemingly boring school items. It is extremely important not only the actual scientific, but also the biographical component. It is useful for schoolchildren to learn about how a pioneer scientist grows out of a simple child. It is very important to have an example of how a person achieves success with the help of popular literature is full of such examples. Thus, we motivate the child to study, to strive for knowledge of the world in order to achieve lofty goals.

How to develop a desire to read in a child?

Of course, in modern conditions it is extremely difficult to interest a child in a book, especially a scientific one. Many parents find it impossible to ever see their own child reading and not at the computer. Of course, not every child can be captivated by literature, but a capable student is quite realistic if parents and teachers make joint efforts. The teacher's task, in fact, is to notice in time the child's emerging interest in a particular discipline and tell him what popular scientific literature exists on this topic. Parents, in turn, should encourage the interest of the student in every possible way. Do not forget to be interested in his successes, communicate more often on topics that he is fond of. Do not force yourself to read such literature. You need to try to convince the child that this is interesting and necessary, then he will have a desire to pick up a book.

Prospects for the development of this genre in Russia

Fortunately, recently there has been a steady increase in the attention of publishers to this genre. Popular science literature is slowly but surely reborn. For example, modern publishing house Since 2007, Enlightenment has been publishing a series of educational books for children called “Your Outlook”, from which you can learn a lot of new things, for example, read about outstanding women Ancient Russia, about how a person knew electricity, and much more. It is impossible not to mention another series of books called "On the Edge of the World." It is suitable for those who are fond of history. The series tells about the development of relations between Russia and Germany, Russia and Japan, France, as well as other countries with which our state fought. There are other series, for example, popular scientific literature about nature is in demand today.

Selection of literature for children

Children's book club "Chitarium" offers children and their parents their own selection of works that deserve attention. The books listed below are aimed at children from six to nine years old. If you decide to interest your child in reading and at the same time want it to be as useful as possible for the development of his horizons, popular science literature will suit you.

So, we present to your attention the five most interesting books from the point of view of "Chitarium" on various subjects, choose what suits your child's taste. Each young reader is individual, so it is necessary to take into account the tastes of each in order to really interest the student, and not force him to read what he is not at all interested in. Children will be happy to explore and learn what they like, what they themselves have chosen. It is very important to give them the opportunity to choose, it is not necessary to decide for the child what to be interested in. Do not try to fill your own gaps in knowledge at the expense of your children.

"Cool mechanics for the curious" (author - Nick Arnold)

The book describes the basic principles of work and machines in an interesting, and most importantly accessible, language. It not only explains how this or that mechanism works, but also gives examples of their use in life. Following the instructions in the publication, the child can independently design models from parts.

"Why is the water wet?" (Gemma Harris)

Here you can find the answer to almost any child's question. Scientists from various fields of knowledge answer the most frequently asked questions by schoolchildren. You can read the book from the beginning, from the end or from the middle, or simply look for things of interest using the index.

"Secrets of Anatomy" (Carol Donner)

The book describes the incredible adventures of the twins Max and Molly, who, having become tiny, ended up inside the giant's body. Reading the book, the child, together with its characters, explores the human body. The author extremely successfully managed to turn a boring story about the structure of our body into an entertaining adventure.

"Children's encyclopedias with Chevostik" (Elena Kachur)

Already known to everyone from the audio performances, the hero - Chevostik - is now moving into the book genre called "scientific popular literature". The main characters go on exciting journeys, during which they learn the world. Of course, this is much more interesting than listening to or reading boring listings.

"Cosmos" (Kostyukov, Surova)

The title of the publication already speaks for itself. The book is a collaborative project that tells about everything related to space and its secrets. Scientific and popular science literature about the vast space, so far from us, has always attracted children of all ages.

While parents pretend that they know the answers to all questions, and after they cannot answer the child's elementary problem, they climb the Internet for answers, publishing houses stepped forward to meet all sides at the same time. Thus, together with your baby, you can study in detail various directions of science. At the same time, receiving concentrated knowledge, successfully illustrated and written in an accessible language. As they say, there would be a desire!

Non-fiction books gradation

before buying all episodes popular science publications in a row, see which direction your baby will be interested in. After all, the book is able to supplement his knowledge, but initially you must find them together, for example, on a trip to local history museum or the Einstein Museum of Physics, they will give food for the mind of the crumbs, and they will make you think about whether you are ready to answer the rest of the questions that are constantly pouring from the baby, right or do you still feel gaps and forgotten proofs of theories ?! In general, first think about what you want to end up with and purchase the series you are interested in or take them from the library.

The division is based on age groups. Preschoolers will not be interested in the classic format of encyclopedias, which has a list of definitions and a few facts for them, but older children will definitely like this format. For children, books are made in the form of interactive toys, where it will be possible to move, touch, and press something.
Trends in Popular Science Books for Children. you can choose exact sciences(physics, chemistry), or you can go into the humanities (history, for example). Again, depending on the age, choose the right book.
There are single books and there are series. In the case of, for example, books about individual animals from a publisher, it is better to gradually study them all. Moreover, so far there are about 25 books.

There are series of books on various topics. Such interesting to collect completely. They will have more encyclopedic knowledge that will always be at hand for the baby. After all, it is very important to teach a student not only to google in search of useful information, but also to find the right things in libraries.

Familiar and not-so-familiar titles of non-fiction books for children

A.V. Tikhonov "Animals of Russia. The Red Book". An amazing collection of endangered species of animals from all over our vast country. The author described each species in detail, focused on the reasons leading to the disappearance or a strong decrease in the population of the species. Such a book is good not only for schoolchildren, but simply for those who care about our smaller brothers.

For those who not only love animals, but also travel, you may be interested in non-fiction book "Illustrated atlas geographical discoveries"translated by the author Amchenkova Yury. In this book you will find all the most interesting and significant stories and maps of travelers connected with discoveries from the beginning of time to the present day. Your child's imagination will allow him to study this book on his own, travel through time and understand the course of history.

And here are the options for the book for those who are older. The book "What hides the skin. 2 square meters that dictate how we live" by Yael Adler they will sort out all the biology for a schoolboy, and maybe help preserve the beauty of the skin of your growing daughter, who really wants to start using cosmetics. In general, remember that each of us has about two square meters skin, which, like an antenna, reacts to all external and internal stimuli. Any impact on it causes some harm or benefit to the whole (!) Organism. Such non-fiction book will be, in fact, useful not only for children, adults will find in it many facts unknown to themselves. By the way, in this series of books there are still no less charming editions.

Excellent Series popular science books from the author Elena Kachur "Children's Encyclopedia with Chevostik". The book by age qualifications is recommended for children of preschool and younger school age. The series has gained incredible popularity in Russia for the cutest illustrations, detailed description facts in each book. And if you have been afraid of, for example, physics since your school days, then Elena's book "Fun physics" will guide you carefully. Allows the student to understand complex concepts and try to learn them yourself. The series has already published books about chemistry, about human health and structure, about the Earth.

And the popular science book by Perelman Yakov "Scientific tricks and riddles" will set you on fire every day, because it contains all the most interesting and entertaining puzzles, riddles, series of experiments.

It can be said that a masterpiece book among all series of collections of experiments from the authors Maria Yakovleva, Sergei Bolushevsky This popular science book "365 scientific experiments for every day". You will not find a more detailed edition yet. The experiments are simple, but give an understanding of all sciences. You can not only get an understanding of why this happens, but with the help of improvised means, conduct all the experiments with the children. The book is good in that it is subdivided according to the seasons, grading, if possible, to do this experience on your own or only with the help of adults. Before each experiment, you will have a list of the necessary things for its implementation and an illustration.

Results

Non-fiction books for children, authors which have become both Russian and foreign writers are conquering the bookstore market with great speed. Of course, much depends on the edition, illustrations or photographs, the quality of the material presented, but in any case, both children and adults read such books. Their evenings become joint and there are cases that can only be done together! The authors of popular science books for children try to make them as useful and interesting as possible for a wide range of users.

Photo and video: free Internet sources

It is popular science works in the forms determined by the specifics of children's perception that traditionally contribute to the consistent implementation of the complex process of the child's cognition of reality.

Ensuring the process of cognition of the world in the initial, most full meaning this concept requires from children's literature both the communication of universal, absolutely reliable information about the level of knowledge about the world achieved by society, and the awakening of interest in the very process of cognition, its individual stages, methods for obtaining real results, specific participants in the process, the formation of primary skills of scientific (cognitive ) activities. At each stage of the development of the child, all these tasks are solved in different volumes and by different means. At the same time, the universality of themes inherent in popular science literature for children is realized in works for various groups of readers using the method of gradual disclosure and complication of the topic, the transition from simple to more complex. Such a method determines not only the principles for selecting factual material, but also the use of artistic and actual popularization means in strict accordance with the level of children's perception, general development in each specific age phase.

The need to appeal to different types of children's reader's perception determines the traditional nature of the existence and in the composition of modern popular science literature for children of two main directions: didactic (or actually popular science) and artistic-figurative (or scientific-artistic), differing in the unity of the subject, target appointments by various literary methods. Raising a materialistic worldview, interest in science, scientific thinking skills, etc. is carried out in the works of the first direction by means of popular presentation, accessible to children's perception. At the same time, the entertaining nature of such works (as a necessary quality of any children's work) is achieved through the full disclosure of the very essence of science, its methods, the most striking and significant achievements, specific results and unresolved problems, as well as the identification of the heroism and purposefulness of scientific research, the links between scientific discoveries, sometimes even the most paradoxical, and phenomena of everyday life.

In the second half of the 19th century, well-known scientists often act as authors of didactic works, less often writers; Soviet time further development. Turning to the child reader, scientists usually proceed from the fact that although “the fictional form of presentation arouses interest and entices, life to a large extent consists of labor. Scientific research often requires a lot of effort. And to present all this to a child only in a purely entertaining, as if deliberately lightened form means to render him a disservice, means to deceive him. A popular science book should teach work, experiment, teach you to spare no effort to achieve the goal ”(M.M. Zavadovsky, a well-known biologist).

Due to its specificity, didactic children's popular science literature appeals mainly to readers who have already formed a certain interest in science, there is a specific (primary or more developed) idea of the subject, the need to expand their knowledge. While the works of the artistic and figurative direction of popular science literature appeal to readers whose interest in science has not yet been formed (or has not yet been fully formed). The works of this direction just strive to arouse in children an interest in science and technology, scientific research.

If the classical popular science literature of the didactic direction refers, as a rule, to the mind of the reader, to his logical perception, expanding and deepening knowledge, answering specific questions fully, accurately and fascinatingly, introducing directly into the essence of the subject, highlighting the main thing, outlining historical milestones and prospects for the development of science and technology, then artistic popularization in its best examples refers not so much to the mind as to the feelings of the child, seeking to educate and develop the creative imagination of children, to make them feel like the masters of the Universe, the creators of world history. That is why one of the most characteristic features works of this direction is publicism.

The widespread use of artistic and figurative means, the appeal to the most striking events in the history of science are the origins of the amusement of this trend in children's popular science literature. In particular, this determines the wide spread of the fictionalized biography genre in this complex of works. The appeal to the life of a talented scientist, inventor, writer, artist (any other artist) provides fertile material for a story about the very essence of creative activity, about the ups and downs of scientific thought, research romance, creative work. In line with the artistic direction of children's popular science literature, there are parallel works, conditionally called "information fiction", in which artistic means they only frame purely scientific material, give it harmony, unite it with a common plot, etc. Most of these works are addressed to the younger and middle age groups of children's readers, who are especially receptive to the artistic and figurative structure of the works. At the same time, the very application of the artistic method does not acquire a self-sufficient character in popular science works. Otherwise, it will be about fiction for children on the relevant (scientific) topic, however, it is very difficult to draw a dividing line between fiction and scientific literature for children.

Ensuring the process of cognition of the world in the original, most complete meaning of this concept requires from children's literature both the communication of universal, absolutely reliable information about the level of knowledge about the world achieved by society, and the awakening of interest in the process of cognition itself, its individual stages, ways to obtain real results, specific participants in the process, the formation of primary skills of scientific (cognitive) activity. At each stage of the development of the child, all these tasks are solved in different volumes and by different means. At the same time, the universality of the topic inherent in popular science children's literature is realized in works for various groups of readers using the method of gradual disclosure and complication of the topic, the transition from simple to more complex. Such a method determines not only the principles for selecting factual material, but also the use of artistic and actual popularization means in strict accordance with the level of children's perception, general development in each specific age phase.

The need to appeal to different types of children's reader's perception determines the traditional nature of the existence and in the composition of modern popular science literature for children of two main directions: didactic (or actually popular science) and artistic-figurative (or scientific-artistic), differing in the unity of the subject, target appointments by various literary methods. Raising a materialistic worldview, interest in science, scientific thinking skills, etc. carried out in the works of the first direction by means of popular presentation, accessible to children's perception. At the same time, the entertaining nature of such works (as a necessary quality of any children's work) is achieved through the full disclosure of the very essence of science, its methods, the most striking and significant achievements, specific results and unresolved problems, as well as identifying the heroism and purposefulness of scientific research, the links between scientific discoveries, sometimes even the most paradoxical, and the phenomena of everyday life.

In the second half of the 19th century, well-known scientists often act as authors of didactic works, less often writers, such a tradition was further developed in Soviet times. Turning to the child reader, scientists usually proceed from the fact that although “the fictional form of presentation arouses interest and entices, life to a large extent consists of labor. Scientific research often requires great volitional effort. And to present all this to a child only in a purely entertaining, as if deliberately lightened form means to render him a disservice, means to deceive him. A popular science book should teach work, experiment, teach you to spare no effort to achieve the goal ”(M.M. Zavadovsky, a well-known biologist).

The widespread use of artistic and figurative means, the appeal to the most striking events in the history of science are the origins of the amusement of this trend in children's popular science literature. In particular, this determines the wide spread of the fictionalized biography genre in this complex of works. The appeal to the life of a talented scientist, inventor, writer, artist (any other artist) provides fertile material for a story about the very essence of creative activity, about the ups and downs of scientific thought, the romance of research, creative work. In line with the artistic direction of children's popular science literature, there are parallel works that are conditionally called "information fiction", in which artistic means only frame purely scientific material, give it harmony, unite it with a common plot, etc. Most of these works are addressed to the younger and middle age groups of children's readers, who are especially receptive to the artistic and figurative structure of the works. At the same time, the very application of the artistic method does not acquire a self-sufficient character in popular science works. Otherwise, we will talk about a work of fiction for children on the corresponding (scientific) topic, however, it is very difficult to draw a dividing line between fiction and scientific literature for children.

During this period, the theory of children's popular science literature continues to take shape. A significant phenomenon in the history of Russian children's books is the work undertaken in the 60s by the famous critic and publicist N.V. Shelgunov is an attempt to create a detailed project of a "children's library" of popular science books, differentiated by reader's address into three sections: for children under 6 years old - picture books; for children 6-8 years old - picture books with text; for children 10 years old - short courses in certain areas of science and technology. The construction of each section was determined by the principle of the encyclopedic nature of the reported material. In the history of Russian children's books, this is one of the first attempts to develop a systematic set of popular science books, clearly differentiated by age and taking into account the possibilities of various types of children's book publications (picture books with and without text, text editions).

The repertoire of popular science children's books, universal in subject matter, diverse in genres of published works, including books for all age groups of children's readers, using conceptual and artistic methods of popularization, is one of the most significant achievements in the history of Russian children's books in the third quarter of the 19th century. A place of honor in it is occupied by popular science books on history. Inspired by the work of N.M. Karamzin "History of the Russian State", children's writers have created many adaptations of it.

In addition to the historical complex, the popular science repertoire of children's books of the period of interest to us included quite numerous publications devoted to various natural and human sciences, the development of technology.

Among the publications addressed to younger readers, books devoted to the explanation of natural phenomena that the child sees daily, objects that surround him in everyday life prevailed. This was followed by publications that carried away in close and long walks and travels, gradually expanding the boundaries of the children's world from the walls of the room to the limits of the Universe. Such books were clearly encyclopedic in nature, providing a variety of information from botany, zoology, geography, physics, etc.; they are distinguished, as a rule, by a lively figurative language, an abundance of illustrations. Popular science books for middle and older age are more fundamental, they attracted significant scientific material to explain individual phenomena and objects, they used scientific terminology. The publications for this age were dominated by didactic popularization, which formed the worldview, interest in science, scientific thinking skills, etc. means of popular presentation scientific information accessible to children's perception.

During this period, among the publications addressed to middle and older age, there appear works of one of the most significant and original genres of popular science literature for children - the so-called "entertaining popularization" (" entertaining science”), which was widely developed somewhat later - in late XIX- the beginning of the XX century. The works of this genre not only inform readers about the results of the development of science and technology, but also instill in children ingenuity, independent thinking, love and respect for scientific research, methods of scientific thinking, and finally, for people of science. The activity of "entertaining popularization" corresponds to the specifics of childhood; without setting itself the task of teaching a child any science, without replacing educational literature, it is able to inspire the reader with a passion for science, to expand his ideas about scientific activity to accustom to think in the spirit of a particular science. For the works of this genre, in the future, an emphasized documentary character is characteristic, the use of material only firmly proven, without stating conjectures, hypotheses; the ability to see the unusual in the ordinary, to look at familiar phenomena from a new, unexpected angle of view, determines the nature of entertainment here.

The appearance of this kind of books in children's popularization is associated with the intensification of the development of science, primarily with outstanding discoveries made, among other things, by domestic scientists. In this and all subsequent periods of the development of domestic children's literature, works of the artistic and figurative direction of popular science literature are addressed to readers of younger age groups, seeking not only to explain the world but also to arouse their interest in science and technology, scientific research

There is very little left until the end of the year, which means that it is time to take stock and make plans (of course, only for those who like to do it according to the calendar, and not on any day of the year, at the behest of the heart). We will also try to choose from the book variety the very best editions of the outgoing year.

Popular science literature is experiencing a real flowering today - non-fiction series appear one after another, illustrations are becoming more interesting, infographics are more complicated. In the suddenly flourishing fashion for self-education, when every self-respecting adult at least once a week listens to an online course on the next free educational platform or attending a lecture on the hot topic "Is there life on Mars?", authors and publishers have to struggle to keep up in the race for a variety of sources of accessible information about the world around them for adults and children. They are not far behind: almost every week new non-fiction books for children appear in bookstores. Today we propose to focus on popular science books in 2015 (first edition) written by Russian authors.

Following the laws of the genre, we included only 10 publications in the review, but in fact, one cannot but rejoice that good books, worthy of participation in this and any other “top”, there are much more! Many of the new books in the popular science genre go far beyond the boundaries of our usual directions, in addition to encyclopedias to the extreme common topics, like "Animals", "Dinosaurs" or there "Space", there are books devoted to narrow topics and unexpected questions. How do you like, for example, a book about the huts of black-eared peasants? And the encyclopedia dedicated to the drum? We are no longer talking about a book that tells exclusively about old European castles, or a publication about snowflakes! Another distinguishing feature of a good modern non-fiction children's book is its amazing design: we have before us not just an informative text, but a highly artistic publication with beautiful illustrations, with a thoughtful original layout.

E. Novichkova, E. Buntman, A. Ratina Petr I. - M.: Labyrinth, 2015. - 28 p., ill. – ISBN 978-5-9287-2647-8.

The book readers have been waiting for (and publishers have been preparing) more three years, finally came out in the already familiar "interactive" incarnation. On thick cardboard pages there are illustrations, clippings from decrees and documents, additional flaps and pockets, three-dimensional structures and "accordions", inserts and tabs dedicated to the personality of the most famous Russian emperor and his era. Each of the fourteen spreads of the book is devoted to a single topic, an important page of the Petrine era, we will see the beginning of the reign, the construction of St. Petersburg, the foundation of the Russian fleet, the Northern War, "Youth honest mirror" and much more.

Already in previous similar publications, the authors have demonstrated a serious ability not only to highlight the main thing, but also to pay attention to the smallest, most curious details. So it is here: we will read not only about the reasons for the beginning Northern war, its stages and results, but also in detail we will consider the military uniforms of both armies, learn all the nuances of making cannons, and consider military awards. There are similar nuances in every topic covered in the book.

The fingers of both hands are not enough to list all the scientific consultants of this seemingly "game" book, a week is not enough to digest all the information that the authors somehow miraculously managed to cram into 28 multi-colored pages!

Readers from 7 years old.

N. Gol, E. Lester St. Petersburg. Petra time . - St. Petersburg: Arka, 2015. - 120 p., ill. – ISBN 978-5-91208-140-8.

We can say that Peter I was lucky this year: the publishers of children's books did not offend his person with their attention. Here is the book of the St. Petersburg writer, a regular author of the informative pages of the Koster magazine, created in collaboration with Elena Lestr, dedicated to the time of Peter the Great, although here the authors do not seek to cover the unreachable, but in detail cover only the initial period of the reign of Peter I, focusing on the construction of a new capital - Petersburg. All chapters begin with the word "first": "First stone", "First fortress", "First house", "First shipyard". Edition created with scientific staff of the State Hermitage Museum, excellently illustrated, engravings, lithographs and other images created by eyewitnesses of the described events are used as pictures. At the same time, most of the streets, buildings and things that are mentioned in the book have survived to this day, which makes it not only an excellent informative historical reading, but also a kind of guide to historical St. Petersburg.

Readers over 10 years old.

D. Rzhannikov Biblical scenes in the bas-reliefs of St. Petersburg . - St. Petersburg: Fordewind, 2015. - 64 p., ill. – ISBN 978-5-904736-30-9.

Another book connected with St. Petersburg, though not so much in the historical sense as in the art history, is the next issue of the Illustrated Guide series. At first glance, bas-reliefs are not a subject that is especially interesting for children. But maybe it's because no one tried to interest them in this? We assure you that the author of the book "Biblical stories in the bas-reliefs of St. Petersburg" will surely succeed! Especially if the child likes to solve riddles and solve complex quests.

Consistently and in detail, the author of the book talks about what a bas-relief is and introduces the reader to the ten most famous buildings with biblical bas-reliefs located in modern St. Petersburg. Each chapter devoted to a certain architectural monument tells absolutely everything: the address of the building is necessarily indicated there (by the way, there are more than two dozen bas-reliefs on the walls of the Kazan and St. all the characters are represented, except that the author does not forget to explain unfamiliar terms. The text is accompanied by magnificent illustrations, and at the end of the book, it’s a holiday for the young researcher: first, a list of all the biblical events mentioned in the book is given, then a short dictionary with pictures of architectural terms from the book, and finally, the Masterpiece Hunt game: an index of museums, on the exhibits of which you can see the same events!

Readers over 10 years old

E. Borisova Childhood on ships . - M.: Art-Volkhonka, 2015. - 88 p., ill. – ISBN 978-5-9905968-0-1.

Story October revolution 1917 and the subsequent civil war- not the most popular plot in children's literature today. However, the third book of the series "About ..." just tells about one of the episodes of this big story: Russian squadron, a group of ships and steamships, which in 1020 left the Crimean coast and set sail first to Turkey, and then to the shores of Tunisia. Through the history of the family of officer Manstein, his wife and daughter Asta (the book was written on the basis of her memoirs), members of the Russian squadron, the author tells about a little-known episode of history Russian society. We learn the details of the life of Russian officers in Africa: how they lived, what they hoped for, how the children studied, what they celebrated, what they ate. The author does not forget to clarify the most important context for the reader: the history of the Russian fleet, sailor education, speaks of St. Andrew's flag and naval honor. The book ends with a glossary of terms and a detailed diagram of a ship, exactly like the one that became the home of the emigrants.

The richness of the design of this book can envy the best historical writings: she's stuffed rare photos, images of documents and artifacts taken from private and state archives. All this information is very cleverly and beautifully organized, we have just the case when the design of the book can be cited as an example to follow.

Readers over 12 years old.

N. Sinelnikova Ten paintings about the war . - M.: Klever-Media-Group, 2015. - 22 p., ill. – ISBN 978-5-91982-667-5.

It would seem that there are no books with parade phrases about the heroism and courage of our soldiers in the Great Patriotic War hasn't come out in the last 70 years! But this one seems to be the only one of its kind: we have before us an art criticism analysis of a dozen battle paintings created during and after the war, such as “Parade on Red Square in Moscow on November 7, 1941” by K. F. Yuon, “Defenders of the Brest Fortress »P. A. Krivonogov, «Alexander Nevsky» by P. D. Korin and others. The book is made in the format of infographics: on each spread there is a reproduction of the picture, short description the history of its appearance and the events depicted on it, information about the artist, as well as inserts and inserts with facts and quotes that have something to do with the picture and the event. For example, the description of the painting "Alexander Nevsky" is accompanied by a photograph of the pilot Bilyukin, who flew the nominal fighter "Alexander Nevsky", and images of military propaganda posters, which also used the "heroic" theme.

Unfortunately, the authors failed to avoid the usual clichés about the "desperate struggle of ordinary Soviet people behind enemy lines”, about the workers and collective farmers who fought “shoulder to shoulder”, about the fact that “the country was maturing”, somewhat emasculated already over decades of constant use. Apparently, we have not yet learned how to talk about this war in any other way.

Readers from 7 years old.

Russian crafts . – M.: Rare bird, 2015.

A small encyclopedia about traditional Russian crafts and crafts, created by the editors of Rare Bird with the participation of artists Rusana Nalivaiko and Kapych, as well as scientific consultant Dr. I. n. L. V. Belovinsky, talks about how Russian peasants made with their own hands the most necessary things for the economy. Weaving from birch bark, making wooden spoons, pottery, basket weaving, spinning, weaving - this is not a complete list of crafts described in the book. The authors will talk about the division of crafts into male and female, will not forget to clarify and depict everything incomprehensible words and terms, will overwhelm the reader with interesting fun facts that make reading very entertaining. They will not even forget the story of how Peter I could not weave a bast shoe!

With the current fashion for manual work, all this knowledge can be not only a curious addition to the course of the history of Russian culture, but also constitute the theoretical training of the future master.

Readers from 7 years old.

A. Litvina Metro: on the ground and underground . - M.: Walking into history, 2015. - ISBN 978-5-905474-30-9.

An informative picture book about the history of the railway in general and the subway in particular stands out from a number of its own kind thanks to its design. Anna Desnitskaya, who drew illustrations for this book, has long been loved by readers based on the books by O. Mandelstam "Two Trams" and E. Shenderovich "Aliens among the Egyptians", but here she first showed herself in the cognitive genre. I must say that it turned out extremely well: the artist managed to maintain his original style, in which humor is combined with grace, and love for details does not lead to redundancy. The text of the book complements the illustrations. From spread to spread, readers will learn about the invention of the steam locomotive and the first railways, about how tunnels were punched in the rocks and high overpasses were laid, about the construction of the metro in Moscow and abroad. The author does not forget about trams, bicycles and cars. Those who get tired of reading can play: find all the cars or “railway” professions in the picture, compare the Myasnitsky Gate Square in Moscow in the 1920s. and today, play a walking game according to the scheme of the Moscow metro and answer tricky questions.

Readers from 5 years old.

Pyotr Bagin In the forest . - M.: Melik-Pashaev, 2015. - 48 p., ill. – ISBN 978-5-00041-125-4.

The life of the forest of central Russia has once again become the subject of a beautiful book for children (by the way, it was she who received the “Image of a Book” award in the educational category this year). The combination of illustrations and texts in this edition is far from in favor of the latter - we have before us the artist's book in the very best sense this word, which does not affect the information content.

The book is conventionally divided into two parts: in the first, the artist consistently presents us with the seasons. Each month has its own large-scale panoramic illustration, which contains everything at once: animals, predators and herbivores, fish, birds, insects, plants, mushrooms and the corresponding weather. It is a matter of taste to perceive this approach of the artist as redundant or “decorative”. The second part of the book is subtitled “Nests and Burrows. Parents and cubs”, it is there that you can see the gradual development of those living beings that readers have already observed in panoramic illustrations, their dwellings “in section”. There is something to read in this section: each image is accompanied by a capacious commentary.

Readers from 5 years old.

V. Maleev Entertaining zoogeography . – M.: Mann, Ivanov and Ferber, 2015. – 192 p., ill. – ISBN 978-5-00057-294-8.

The famous biologist and photo artist Valery Maleev himself traveled half the world and took many photographs of animals. Then he selected about one and a half hundred of the most interesting ones, placed them in the corresponding climatic zones, and compiled a short, boring description for each of his heroes. It turned out to be a kind of photo reference book, where each animal is represented by three or four very beautiful photos, a small article and encyclopedic information placed at the top of each article: the height and weight of an adult animal, its life expectancy and favorite food are indicated there. The book is divided into chapters according to climatic zones, and in the preface the author says that this publication is only a tiny particle of knowledge about the world of wildlife and encourages the reader to expand their knowledge.

Readers from 5 years old.

I. Pankratov Elephantemia . - St. Petersburg: Azbuka, 2015. - 256 p., ill. – ISBN: 978-5-389-07698-3.

The author of the book, Candidate of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, introduces readers to the laws of physics in a fabulous way. The protagonist books - Maxwell Dem's little demon - falls into fairyland Pumpkin, where every day next to him one of the laws of physics stops working. Heroes have to extricate themselves from situations where the world around is not behaving as usual, and readers have to understand a number of important physical principles and laws. In this they will be helped by the "Notes of Demin's Pope", located after each chapter, where in a simple and understandable style the author explains things that are amazingly complex for the selected target audience, such as: the second law of thermodynamics, the law of Archimedes, gravity, certain issues of astrophysics and even scientific research methods.

It's funny that this primarily informative book received an award precisely for its literary merits: in 2014, the author was awarded the Debut Prize in the Prose nomination.

Readers from 8 years old.