This paper aims to present children’s poetry as a complex phenomenon that eludes strict definitions and classifications, even if scholars attempt to define and classify it. Another objective is to review the Polish situation for an international audience. Children’s poetry appears as a significant element of every culture; as such, it constitutes a challenge for poets, translators, editors, critics, scholars, teachers, librarians… The article provides insight into Polish (and to some extent international) research. The place of children’s poetry in the corpus of poetry as a whole is considered and the role of illustrations is emphasised. The examples come mostly from Polish literature with several significant foreign works translated into Polish. The article consists of five main parts. Each of them has a question mark in the title which expresses my conviction that there are still more questions than answers in this field. And perhaps this is also the value of poetry – it defies academic formulas.
Istraživači hrvatske književnosti do sada su uglavnom proučavali Gardaševo prozno stvaralaštvo, a u ovom radu bit će istražene prevladavajuće tematsko-motivske osobine poezije za djecu i poezije za odrasle. U oba dijela opusa izdvojeno je šest tematsko-motivskih cjelina u kojima se uočava autorova sklonost istim motivima, prije svega motivima Slavonije, ali i mediteranskim, pejzažnim, nokturalnim motivima, kao i ljubavnoj i angažiranoj poeziji. Usporedbom dviju cjelina uočava se tonski dualizam pri njihovu oblikovanju s obzirom na implicitne čitatelje te je dječja poezija optimistična izričaja, dok u poeziji za odrasle prevladava pesimističan ton prožet egzistencijalističkim promišljanjima o životu, uz iznimku pjesama koje pripadaju šokačkomu podkorpusu stilistike panonizma.
U radu se komparativnom analizom pjesama za djecu i odrasle Branka Stevanovića istražuju načini oblikovanja pjesničkoga teksta i mogućnosti njegove čitateljske recepcije. Analizi su podvrgnute dvije zajedničke odlike Stevanovićeva opusa za djecu i stvaralaštva za odrasle: prisutnost tematskomotivskoga kompleksa smrti i stvaralačko oblikovanje intertekstualnih relacija. Upravo na tim razinama realizacije pjesničkoga teksta uočava se na koji način autor vidi svojega implicitnoga čitatelja i koje sve strategije koristi u procesu pisanja ne bi li mu prilagodio vlastito pjesničko stvaralaštvo. U razmatranjima se kao jedan od glavnih uvida izdvaja zaključak da je tematizacija smrti kompleksnija na mnogim razinama u poeziji za odrasle, a da je u poeziji za djecu dominantniji poziv na kritičku recepciju i diskusiju o intertekstualnim vezama.
The paper provides a bio-bibliography of Selena Dukić (1909–1935), one of the most talented and versatile yet neglected writers and publicists in Serbian and Yugoslav culture, with a focus on the fiction she wrote as a child and/or for children. From an early age, while still in the lower grades of elementary school, Dukić published in a newspaper a handful of poems that suggested her future literary experiments in the most diverse genres and traditions. Later, according to her wishes, ten of her stories for children were published posthumously in 1937 in Veliki i mali [The Big and the Little Ones]. All aspects of the book – starting from the atypical design and editorial conception, through the (transmedia) ways of directing reception, the correlation of the (auto)biographical, journalistic, and fictional, all the way to its complex models of authorship – deserve careful interpretation and analysis, which are offered in this paper for the very first time (in the English language).
Translators occupy a privileged position when translating works written for a young audience as they are simultaneously ideal readers and authors of the target texts. The apparently easy task of translating children’s literature relies on the translator’s responsibility to keep the author of the source text and the readership in mind. If we consider children’s literature as an opportunity for young readers to shape their own image of the world and – with reference to youth literature – reflect on their identity, translations can nurture a silent dialogue between the reader and the book during reading. T his paper outlines the position of children’s literature in academia and the shared multidisciplinary dimension with translation in order to discuss the value of translations and the role of translators as responsible for nurturing a narrative dialogue with young readers.
U radu se pristupa klasifikaciji fantastične književnosti kroz analizu organizacije prostora u pripovjednim svjetovima, pri čemu se primarno izdvajaju žanrovi niske fantastike (low fantasy) i visoke fantastike (high fantasy). Ova podjela jasno ističe ključnu razliku između dvaju tipova pripovjednih struktura: dok se radnja u niskoj fantastici odvija u svakodnevnom, primarnom svijetu, gdje se iznenada pojavljuju natprirodni elementi, u visokoj fantastici radnja je smještena u složeni, sekundarni svijet, gdje je magija rijetka, ali prirodna pojava. Oslanjajući se na dosadašnje teorijske spoznaje o problematici žanra, u radu se istražuje formalna, retorička i tematska dimenzija te se kroz jedinstvenu dinamiku svakodnevnoga i natprirodnoga definiraju odrednice niske fantastike. Odrednice se potom prepoznaju u različitim primjerima iz dječje književnosti, čime se potvrđuje struktura niskofantastičnoga žanra.
Based on the observation that there is usually a mixture of information and propaganda in descriptive picturebooks of the German Democratic Republic (GDR), this paper examines the presentation of socialist monuments in three Berlin travel guides for children published in 1979 and 1987. In particular, the Soviet War Memorial in Treptower Park, the Lenin Monument, and the Thälmann Monument are considered. The picturebooks chosen are Bärchens Bummelbus (Stave and Pansch 1979), Alex, Spree und Ehrenmal (Dänhardt and Fischer 1979) from the series Mein kleines Lexikon, and Erst mal kucken in Berlin (Pieper and Döring 1987). The comparative analysis shows that different methods of mixing information and propaganda are used and that relevant differences can also be found in the visual design of these picturebooks.
The paper provides a short overview of the current state of original Slovak literary works with the theme of migration and the interpretation of selected works of Shaun Tan available in Slovak translation, addressing the discussed issues from various perspectives of inner outsiderness. Migration is a topic that regularly appears in political and educational debates across European countries, and the Slovak Republic, which belongs to culturally homogeneous countries, is no exception. This could be the reason why Slovak citizens find it more difficult to accept the arrival of new cultures and nationalities. One of the ways to adapt (Slovak) children to a multicultural environment and help them understand the feelings of their new (immigrant) classmates could be to read fiction stories with such themes. Through “books as windows”, the child reader reshapes his or her mental representation of the world, which can result in being more open to new cultures.
The paper starts from the view that an analysis of the concrete materiality of a work, such as format, choice of paper, typography and colours, is fundamental for an understanding of picturebooks and their impact on children’s reading. Historical picturebooks also reveal the cultural understanding of children and childhood in different times and cultures. The tight connection between materiality, reading and learning in picturebooks is exemplified by the work of the Swedish author Elsa Beskow (1874–1953), who was strongly influenced by the ideas of the Swedish progressive educator Ellen Key. The paper relies on the state of the art in materiality research in children’s literature, with special emphasis on children’s reading and on the consequences of the transmission processes for picturebooks as artifacts.
Croatian literary scholarship has so far predominantly focused on Garda & scaron;'s narrative fiction. This study, instead, explores the prevailing thematic and motivational features of his children's poetry and his poetry for adults. In both parts of his opus, six motif-thematic units are identified, and the poet's inclination towards the same motifs is observed in both groups of poems: landscape, nocturnal motifs, the Mediterranean, and, most of all, Slavonia, as well as motifs typical of love poems and socially engaged poetry. A comparison of the two bodies of poetry, however, reveals a significant difference between the two: a tonal dualism regarding different intended readerships. Garda & scaron;'s children's poetry is characterised by an optimistic expression, while his poetry for adults predominantly conveys a pessimistic tone infused with existential contemplation about life. There is an exception, though, because the poems for adults belonging to his "& Scaron;okac" thematic cycle, which are characterised by a specific Pannonian style, embrace much lighter overtones.
Through a comparative analysis of Branko Stevanovic's poems for children and adults, this paper examines the ways the poetic text is shaped and how it can be received by readers. Two common features of Stevanovic's work for children and his work for adults are the subject of this analysis: the presence of the thematic complex of death and the creative transformation of intertextual relations. It is precisely at these levels of the poetic text that one can observe how the author perceives his implicit reader and what strategies he uses in the writing process to adapt his work to them. One of the main insights to emerge from the analyses is that the thematisation of death is more complex in poetry for adults, while in poetry for children the call for critical reception of intertextual connections is more pronounced. These insights have the potential to serve as methodological material for studying the work of Branko Stevanovic in an educational context.
Veseli Zvonko: lijepa i pou & ccaron;na slikovnica za djecu i odrasle [Merry Zvonko: A Beautiful and Instructive Picturebook for Children and Adults] (1934?) is an example of Croatian promotional picturebooks that began to appear in the 1930s in Croatia (then part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia). The primary purpose of the picturebook is commercial and market-oriented, as it is essentially an advertisement for the medicine Gastol, produced by the company Rave. Nevertheless, from our contemporary point of view, the picturebook is also significant for its cultural and literary value. The production of the picturebook was entrusted to the most prominent Croatian author of verbal texts for picturebooks of the time, Dinko Chudoba (1893-1959), who wrote the words for around sixty picturebooks in the period between the two world wars. Chudoba studied pharmacy in Vienna, Prague, and Zagreb, and worked in pharmacies in Zagreb while simultaneously engaging in literary and journalistic work. He was therefore the perfect choice for writing the words of a picturebook that functioned as an advertisement for a medicinal product. He signed the picturebook Veseli Zvonko with his usual and recognisable pseudonym, D. T. Vragoba.
The paper provides a bio-bibliography of Selena Duki & cacute; (1909-1935), one of the most talented and versatile yet neglected writers and publicists in Serbian and Yugoslav culture, with a focus on the fiction she wrote as a child and/or for children. From an early age, while still in the lower grades of elementary school, Duki & cacute; published in a newspaper a handful of poems that suggested her future literary experiments in the most diverse genres and traditions. Later, according to her wishes, ten of her stories for children were published posthumously in 1937 in Veliki i mali [The Big and the Little Ones]. All aspects of the book-starting from the atypical design and editorial conception, through the (transmedia) ways of directing reception, the correlation of the (auto)biographical, journalistic, and fictional, all the way to its complex models of authorship-deserve careful interpretation and analysis, which are offered in this paper for the very first time (in the English language).
The paper starts from the view that an analysis of the concrete materiality of a work, such as format, choice of paper, typography and colours, is fundamental for an understanding of picturebooks and their impact on children's reading. Historical picturebooks also reveal the cultural understanding of children and childhood in different times and cultures. The tight connection between materiality, reading and learning in picturebooks is exemplified by the work of the Swedish author Elsa Beskow (1874-1953), who was strongly influenced by the ideas of the Swedish progressive educator Ellen Key. The paper relies on the state of the art in materiality research in children's literature, with special emphasis on children's reading and on the consequences of the transmission processes for picturebooks as artifacts.
Based on the observation that there is usually a mixture of information and propaganda in descriptive picturebooks of the German Democratic Republic (GDR), this paper examines the presentation of socialist monuments in three Berlin travel guides for children published in 1979 and 1987. In particular, the Th & auml;lmann Monument are considered. The picturebooks chosen are (D & auml;nhardt and Fischer 1979) from the series Mein kleines Lexikon, and Erst mal kucken in Berlin (Pieper and D & ouml;ring 1987). The comparative analysis shows that different methods of mixing information and propaganda are used and that relevant differences can also be found in the visual design of these picturebooks.
Translators occupy a privileged position when translating works written for a young audience as they are simultaneously ideal readers and authors the target texts. The apparently easy task of translating children's literature relies on the translator's responsibility to keep the author of the source text and the readership in mind. If we consider children's literature as an opportunity for young readers to shape their own image of the world and with reference to youth literature-reflect on their identity, translations can nurture a silent dialogue between the reader and the book during reading. This paper outlines the position of children's literature in academia and the shared multidisciplinary dimension with translation in order to discuss the value of translations and the role of translators as responsible for nurturing a narrative dialogue with young readers.
The paper approaches the classification of fantasy literature through an analysis of spatial organisation in story worlds, with the primary focus on distinguishing the genres of low and high fantasy. The distinction clearly highlights the key difference between the two types of narrative structures: while the plot in low fantasy takes place in the everyday, primary world where supernatural elements suddenly appear, in high fantasy, the plot is set in a complex, secondary world where magic is a rare but natural phenomenon. Based on the previous theoretical insights into genre issues, the paper explores the formal, thematic, and rhetorical dimensions of the genre, and defines the characteristics of the low fantasy genre through the unique dynamic between the everyday and the supernatural. The defining features are then identified in various examples from children's literature, thereby affirming the structure of the low-fantasy genre.
The paper is a continuation of literary-historical research on Roma literature for children and youth in Slovakia, which shows the quantitative increase and generic variety of Romany literature, where the dominant literary genre is the Romany folktale (paramisi). The paper is of a literary-theoretical nature. The analysis of Romany folktales (paramisa) by Romany authors-D. Banga, E. Lackov & aacute;, and J. Berky-& Lcaron;uboreck & yacute; - highlights the specific features of Roma identity (romipen) in the authentically depicted fates of Roma literary protagonists, in their characteristic features, in images of their lifestyle, in their interpersonal relations, and in their spiritual world. The recognition of Roma identity in literature for children and youth can contribute to the manifestation of the self-identification and emancipation efforts of Roma as a minority population group, to an understanding of their way of life and value system in the majority society, and to the acceptance and tolerance of the otherness of members of the Roma ethnic group in Slovakia.
The paper provides a short overview of the current state of original Slovak literary works with the theme of migration and the interpretation of selected works of Shaun Tan available in Slovak translation, addressing the discussed issues from various perspectives of inner outsiderness. Migration is a topic that regularly appears in political and educational debates across European countries, and the Slovak Republic, which belongs to culturally homogeneous countries, is no exception. This could be the reason why Slovak citizens find it more difficult to accept the arrival of new cultures and nationalities. One of the ways to adapt (Slovak) children to a multicultural environment and help them understand the feelings of their new (immigrant) classmates could be to read fiction stories with such themes. Through "books as windows", the child reader reshapes his or her mental representation of the world, which can result in being more open to new cultures.
