Italian children's literature. Children's literature in Italy: a brief excursion

Italian children's literature is quite young - if thirty years ago only classics with instructive stories and educational stories, then in the mid-80s, not only individual publications, but also series began to appear more and more often, no longer serving exclusively as an educational tool for the younger generation, but holistic literary works. Greater emphasis has been placed on the pleasure of reading, displaying real life in all its manifestations, awakening reading interest in children and adolescents themselves, the birth of a “critically minded” reader. Examples are the Junior series by the publishing house Mondadori, Istrici by the publishing house Salani, Il Batello a vapore by the publishing house Piemme, etc.

Around this time they began to transfer or from b O with special attention, reprint the main foreign authors- masters of children's literature, like Roald Dahl (his BFG opened the Istrici series of the Salani publishing house in 1987), Astrid Lindgren with Pippi Long stocking, Christine Nöstlinger "Child from tin can"- 1988 and others. Of the Italian authors during this period, Bianca Pizzorno became very popular - “Chlorophyll with clear skies", "Listen to my heart", "Tornatras" and her other works have already become "classics" of children's literature in Italy, without losing their relevance today.

The main emphasis at the end of the last century was child and adolescent psychology - to allow readers to penetrate into the thoughts of the characters and understand their motivations, to show the breadth of the emotional spectrum and reasoning, and at the same time realistic and multifaceted information about the complex aspects of life - war, environmental pollution, globalization, family problems, drug addiction, violence, disease. Among the Italian authors, Mino Milani, Silvana Gandolfi, Angela Nanetti, Veatrice Masini stand out - they speak to young readers on an equal basis, respecting their individuality and the right to take their own position.

The new trend did not go unnoticed by either readers or publishers. A “wave” of children’s literature began in Italy - they began to pay attention to children’s literature, publishing houses saw the public’s interest, and in a short time publications increased several times. As you know, quality is not able to keep up with quantity - marketing often outweighs literary value one book or another. This trend is still present - every year a huge number of new products appear, which are often difficult for the reader to understand.

What is the proportion of your own and translated texts? Are people interested in translations in Italy, and if so, from what languages ​​and in what genres? Are there any examples of foreign bestsellers that have conquered the Italian book market?

The number of translated texts gradually grew, with the bulk of translations coming from English-language literature. At the end of the 90s, the proportion of Italian texts and translations was 50/50, then foreign authors began to significantly predominate. However, then, noticing the growing interest in children’s literature, many Italian publishers decided to “grow” their author in this regard - and over the past 20 years, many young authors have appeared in Italy, purposefully and motivatedly working in the field of children’s literature. There were paired or even collective projects authors - for example, the successful series "Geronimo Stilton". Such a marketing move as sequel series has captured a huge space: the Ulysses Moore series, series related to football or figure skating, a series for girls "Fairy Oak", a fantasy series about a dragon girl and many others.

So in recent years the picture is as follows: Italian authors occupy approximately 60%, foreign ones - 40% of the market, and among translated authors English-speaking ones predominate: England and the USA. They are followed by France, Germany and Spain. Foreign bestsellers that have conquered the Italian market remain Harry Potter by K. Rowling, Piercy Jackson by R. Riordan, and “The Diary of a Wimpy Kid” by D. Kinney.

What do Italians know about modern Russian children's literature and do they translate it?

They know little and have not yet decided to translate - she is too young and unfamiliar. They translate slightly already proven classics or fairy tales...

What are the current developments in the literary process in Italy?

Children's literature is dominated by fiction in its various categories, especially fantasy and adventure stories.

Non-Fiction offers many topics, but the main ones remain the classic ones - nature and the animal world. It is worth noting the increasing role of new topics: network communication and environmental problems.

Small and not very new publishing houses are developing; they publish a limited number of books per year, but strictly monitor the quality - they mainly publish children's albums and illustrated books for younger children.

Post-apocalypse - http://www.berlin-libro.it and others

“New” fantasy: psychotherapist Silvana De Marie with her books about the struggle between good and evil, reflecting all today's realities.

Italian “Makarenko” – Antonio Ferrara, “working with difficult teenagers”

A little more about trends - greater freedom provided to teachers and librarians in the selection of books, in activities to promote reading, in arranging meetings with authors in schools and libraries.

It’s interesting that the bookselling business is also entering the children’s literature zone. For example, a project of a large supermarket chain - secondary school classes meet several times a year with the best modern writers and write a book with them - which is then offered in stores in the network for free. Last year, 13,000 classes took part in such a project, 8 books were created, which were printed with a total circulation of 3 million copies.

Lyudmila Grippe

Questions were asked by Alexey Oleynikov

Italian literature occupies an important place in the culture of Europe. This happened despite the fact that the Italian language itself acquired literary shape quite late, around the 1250s. This was due to the strong influence of Latin in Italy, where it was most widely used. The schools, which were predominantly secular in nature, taught Latin throughout. Only when it was possible to free ourselves from this influence did authentic literature begin to take shape.

Renaissance

The first famous works of Italian literature date back to the Renaissance. When the arts flourish throughout Italy, literature tries to keep up. Several world famous names belong to this period - Francesco Petrarca, Giovanni Boccaccio, Dante Alighieri. At that time the Italian and French literature The Renaissance set the tone for the whole of Europe. And this is not surprising.

Dante is rightfully considered the founder of the Italian literary language. He lived and worked at the turn of the XIII-XIV centuries. His most famous work was The Divine Comedy, which provided a comprehensive analysis of late medieval culture.

IN Italian literature Dante remained a poet and thinker who was constantly looking for something fundamentally new and different from everyday life. He had a muse that he worshiped named Beatrice. This love, in the end, received a mysterious and even some mystical meaning. After all, he filled each of his works with it. The idealized image of this woman is one of the key ones in Dante's works.

Fame came to him after the publication of the story " New life", which told about love that renewed the main character, forcing him to look at everything around him differently. It was composed of canzonas, sonnets and prose stories.

Dante also devoted a lot of time to political treatises. But his main work is still “The Divine Comedy”. This afterlife vision, a very popular genre in Italian literature at that time. The poem is an allegorical building in which there is a dense forest where one is lost main character, represents human sins and errors, and the most strong passions- this is pride, voluptuousness and greed.

Character " Divine Comedy"Together with a guide, he goes on a journey through Hell, Purgatory and Heaven.

The most complete picture of the writers and works of this country can be obtained from the Mokulsky encyclopedia. Based on this study, Italian literature appears in all its glory.

One of the most famous lyric poets in Italy is Francesco Petrarca. He lived in the 14th century and was a prominent representative of the generation of humanists. It’s interesting that he wrote not only on Italian, but also in Latin. Moreover world fame he acquired it precisely thanks to Italian poetry, which during his lifetime he treated with a certain degree of disdain.

In these works, he regularly addresses his lover named Laura. The reader learns from Petrarch's sonnets that they first met in church in 1327, and exactly 21 years later she died. Even after this, Petrarch continued to sing her praises for ten years.

In addition to poems dedicated to love for Laura, these Italian cycles contain works of a religious and political nature. Italian literature of the Renaissance is perceived by many precisely through the prism of Petrarch's poetry.

Another bright representative of the period Italian Renaissance in literature - Giovanni Boccaccio. He had a significant influence on the development of the entire European culture with his works. Boccaccio wrote a large number of poems on subjects from ancient mythology, and actively used the genre of psychological stories in his work.

His main work was the collection of short stories "The Decameron", one of the most striking works of Italian literature of the Renaissance. The short stories in this book, as critics note, are imbued with humanistic ideas, the spirit of freethinking, humor and cheerfulness, reflect the full palette of Italian society contemporary to the author.

The Decameron is a collection of one hundred stories told to each other by seven ladies and 13 men. They flee during the plague that has swept the country to a remote estate in the village, where they hope to wait out the epidemic.

All stories are presented in an easy and elegant language, the narrative breathes diversity and life truth. Boccaccio uses a large number of artistic techniques, depicting people of all kinds of characters, ages and conditions.

The love that Boccaccio paints is radically different from the idea of romantic relationships in Petrarch and Dante. For Giovanni, this is a burning passion, bordering on eroticism, rejecting established family values. The literature of the Italian Renaissance is largely based on the Decameron.

Writers from other countries also played a great influence. Italian and French literature of the Renaissance developed very quickly and dynamically, also represented by such names as Pierre de Ronsard and many others.

17th century

Next important stage- development of Italian literature of the 17th century. At that time, there were two schools in the country - Pindarists and Marine painters. The Marinists are led by Giambattista Marino. His most famous work is the poem "Adonis".

The second school of literature in Italian was founded by Gabriello Chiabrera. He was a very prolific author, from whose pen a large number of pastoral plays came out, epic poems and od. In this regard, it is necessary to mention the poet Vincenzo Filicaya.

I wonder what fundamental difference between these schools consists of technical tricks and issues related to the form of the work.

Around the same time, a circle appeared in Naples, from which emerged the Arcadian Academy, to which many famous poets and satirists of that period belonged.

In the 18th century, after a period of certain stagnation, a bright representative of the Italian classical literature He is a playwright and librettist. He has more than 250 plays to his credit.

Goldoni's comedy "The Servant of Two Masters" brought world fame, which is still included in the repertoire of many theaters around the world. The events of this work take place in Venice. The main character is Truffaldino, a rogue and deceiver who managed to escape from the poor town of Bergamo to the rich and successful Venice. There he is hired as a servant to Signor Rasponi, who in reality is Beatrice's girlfriend in disguise. Under the guise of her deceased brother, she seeks to find her lover, who, by mistake and due to injustice, is accused of murder and forced to flee Venice.

Truffaldino, who wants to earn as much as possible, serves two masters at the same time and at first he succeeds in this.

Giacomo Leopardi

In the 19th century, Italian fiction continues to develop, but such big names as Dante or Goldoni are not found. We can mention the romantic poet Giacomo Leopardi.

His poems were very lyrical, although he left behind very little - several dozen poems. They were first published in 1831 under the single title “Songs”. These poems were completely imbued with pessimism, which colored the entire life of the author himself.

Leopardi has not only poetic, but also prosaic works. For example, "Moral Essays". This is the name of his philosophical essay, and he also formulates his worldview in the “Diary of Reflections.”

All his life he was in search and was always disappointed. He claimed that he needed love, desire, fire and life, but in all respects he was a wreck. For most of his life, the poet was disabled, so he could not fully cooperate with foreign universities, although they regularly offered this. He was also depressed by the idea that Christianity was just an illusion. And since Leopardi was mystical by nature, he often found himself faced with a painful emptiness.

In his poems he depicted the feeling of true and natural beauty, being an adherent of Rousseau's ideas.

Leopardi has often been called the incarnate poet of world sorrow.

Raffaello Giovagnoli

The classics of Italian literature begin to take shape towards end of the 19th century century. The Italian historian and novelist writes about the gladiator of the same name, who leads a slave revolt that took place in Ancient Rome. It is noteworthy that this character is very real.

Moreover, in Giovagnoli’s narrative itself, in addition to historical truth and facts, lyrical plots are intertwined that did not actually exist. For example, in the Italian writer Spartak falls in love with the patrician Valeria, who treats him favorably.

At the same time, a courtesan from Greece, Euthybides, falls in love with Spartacus himself, whose love the protagonist categorically rejects. As a result, it is the offended Euthybides who plays one of the decisive roles in the defeat of the army of Spartacus and in his further death.

The ending is very plausible. The slave revolt was indeed brutally suppressed, and Spartacus was killed.

Writers from the south of the country made a great contribution to the development of Italian children's literature. For example, journalist Carlo Collodi writes famous fairy tale"The Adventures of Pinocchio. The Story of a Wooden Doll." In Russia, of course, it is better known in the interpretation of Alexei Nikolaevich Tolstoy, who wrote “The Golden Key, or the Adventures of Pinocchio.”

Collodi himself, originally from Florence, volunteered to fight in the Tuscan army when the War of Independence was fought in Italy (1848 and 1860).

In Italian literature of the 20th century, he stands out clearly from the rest. This is the Italian playwright and writer, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1934. Modern Italian literature, represented by Pirandello, represents a fascinating and inventive narrative, with the help of which the author simultaneously revives the art of stage and drama.

The absurdity renders big influence on the author. This production demonstrates the contradictions that arise between everyday life and art; this example demonstrates the social tragedy of people who are powerless to resist the masks imposed on them by society. They themselves only demand from the author that he write a play for them.

The play is divided into real and fantastic planes. In the first, the characters of a play that has not yet been written act, and in the second, the viewer learns about the tragedy that befalls them.

IN literary activity Pirandello entered the picture as the author of the popular collection "Joyful Pain" in 1889. Many of his early poems combine the desire to demonstrate to others his inner world, as well as spiritual rebellion that opposes the hopelessness of life around him. In 1894, the writer published a collection of short stories, “Love Without Love,” and then a collection of “Short Stories for a Year,” in which he sought to combine demonstration inner world little man with his spiritual inner rebellion against a hopeless life. Some of the works eventually became the basis for several of Pirandello's plays.

The writer entered literature as an author who talks about the life of small towns and villages in Sicily, depicting the social strata of the people living there. For example, in the famous short stories “Blessing” and “The Fortunate,” he ridicules representatives of the clergy who hide their greed behind ostentatious mercy.

In some of his works he deliberately departs from Italian traditionalism. Thus, in the short story “The Black Shawl”, it focuses on the psychological portrait and actions of the main character, who is an old maid who decided to arrange her life, regardless of the condemnation of others. At the same time, the author, at times, harshly criticizes social orders, when people are ready to do anything for the sake of profit. Public institutions are subjected to such criticism in the short story “Tight Tailcoat,” in which a professor is invited to his student’s wedding. He witnesses how the girl's future personal life is almost destroyed due to social prejudices.

A similar riot is described in the work “The Train Whistle.” At the center of the story is an accountant who feels dissatisfaction with his life under the influence of a momentary impulse. Dreaming of travel and wanderings, he realizes how unimportant the life around him is, he is carried away into illusory world, in which he finally loses his mind.

Political motives also appear in Pirandello’s work. Thus, the short stories “The Fool” and “His Majesty” demonstrate subtle political intrigues, while showing how petty they often are.

Often the target of criticism is social contradictions. In the short story "The Fan" the main character is a poor peasant woman who was abandoned by her loved one and simply robbed by her mistress. She reflects on what suicide is the only way solve all your problems.

At the same time, Pirandello remains a humanist, giving the main place in his work to reality human feelings. In the short story "Everything is like decent people" tells how the hero conquers his beloved with his selfless love, forgiving even the betrayal she committed.

Pirandello himself often prefers to delve into the psychology of his heroes, criticizing social reality and using such a technique as the grotesque. The heroes are depicted with social masks, which they must discard in the course of the action. For example, in the short story "Some Obligations" the main character is cheated on by his wife. Her lover is an official from the municipality, to whom he comes to complain about his wife’s infidelity. And when he finds out the whole truth, he not only forgives his wife, but also helps her lover. In reality, as the reader understands, he was never jealous of his wife, only putting on the social mask of an insulted and deceived husband. The lover also wore a mask, but this time of a respectable official.

Pirandello very unobtrusively uses the grotesque in his works. For example, in the short story "In Silence" the tragedy is revealed young man, who has known all the cruelty of the world, which leads him to sad and even tragic ending. He is forced to commit suicide and kill his younger brother.

In total for your literary career Pirandello wrote six novels. In Les Misérables, he criticizes social prejudice and society, portraying a woman who herself is trying to become an object of criticism from others.

And in his very famous novel"The Late Mattia Pascal" he demonstrates the emerging contradiction between the true face of a person living in modern society and his social mask. His hero decides to start life with clean slate, arranging everything so that those around him consider him dead. But as a result, he only takes on a new shell, realizing that life outside society is impossible. He simply begins to be torn between the real and the fictional, which symbolizes the gap between reality and human perception.

Italian literature of the 21st century presented famous writer, our contemporary Niccolo Ammaniti. He was born in Rome, studied at the Faculty of Biology, but never graduated. They say that he graduate work formed the basis of his first novel, which was called "Gills". The novel was published in 1994. It tells the story of a boy from Rome who is diagnosed with a tumor. Almost against his will, he finds himself in India, where he constantly finds himself in all sorts of, often unpleasant, situations. In 1999, the novel was filmed, but the film was not a great success.

In 1996, a collection of the writer's stories was published under common name"Dirt", among which were the following famous works, like “The Last Year of Humanity”, “To Live and Die in Prenestino”. The story "There Will Be No Holiday" was also made into a film. main role in which Monica Bellucci performed. In general, many of Ammaniti’s works have been filmed several times.

In 1999, the modern Italian writer released another of his novels, “I’ll Pick You Up and Take You Away.” Its actions take place in a fictional city located in central Italy. But real glory comes to him in 2001. His novel "I'm Not Afraid" thundered. Two years later, director Gabriele Salvatores filmed it.

The events of this work take place in the 70s of the 20th century. In a remote Italian province, 10-year-old Michele lives, who spends the whole summer playing with friends.

One day they find themselves near an abandoned house, where there is a mysterious pit covered with a lid on top. Without telling anyone about it, the next day Michele returns to his discovery, finding a boy sitting there on a chain. He supplies the mysterious prisoner with bread and water. The children get to know each other. It turns out that the boy's name is Filippo, he was kidnapped for ransom. Michele finds out that the crime was organized by a group of adults, including his own father.

Repeatedly, Ammaniti captivates readers with such captivating plots, illustrating what modern Italian literature can be. He writes not only books, but also scripts. So, in 2004, the film “Vanity Serum” was released, based on his story. In 2006, critics perceived it controversially new novel"As God commands." But at the same time, the work receives the approval of the reading community and even the Strega Award. In 2008, a film of the same name was released, again directed by Salvatores.

In 2010, Ammaniti wrote the novel “Me and You,” which was already brought to life on screen by Bernardo Bertolucci. Moreover, the maestro returns to filmmaking after a 7-year break, having become interested in the plot of Ammanity.

Among him latest works It is necessary to highlight the popular collection of short stories “A Delicate Moment” and the novel “Anna”, which became the seventh in his creative biography.

I read this book with great pleasure. The plot is quite dynamic, the book is read in one sitting.
At the same time, this book cannot be called entertaining reading. It makes you think about what it means to be lonely, not like everyone else, about the value of human friendship, about the fact that each person is the master of his own destiny, and also about how great it is when you help another to get at least a little closer to his dream.

The story takes place in Rome in the post-war period. The main character is a lonely blind boy named Nando, who is forced by an evil old woman to collect alms near the city theater. There he meets a group of children from a working-class area of ​​Rome. San Lorenzo. Children from a poor area are immediately imbued with his misfortune and come to him every day to somehow support him. At the same time, this is not just pity for the crippled boy. Talking with him, they find out his secret dreams - to visit the sea, learn some craft and read a lot of books.
And so a girl named Giovanna, one of the “San Lorenzo gang”, decides to help Nando. She takes the money that her friends saved for a football match with the kids from the neighborhood and takes a blind boy to the sea, who has no idea where she got the money for the trip. Needless to say, the boy is immensely happy, because in his entire life he has never been anywhere except his yard and the theater square!
Upon her return, Giovanna will face the wrath of her comrades - after all, they have already invited their rival neighbors to the game! Where can they get money for a soccer ball and rent now? sports ground? But when they find out where the money was spent, the friends are forced to come to terms with the upcoming embarrassment and ridicule of the guys from the San Giovanni team.
Nando is also in trouble: the old woman discovered his disappearance, and is furious that he did not “earn” anything for the day. But during those days of communicating with the guys from San Lorenzo, Nando changed. He realizes that he can no longer live like this and runs away from the old woman. The next day, the guys find him on one of the streets of Rome, and Giovanna’s parents take him to live with them for now.
Meanwhile, a conflict breaks out between the guys of San Lorenzo and San Giovanni due to a failed game, both teams are preparing for a “war”.
At the end of the book, the guys finally make peace (with the help of a blind boy), after which they play football. And it doesn’t really matter who won this game, because the main thing is that the guys made new friends!
As for Nando, the residents of the San Lorenzo area collect money and in the fall send him to a school for the blind, which is located on the seashore.
It’s a little naive, but when you read this book, you really want everything to end well!

Argilly M. Band of San Lorenzo. L., Detgiz, 1962, 144 p. The format is normal, the cover is publisher's cardboard, the paper is yellowed offset. Circulation 115,000 copies. Artist V. Gusev.

Today we propose to make a book tour around the world through children's literature in Italy.
Like “adult” literature, Italian literature for children has a long history. Its origins lie in a fairy tale, a folklore legend. Italian fairy tales were first collected in the 16th century. D. Basile and processed into the collection "Pentameron" or "Tale of Tales". For a long time The children's fairy tale existed on the stage of the Commedia dell'Arte. These performances were an actor's improvisation based on a script containing only a brief plot outline.
The history of the publication of Italian books dedicated to children's reading should probably begin in 1775, when Count Carlo Bettoni of Brescia contributed 100 sequins to the Milan Patriotic Society to announce a competition for a book for children (“25 moral and educational stories”). However, no one worthy was found, and the Bettoni competition died out. Nevertheless, a start was made, and in 1782 sixteen Moral Novels by Padre Francesco Zoave (1772-1806) appeared for children. Artistic merit there is virtually nothing in them, the characters are lifeless, their actions only rhetorically illustrate moral truths. And yet these short stories, of which there were 42 in the final edition, were published in Italy about a hundred times and translated into other languages. But, despite everything, literary process moved on at its own pace.
Hard times have come for Italian culture and literature under fascism. During the “Black Twenty Years” of Mussolini’s dictatorship (1922-1943), a huge number of books were published, designed to instill fascist ideals in children. The very names of these publications speak volumes: “A Little Fascist World”, “Mussolini for Children”, “The Duce Through the Eyes of a Child”... Fortunately, these ideas did not linger in the minds of the younger generation, and the world received many wonderful children's books of an anti-fascist and humanistic orientation .
Italian children's literature continues to develop in the 21st century and delight young readers around the world with new ideas, characters, and plots. There is probably something in the air of Italy that is especially inspiring...

Melis A. In search of Yeti. - St. Petersburg: ABC-classics, 2010.
Did you know that among the ghosts there are Greenpeace people who are ready to give their lives to save endangered species? And not just animals, but crypto-animals, such as the yeti. In the fairy-tale adventure story by Italian writer Alberto Melis, the main characters - a trio of inseparable friends - are in the process of saving a legendary humanoid creature in order to prevent “disappearance from the face of our planet due to human insensitivity and the cruelty of ancient species of fauna.” The heroes will experience exciting and dangerous adventures, encounters with amazing creatures, and readers will enjoy an unusual plot and fascinating reading.
The main characters - Violet, Sheila and Valiant - one day find secret room in Red Castle, the house into which Violet and Valiant's family had recently moved. Here they meet Clarence Wilberforce Blanding, a ghost who asks the children to help the yeti. Yeti cannot harm children, but they do not allow adults near them. The children agree and end up in Tibet. This is where adventures begin - exciting and, at times, dangerous.
Read the continuation of the adventures of the inseparable trinity in the books “In Search of Loch Ness monster", "In Search of the Dragon."

Rodari D. Once upon a time there lived twice Baron Lamberto, or the Wonders of the Island of San Giulio. - M.: Gayatri, 2008.
“Once Upon a Time There Was Twice Baron Lamberto” is a fairy tale intended not only for children, but also for adults. Its main character, the decrepit old man Baron Lamberto, has all possible wealth, houses and bank accounts, and six mysterious servants living in the attic prolong his life by endlessly repeating his name. By the age of 94, Lamberto is really starting to look younger, but his dissolute nephew Ottavio dreams of his uncle’s inheritance, and besides, the island of San Giulio is being captured by masked bandits. In addition to the above, the tale contains the following: characters: valet Anselmo, 24 people also named Lamberto, 24 bank directors (all with personal secretaries), boatman Dulio nicknamed Charon, scouts, journalists, photographers, police officers, onlookers, boys, radio amateurs. Add to this Italian temperament, ironic style, absurd metamorphoses and imagine the degree of intensity!

Gandolfi S. Aldabra. The turtle who loved Shakespeare. - M.: Samokat, 2010.
A story where fiction is so closely intertwined with reality that the reader ceases to distinguish the line between them...
The girl Eliza loves her artist grandmother very much, despite all her oddities. And how can you not love it if you can talk about anything with your grandmother and play all of Shakespeare’s plays by heart? But time is running, and the grandmother needs more and more help - she can hardly move on her own. Without Eliza’s support, Grandma Eya, who decided to outwit death, will never be able to make her dream come true, and she dreams of something completely incredible...
Modern philosophical tale famous Italian children's writer Silvana Gandolfi - that at any moment in their life, everyone can make their dream come true if there is at least one person nearby who can understand and support.

Nanette A. My grandfather was a cherry. - M.: Samokat, 2010.
Angela Nanetti is an Italian writer, author of more than 20 books for children and teenagers. The story “My Grandfather Was a Cherry” has been translated into many languages ​​and received more than ten prestigious awards. literary awards. Her stories are fascinating and full of unexpected events. In Nanette's books, children dream, mothers worry a lot but understand everything, and grandfathers climb trees and bring happiness.
Old man Ottaviano planted a cherry tree, which became his grandson's best friend. And so a story was born about an unusual grandfather who knew how to listen to plants and believed that “a person does not die as long as the cherry trees continue to live for him.”
The book tells a story from the perspective of a 9-year-old boy about how he sees and understands life and death, about loved ones and loved ones, about strangers and unkind people, about love, about devotion, about loneliness, about the possibility of committing an act, about that you have to remain yourself, that you don’t have to be afraid to seem funny...
The book "My Grandfather Was a Cherry" was included in the list of outstanding books for children "White Crows", compiled by the International Munich Youth Library, was awarded prizes in Italy, Germany and France, and its author, Angela Nanetti, was nominated for the main prize in children's literature - H.H. Andersen Prize.
A wonderful and touching book for children of any age about how every day can be a miracle.

"The Secret Diaries of Ulysses Moore"- a series of books about children's travel through time and space. According to the plot, the author is considered to be Ulysses Moore, who lives at Villa Argo in Kilmore Cove, Cornwall, England. The manuscript was originally encrypted. The translation and adaptation was carried out by an employee of the Publishing House, who is considered the translator of The Secret Diaries of Ulysses Moore.
Read in the series:
Moore W. Keys to Time. (The Secret Diaries of Ulysses Moore). - M.: RIPOL CLASSIC, 2011.
This book is the first of ten secret diaries of Ulysses Moore found at the ancient Villa Argo. Ulysses himself disappeared under mysterious circumstances, but left clues and clues for those who can read them. And the reward for the reader will be an incredible journey through time and space, full of dangers and risks.
The story told in this book is truly incredible, and we ourselves really want to know how it ends...
The young Covenant family with eleven-year-old twins Jason and Julia buys a luxurious villa on the seashore. A week after the move, the parents have to go to London on business, and the children are left alone in the villa under the supervision of the old gardener Nestor. They are joined by local boy Rick Banner. He had long dreamed of visiting the villa, about which there are so many legends.
The villa's former owner, the late Ulysses Moore, was strange man, which no one has seen. Jason Covenant, in turn, is sure that he hears the steps of the ghost of Ulysses Moore.
The children go to explore the house to either verify the existence of a ghost or make sure that there is none. Within a few hours, they discover a secret door, which they manage to open. They do not know that this is the Door of Time, thanks to which you can go wherever you want - at any time and space.
Moore W. Shop of Forgotten Cards. (The Secret Diaries of Ulysses Moore). - M.: RIPOL CLASSIC, 2011.
Here is the second secret diary of Ulysses Moore. A time portal hidden behind an old door leads twins Jason and Julia and their friend Rick to Ancient Egypt. It's not easy to find in the labyrinths of time the right way. Moreover, someone else is trying to unravel the mystery of the old villa “Argo” and stop their friends.
Read! Adventures of young friends in best traditions Enid Blyton!

The first six books have been translated into Russian:

• Keys to Time (La Porta del Tempo)
• Shop of Forgotten Maps (La Bottega delle Mappe Dimenticate)
• House of Mirrors (La casa degli specchi)
• Island of Masks (Lisola delle Maschere)
• Stone Guardians (I Guardiani di Pietra)
• The First Key (La prima chiave)

Some more excellent books from P. Baccalario:
Belpois D. Underground castle. - M.: ROSMEN, 2011
Young computer genius Jeremy Belpois (the main character and the author's pseudonym) and his friends accidentally discover an abandoned laboratory stuffed with computers in an old factory. Cars covered with a layer of dust open a portal to the digital world of Lyoko, in which the virtual girl Aelita lives.
Suddenly, Jeremy learns that anyone from real world. This means that Aelita, too, could once have been a simple girl.
But who made it virtual? And why is she the only one who knows the secret code of the X.A.N.A. virus, capable of destroying not only the virtual, but also the real world of Jeremy.
Abandoned factory, virtual girl, virtual world, the virus as the main villain. The girl needs to be saved - pulled out of the virtual world. Having previously solved all its codes, passwords and “programs”. And once there - in virtual reality - be able to go through all the “levels” of a not at all funny “game”. And the virus must be destroyed before it destroys not only the girl herself, but everyone and everything around her. And the virus is cunning, like all viruses, and insidious. And he’s already walking around the planet, penetrating other people’s computers and destroying everything in the virtual space... And all this needs to be done by ordinary schoolchildren - even if they are rare geniuses and clever girls...

Belpois D. Nameless city. - M.: ROSMEN, 2011.
With the help of Jeremy and his friends, Aelita returns to the real world, and Lyoko's virtual world is destroyed along with the X.A.N.A virus. So it seemed to the guys until a new student came to Kadik College - the pretty American Eva Skinner. The guys don’t even suspect that a piece of X.A.N.A. lives in Eve and this time the danger is much closer than it seems. After all, now they are threatened not only by a virus, but by an entire secret organization...

The CODE LIOKO series is a continuation of the cycle of Italian Bestsellers from the publishing house ROSMEN.
# The series is very popular abroad. The series of cartoons of the same name has been successfully broadcast on TV in many countries around the world for several seasons and has won a number of awards.
# The coordinator of the book project is the popular Italian science fiction writer Pierdomenico Baccalario, author of The Secret Diaries of Ulysses Moore.
# The series is designed by the famous Italian illustrator Jacopo Bruno and features an original, attractive design.
# The book contains 16 pages of color illustrations with artifacts and documentary photographs.

Brena S. Maya Fox. - M.: Makhaon, 2011.
Maya Fox is a 17-year-old schoolgirl who suddenly discovers that she has the ability to communicate with the other world. Inexorable time gives her only five days to cope with this discovery. She needs to be in time to save her life: the cruel, obsessed killer of her father, Michael Gacy, having escaped from prison, is looking for the girl. He believes he must complete his terrible mission by killing Maya on Halloween night.
But Maya is not alone, she is surrounded true friends. Her best friend Flo is always ready to help her, next to the girl and her mother, one of the best forensic psychologists in Scotland Yard, although she is completely immersed in her work and does not always pay enough attention to her teenage daughter. And of course he is Trent, the guy pursuing her, both repulsive and attractive at the same time. The love that has arisen between the young people comes into conflict with the recklessness of the killer pursuing Maya.
Maya is the only one who holds the key to deciphering the mysterious prophecy, which should be fulfilled in 2012, the only one who can save not only herself, but all of humanity.
The tension of the narrative increases, holding the readers' attention until the last pages of the book. But the fight is not over. New forces enter into it. You can find out how events will unfold by reading the next book about Maya.
The main character Maya dresses stylishly - she is a trendsetter, loves music and, like all teenagers, cannot live without her mobile phone and social networks.

Marie S. The Last Elf. - M.: Meshcheryakov Publishing House, 2011.
How can a little elf survive in a world where representatives of this race are hated and feared? Is he capable of fulfilling an ancient prophecy and changing the world for the better? He will have to revive a dead chicken, escape from prison, make friends with a troll, pacify a volcano, teach a newborn dragon to fly and find a way to new lands... And then, as the prophecy says, “the last elf and the last dragon will break the circle, the past and the future will converge and the sun of the new summer will shine in the sky."
A unique book - it will appeal to both children, teenagers and adults. Everyone will find moments to their liking, some - a funny fairy tale, some - a bewitching atmosphere, and some - a crazy parody of fantasy about elves and dragons. And how could it be different if the main character’s name is Yorshkrunskvarklornerstrink, and his best friend- dragon, a real example of sarcasm?

Post-war Italian literature was born in the purifying fire of the Resistance. Her best works were distinguished by an anti-fascist, democratic spirit, a critical social charge, great sincerity, deep and selfless love to ordinary people - those who liberated their land with arms in hand.

This new direction in literature was called neorealism. Neorealism was a progressive movement common to all Italian art; he developed in cinema, theater, and fine arts.

Vasco Pratolini (b. 1913)

An anti-fascist orientation distinguishes the books of Vasco Pratolini, one of the founders of neorealism in Italian literature. The entire work of the writer is inextricably linked with Florence - not only an artistic treasury, but also one of the centers of the working and revolutionary movement Italy. His works are largely autobiographical. This is a harsh, but at the same time lyrical story about the difficult life of the workers of his hometown.

Vasko Pratolnni.

Written back in 1941, the story “Street of Warehouses,” the sad story of an orphaned boy at an early age, is deeply humane: it sounds like a protest against a war that not only kills adults, but maims and wounds children’s souls. Another work of the writer, “Family Chronicle,” continues and develops this story. It clearly conveys the idea that real people, persistent fighters, come from the working environment, that it is in this environment that faith in one’s own strength and a sense of camaraderie are fostered. Both of these stories are familiar to our readers.

Pratolini’s novel “The Tale of Poor Lovers” (1947) is also well known in our country - one of outstanding works all modern Italian literature.

The novel takes place in Florence and covers the period of the Nazi seizure of power. Drawing daily life inhabitants of the street Via del Corno, Pratolini shows how some of them immediately resolutely join the ranks of fighters against fascism, others come to the camp of anti-fascism after long trials and hesitations, others go over to the side of the fascists - the enemies of the residents of Via del Corno and all honest people of Italy . Full of drama, the intense struggle between two forces imperiously bursts into the houses of the old street, leaving an imprint on the entire life of the “poor lovers” - boys and girls who grew up together in need and anxiety. This is a broad realistic canvas of folk life.

The novel Metello (1955) occupies an important place in Pratolini’s work. At the center of the novel is a young working-class boy, Metello Salani. The story about the years of his youth forms the plot of the book.

Character is formed in a difficult struggle, and the young man displays the qualities that allowed him to become a worker leader - natural intelligence, generosity, consciousness of the goals in whose name he is fighting. The image of Metello is symbolic - it personifies the formation of the self-awareness of Italian workers at the beginning of our century.

If these works by Vasco Pratolini are dedicated historical theme, then his interesting novel “The Persistence of Reason” (1963) takes the reader to the present day, to the seething reality of modern Italy.”

The theme of the book is the growth of self-awareness of a working-class guy named Bruno. The image of the working guy Bruno, just like the image of Metello, is symbolic - he personifies the modern working youth of Italy, its fighting spirit, high consciousness, clarity of purpose.

Alberto Moravia (b. 1907)

In 1929, an unknown twenty-two-year-old young man wrote a novel that became an important milestone in modern Italian literature. The novel was called "Indifferent". Its author was Alberto Moravia.

The underground communist press highly appreciated the book - essentially the first work of opposition to the Mussolini regime - and used it in their struggle. The novel “Indifferent” demonstrated to the whole world the rottenness and instability of the social and moral foundations of bourgeois Italian society. Moravia with his book opposes fascist demagoguery, which argued that the basis of “ great empire"Mussolini is a family, and shows the bourgeois family of that time, poisoned by falsehood, hypocrisy, indifference to everything except money.

This book was not only anti-fascist, but also deeply anti-bourgeois. She determined the direction of the entire work of Alberto Moravia, a harsh critic of the vices of bourgeois society.

In 1957, the novel “Chochara” was published. In “Chocharia,” the author, through the mouth of Cesira, a simple woman originally from Chocharia, condemns the war as a crime against humanity.

Alberto Moravia.

In the writer’s works of recent years, the form, plots, characters and their language change from book to book, but the artist’s rejection of the cruel world in which he lives remains unchanged. Moravia's books have been translated into more than 20 languages, and many of them have been filmed.

For children and youth

The book is included in the golden fund of world children's literature Edmondo De Amicisa(1846 - 1908) entitled "Heart". It is written in the form of a schoolchild's diary. junior classes. This noble book awakens in young readers respect for working people, love for the Motherland, and a sense of friendship. “Heart”, or “Diary of a Schoolchild” (under this title it was published in our country), remains one of the favorite books of children in many countries of the world.

Many generations of young readers around the world were brought up on the novel by the Italian writer Raffaello Giovagnoli (1838 - 1915) "Spartak". This book about the uprising of slaves and gladiators in Ancient Rome is imbued with revolutionary pathos.

The wooden man Pinocchio is known almost all over the world - the hero of Collodi’s book “The Adventures of Pinocchio, the Story of a Puppet.” Italian under the pseudonym Collodi Carlo Lorenzini(1826 - 1890) began to be published in 1860.

The charm of Collodi's book is primarily in the combination of fabulousness, cheerful fantasy and signs of the authentic, real world, organically included in this fabulousness.

“Sitting decently at the table gave him goosebumps all over his body.” Illustration by L. Vladimirsky for “The Adventures of Pinocchio” by C. Collodi.

Illustration by Yu. Korovin for the poem by D. Rodari “What do crafts smell like?”

Gianni Rodari among the pioneers.

In work, study, helping others, a wooden doll acquires true humanity - this is the serious conclusion from the funny book.

The writer A. N. Tolstoy adapted Collodi’s fairy tale, and in 1936 it was published under the title “The Golden Key, or the Adventures of Pinocchio.” Since then, Pinocchio has found a second life in the Soviet Union.

The true spirit of Italian folk fabulousness lives in fairy tales Antonio Gramsci.(1891 - 1937), founder of the Italian Communist Party. Antonio Gramsci wrote these tales for his children in a fascist dungeon during the “Black Twenty Years” of Mussolini’s dictatorship. These are small, elegant fairy tales, or rather, parables for children - entertaining and at the same time deeply instructive. Some of them have been translated into Russian and published here under the title “The Hedgehog Tree”.

In modern progressive literature for children, fairy tales occupy a large place. Revival of interest in folk tale found excellent embodiment in the collection “Italian Tales” (1956), which was published by a progressive writer Italo Calvino(b. 1923). He collected and processed tales existing in Italian folklore in various dialects.

Almost all the best of modern children's books in Italy have been translated and are being translated into Russian: stories by Italian writers about children and for children are included in the collection “Children of Italy”. Two documentary stories published Louise Sturani about young partisans - “Red Ties” and “Aim for the Chest! Long live Italy!"; “The Diary of a Young Teacher” and “The Year of a Little Life” Maria Giacobbe;“Valley of Purgatory” - letters from Italian children, in which their little authors speak ingenuously and tragically about child labor in their homeland; books Marcello Argilli(b. 1926) “Pioneers of Vallescura”; Francesca Aldo Rizzo "Among the lagoons and marshes of Po"; stories by Rene Reggiani and many others. We have named only some of the books we have translated.

But, of course, the most beloved contemporary Italian children's writer in the Soviet Union is the kind storyteller Gianni Rodari(b. 1920). Rodari's worldwide fame came from our country: the fame of his books began with translations made by S. Marshak.

Then they began to be published in other socialist countries, while in his homeland Rodari’s works were published in tiny editions and remained almost unknown to a wide circle of children for a long time. It took many years for Gianni Rodari to gain widespread recognition in Italy.

Rodari is a communist, he started his literary work in the newspaper “Unita”, where he published poems about the life of children of working Italy. Social charge and the power of satirical denunciation are combined in his poetry with a bright faith in a better future for all children on Earth, with fighting spirit and cheerful humor.

Young Soviet readers know Rodari’s collections of poems “Hello, children!” “Trains and cities”, “What do crafts smell like?”, “What color are crafts?” and etc.

But Rodari’s prose is no less interesting. The most famous of his stories is “The Adventures of Cipollino.” The hero of the book, an onion boy living in a fairyland, protects the poor, fights oppression, injustice, and cruelty of the rich.

Fantastic situations, cheerful, mischievous fiction are intertwined in the works of Rodari with a completely realistic description of today's Italian reality.

Other fairy tales are also popular with children - “The Journey of the Blue Arrow”, “Telephone Tales”, “Cake in the Sky”, etc. “Cake in the Sky” is witty satirical tale, which tells the story of how the people, led by the brave and resourceful, prospered young heroes fairy tales, managed to repel the conspirators who were trying to re-establish fascism in Italy.

Gianni Rodari's books are published in millions of copies in our country.