A fairy tale about the Universe

Dedicated to the memory of Anna Gorelysheva, teacher of physics and astronomy, system administrator, head of the laboratory of the Cosmonaut Training Center, stalker, my friend.

Nowadays, it is difficult to find a children's book for primary school age, in a bright artistic form, that simply and captivatingly tells about the Earth, the Solar system, the Universe and the mysteries of physics. Yes, translated encyclopedias with large, beautiful illustrations are published, but the text there is usually dry, unable to arouse the interest of a child. At a younger age, it is important to explain complex phenomena and concepts based on what the student knows. Artistic fairy-tale images and life examples from the world around your child are much better suited for this than just pictures with annotations.

In the anniversary year of manned astronautics, a wonderful book “Fairytale Universe” was published by Efrem Pavlovich Levitan [1], a teacher, deputy editor-in-chief of the magazine “Earth and the Universe”, author of a textbook on astronomy and many popular science books, including for children. The cover notes that this is a fascinating encyclopedia for future astronomers and cosmonauts, as well as for all inquisitive children. But, in fact, this impressive volume is not an encyclopedia, but a children's fairy tale with artistic illustrations.

Tatiana Gamzina-Bakhtiy's color drawings create a magical atmosphere, even if on the pages we see the hydrogen atom, the phases of the Moon or the International Space Station. And the heroes of the fairy tale seem to come to life in the process of reading. Alka and Sveta, as well as the ubiquitous gnomes Knopkin and Nedo-uchkin, find themselves in a fairy tale composed by Pope. Yes, that's right, with a capital letter. Why? More on this below.

By reading this book, children will learn about what the Sun is, where planets large and small come from, what kind of world it is in which stars and galaxies live. They will find out what time is and why galaxies run away from each other. But that's not all, children will touch upon the issues of the existence of life in the Universe and learn to distinguish between astronomers and astrologers. This is a fairy tale with encyclopedic coverage.

Why is Pope with a capital D, you ask impatiently? The fact is that this book is not only a fairy-tale story on astronomy, it is a book about what a Pope should be in relation to his children: kind, inquisitive, inventive, attentive - a real Pope.

“Fairytale Universe” can be read to preschoolers, for example, before bed, and later they can conduct simple and visual experiments together. A child's interests are formed in early childhood; if you want him to develop a scientific picture of the world, this book should be in your library. Or in your son or daughter's library. Enjoy your reading.

Alexander Khokhlov

1. Personal page of Efrem Pavlovich Levitan: https://sites.google.com/site/astronomlevitan/