Dislike for the mirror

To collect books everything - and prohibit.

Once, once in one school I happened to hold a library lesson-in the sense, a lesson in the library for seventh graders. The topic was simple: modern literature for children and adolescents. The story was straightforward: she simply talked about books - those that I myself consider significant and interesting. Presenting one of the most important books, in my opinion, I say approximately the following:

- Tell me, please, guys, do modern teenagers need books in which the author writes very calmly and tactfully about what to remain an orphan, about a serious oncological disease, about homosexuality?

(I expect the brilliance of the eyes, excitement and the desire to find out the name of the book.)

“No,” seventh graders tell me. And their appearance is somehow boring.

A pause lasts a few seconds. I quickly think about how to get out of the situation.

- Why?

“Children should not read about it,” they answer me indifferently.

-And what, something from the listed by me is unfamiliar to you?

- Yes, we know about everything!

“But you don't want to read a book about it?”

Silence. The polite refusal-mockery.

And then a guess appears:

- Maybe you do not trust such a book?

Interest in the eyes appears. And I continue:

- That is, you do not believe that you can talk about it frankly with me or with other adults?

- Well, yes, this is a children's book.

Why so?

I think that the most correct answer is here and here . Adults are too frankly admitted that they do not know how, cannot, do not want to talk with children about something complex, ambiguous. That is, about his own, about adult.

Another picture from life. At the last MMKVVI, I talked with the elderly master about what modern children read. Trying to convince him that the children now, as always, read not only entertaining (fabulous) literature, but also cognitive - how the world works, how a person works, cited the enthusiasm of his own child with the book of anatomy Donner. I got a categorical for this:

- It is generally impossible for children to read!

- Why?

- Already from the name itself it is clear that this is impossible!

That is, anatomy is not about how the ear, stomach or liver are arranged. If “secrets”, then about it. And adults believe that about “this” you need to learn as later as possible. This is a very interesting reaction: we are afraid of information about ourselves. And we want to "protect" from her ... Do you think children? No - yourself! It’s better, so calmer: you can accurately accustom your child not to ask stupid questions.

Teenagers do not trust us because the usual practice of reading with adults is learned from the kindergarten: read to learn good (“What does this fairy tale teach? Good wins evil!”). And good is such smooth, correct words for nothing: about the fact that it is bad to deceive (and this is said by adults who themselves strive to deceive or “lack”), about hard work, about morality and patriotism, about the love of the book and that it must be protected (and not read).

And it cannot be said that it is not at all interesting to read to children. Read is definitely not about life, not about what excites you. And certainly not about the problems and questions that are worried about you, because it is precisely about them that adults most often say:

- It's early for you! You grow up, then find out.

Therefore, the books are honest, frank, simple words telling about difficult, “non -childish” children's problems, not only adults do not trust (“we have enough of this in life, why should a child score their heads”). The children themselves do not believe in them. The survey I conducted in the last academic year in five schools in Moscow showed that the most attractive books for schoolchildren are science fiction, fantasy, adventure, fairy tales and detectives - it was such books in different answers that were determined by half of the respondents as a familiar, convenient and understandable reading. Only 20% of schoolchildren see themselves with readers of the books “About how people around me live (love, friends, quarrel, fight, grow up and age, get married and get divorced, etc.)” or “About peers, better about contemporaries”. But at the same time, absolutely all adolescents answered in the affirmative to the question: “Do I need to write books for children (adolescents) about difficult life situations, cruelty and violence about the real problems of this world?”

“Only prepared children can read this book,” the librarians said about the book of Teresa Khamik “Tell me, red cap”.

In the same poll there was a question addressed to teachers and parents: what books cannot be read by children and adolescents? For the most part, adults (teachers and parents) believe that children should not read about cruelty, sex, violence, death, one answer seems to me the most indicative for respondents: you cannot read “about adulthood”.

Here is such a paradox: training and education are what is preparing for adulthood. But at the same time, children should not talk about it in advance. First you need to prepare well (this is how: “Only prepared children can read this book,” the librarians said about the book of Teresa Khanik “Tell me, Red Red Riding Hood”).

That is why it is so difficult to get to our Russian schoolchildren books that do not lead to a fabulous and fantasy worlds, but offer to look at themselves from the side.

An amazingly touching, exciting story that survived the criminal prosecution, is Roman D. Grossman "Who would run with." The book does not have what it was accused of, but it has a truth of life that our deputies are so afraid of.

The novels “Three of your name” by D. Sabitova, “Class Class” by E. Murashova, “Bible in SMS KAC” AI EN (Laureate “Book” 1st season), “Where is dad?” Yu. Kuznetsova is too frankly showing what adults are. How imperfect the world is, how our society is crushed by heavy social sores.

It is very difficult to talk about the book of Daria Wilke “Shutovskaya Kolpak” (a short list of 4th season “Bookra”). Like the main thing - why tell a teenager about the backstage problems of the theater world, about the oddities of some actors, and even more so about the complexity of gender self -determination in adolescence? Why attract the attention of children to what their attention is already borne by? They will figure it out without us.

Nevertheless, we really want this to happen differently. The experience of translated literature shows that this is possible: to calmly talk about the complex and sick, without hiding problems, to lead to their solution.

We stumble, look for the right words and, despite an unexpected reaction in the form of fears and prohibitions from the legislative and executive branch, the public, we believe in a reading child. And we also believe in reading parents.

P.​ S.​ I would write some kind of transcendental, stupid muck about books-they say what kind of texts, but what are the children ... to ban it, and the authors should be subjected to medical examination-and all the ribbons of social networks would be littered with reposts: people would be tired of tirelessly discussed it. The scandal is a scandal - in search of a sharp one, many would rush to glance at the books and collapse from their heights ... at the authors, publishers or offering these books of librarians. Something like this .

What am I going to? The prohibitions and attempts to protect children from harmful information have still served the society of good service. From the ban on books, you can make a program for reading reading .

So the sequel should be. Ahead of the conversation with Moscow schoolchildren about the week of a banned book. And about what they think about adults who forbid them to read something.

The editors thanks the All -Russian competition for the best literary work for children and youth "Booker" for support when working on this material.