What to Read to the Children, or Practical View of the Fröbel’ Society on the Children’s Literature of the XIX Century

Abstract

The paper studies the history of competition for the best story for children, organized by Fröbel’ Society. The competition was holding from 1878 to 1905 and aimed at promoting the development of book publishing and literature for children, especially for young readers (3–7 years old). The article describes the organization of the competition and the development of an expert community around it, reveals the prerequisites for its emergence and connection with previous pedagogical and bibliographical activities in the field of children’s books and children’s reading. Contribution of the organizers to the development of children’s literature has been described. The author used the archive materials from collections of the Library of Herzen University (reports of the Frebelev society for 1871–1906), as well as materials from educational journals of 1880s—1900s. The author pays attention to the making of criteria for evaluating a children’s book, in this case pedagogical, mentions the impact of the competition on the creative biography of children’s writers K. P. Lukashevich, V. P. Avenarius, N. G. Vuchetich. The Fröbel’ competition is recognizing as a significant institution that influences on the development of children’s literature from the end of the 19 th to the beginning of the 20 th centuries.
Keywords: Fröbel society, preschool education, children’s literature of the 19th century, literary prize, literary contest, N. Poznyakov, F. G. Toll.