“WHAT BOOKS ABOUT RUSSIA COULD BE RECOMMENDED TO CHILDREN IN THE USA?” AN EXAMPLE OF ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY, 1949

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of the annotated bibliography published in the USA in 1949 by the American librarian Ellie Beth Martin. The bibliography includes 60 books about Russia and presents a wide range of books of various genres — from folk tales to non-fiction — created by authors who adhered to various political views and had various life experience and different study approach to the topic — both the current situation in the Soviet Union and the history and culture of Russia. The bibliography includes books by American authors and translations of Russian and Soviet children’s literature. Martin provides a commentary for each book, evaluating its informativeness, reliability, ideological non-engagement, and also the ability to arouse interest and bring enjoyment to child readers. The purpose of Martin’s publication was to provide teachers and librarians with a list of books for schoolchildren, the reading of which could give American children basic information about Russia, impartial and diverse, to help them to form their own understanding of the relationship between their homeland and the USSR.

Keywords: Russian children’s books in translation; children’s reading in USA; children’s literature about World War II