Presidential Library marks the International Children's Day

"Why should we brush our teeth? Why is eating lots of chocolate not allowed? What to do during a thunderstorm?" - children ask many similar questions when they learn about the world, but not every adult can give immediate and detailed answers. To satisfy children's curiosity, special books or systematic encyclopedias for children began to appear in some countries in the late XVIII and early XIX centuries.

The first Russian children's encyclopedia was published in 1802. The book, which helped children study the world, was entitled Children's Encyclopedia or New Content of All Sciences in Brief for Youth. Its edition of 1808 is available in the Presidential Library's collections. The publication in Russian and French tells about art, countries, natural phenomena and much more.

In 1913–1914, Russia issued a ten-volume Children's Encyclopedia, prepared with the participation of such prominent scientists as the zoologist Julius Wagner, the writer Nikolai Morozov and the physiologist Sergei Metalnikov. The books were published in the printing house of Ivan Sytin, the famous publisher of the time. For several decades, the Encyclopedia had been very popular. Its unique volumes are included in the Presidential Library's collections.

The Encyclopedia in a simple way tells about all areas of life. It raises questions rambling for many adults: why the wheel spins, why there are so many stars in the sky, how kangaroos appeared in Australia, why some people are right-handed, while others are left-handed, etc. "The compilers of the Children's Encyclopedia considered the fact that the children do not see the world as we do - adult people; they see in it many riddles and find lots of miracles... Therefore, the compilers, illustrating the issues with numerous drawings, tried to adapt their explanations to children's psychology, to make them more vivid, pleasant and interesting for young readers", states the foreword to the Encyclopedia.

The Russian edition is based on the English Children's Encyclopedia by Arthur Mie. The compilers of the Russian Children's Encyclopedia included both translation and information about life in Russia. It featured articles on the country's history and geography, domestic food and various issues, as well as stories about Russian scientists.

For example, one of the Encyclopedia's articles is devoted to Dmitry Mendeleev. To explain to young readers the structure of his periodic table of elements, the authors compare it with a meadow with many unknown plants - they can be easily and quickly studied if you know how to systematize.

"Before Mendeleev, chemical elements were the same motley meadow, difficult for comprehension even to experienced people. Systematizing them was an overwhelming job for the students. But then Mendeleev arose and made a great discovery, which turned out to be ingeniously simple, like everything great", says the sixth volume of the publication.

Children's Encyclopedia was not only a theoretical guide. It also gave practical advice on an independent study of the world. The section "How to engross the mind?" presents various educational games, instructions for conducting simple experiments and creating devices. So, the book provides instructions on making a musical instrument from bottles, a copier and a telephone from improvised items, etc.

The Presidential Library features useful publications, which may help any child receive valuable information most comfortably and engagingly and improve knowledge. Children's and youth magazines and newspapers occupy a special place among such materials. For example, the Presidential Library' portal releases digitized issues of the Murzilka magazines of the first half of the XX century, Pioner, Kostyor, etc.

The portal also promotes multimedia lessons, video lectures, virtual tours and exhibitions, educational films - the materials intended for children of all ages.