Vladimir Zheleznikov “Scarecrow”

We read children's books while having fun and empathizing with the characters. But some good books for kids contain recognizable “case studies” that can and should be analyzed with children. A psychological children's book can become a child's friend.

Writer Daria Dotsuk shared with our website her story about child bullying, in which the story is told on behalf of a young persecutor.

Nikolai Gogol's novel “The Overcoat” for the first and probably the last time in Russian literature depicts the image of a persecutor/mobber who repented of abusing his colleague at the workplace.

Dear parents! I would like to introduce you to Samokat's wonderful graphic book “The Volcano That Was Angry” (2020). The author of the text and drawings is Natalya Baiduzha, a designer and illustrator from Siberia. Age marking 0-3.4-6. I am very closely researching new children's books that raise the topic of aggression and bullying. And not all books appeal to me, and I don't want to talk about them all. But I immediately became interested in Vulcan, although it is for children of an age I don't work with. I looked at it carefully several times and figured out how parents or caregivers could “work” with her.

I suggest considering Maya Ganina's children's novel “Tyapkin and Lyosha” as a “prequel” to Lyudmila Petrushevskaya's novel “Time is Night” or a “prequel” to our current life and some of the peculiarities of our “interpersonal communication”.

The authors of the book “The Art of Retreating. How it helps in life, love and work” Peg Streep and Alan Bernstein (Minsk: Potpourri, 2014, translated from English by Yu.I. Gerasimchik) defy conventional stereotypes that make us fight to the bitter end and never give up. The authors argue that the ability to abandon the goal in time and leave is as valuable as dedication and perseverance. Using examples, they show how people who abandoned their goals in time, stopped trying to prove something, freed themselves from “tunnel vision” and gave up their fanatical dedication to the goal and perseverance in achieving it achieved success in life. When we stop fighting, we overload our minds and minds, give ourselves a break and are able to formulate new goals. Failure, followed by quitting and losing, often paralyzes us. Unable to give up their usual behavior — breaking into closed gates — people often find themselves in a vicious circle. They are accompanied by failures and disappointments. And, as a result, self-esteem falls and depression occurs. <br>

Marina Solomonova, owner of the Dickens and Marianna (Books and Postcards) shop room (St. Petersburg), talks about new children's books about Stalinist repression on the Rara Avis website.