The famous Slovak writer Rudo Moritz was born in 1921 in the small village of Suchany, graduated from a pedagogical school, worked as a teacher in a Slovak village... Then the second world war, active participation in the Slovak National Uprising. After the war, he studied at the Bratislava Pedagogical Institute, scientific work in the field of pedagogy and as a natural continuation of all previous activities - work at the State Publishing House of Children's and Youth Literature "Mlade Leta", which he has headed for many years.
But this is only a short list of biographical data.
And behind him is tense creative life a popular author of many works for children and youth, enormous organizational work in the Bratislava publishing house "Mlade Leta", which became the center for publishing children's literature in Slovakia and received wide international recognition, tireless work as a propagandist of socialist children's literature throughout the world.
It is difficult to say what is most important in his activity, but still his most favorite activity, to which Rudo Moritz devoted about thirty years of his life, remains books for children.
And he has already written more than twenty-five of them, starting in 1947, when his first book “Martin the Skier” was published.
Rudo Moritz writes about modern life Slovak guys, about sports, but the main place in his work belongs to two main themes - the past war and nature.
Participation in the Slovak Uprising left a big mark on the writer’s life, and that is why stories about war and the fight against fascism occupy such an important place in his work. The most famous of them, such as the story “The Explosion,” are largely autobiographical.
Born in a Slovak village, he absorbed all the extraordinary beauty from childhood native land, Rudo Moritz subsequently did not break spiritual ties with his origins. That is why stories about nature are an integral and important part of his work. Most famous books of this cycle: - “From the Hunting Bag” and “Tales of the Forest”. Love nature, be friends with it, respect it and protect it - the writer tells us.
That's all I wanted to say, at least briefly, about our Slovak friend Rudo Moritz before you open his book.
S. Alekseev
How I started writing...
How did I start writing? When did I first encounter art? What first touched the tender strings of my feelings? Maybe a book? Or an unforgettable picture? Or a song? It is not so easy for me to return to my childhood years in order to find out what was first and most powerful. Or maybe one thing was connected to the other, brick to brick. Because, in fact, everything was not so simple.
It seems to me that it all started with a fairy tale. With magic folk tale. And from my grandmother. And also from nature...
We often went to see my grandmother. She was a small woman, a tiny, small creature; hard work had dried her out, but grandmother resisted years and hard work for her masters.
She lived in a small picturesque village in Turtse. The very name of this village was fabulous: Polereka. And this small village seemed tailor-made for our grandmother. Together with the rigs there were no more than twenty buildings here. On one side it was surrounded by mountains, on the other - flowering meadows. And at the upper end there flowed straight out of the sheer rock powerful source, a greenhouse, which, just a hundred meters below, spit a heavy and moss-covered mill wheel. The mill was tapping continuously. And even her knock was like a fairy tale.
And among this magical world Grandmother, placing her tired hands on her knees, told us children fairy tales in the evenings. She spoke slowly, pronounced the sounds softly, like everyone else in this part of Slovakia, and we listened quietly. It is not known where the grandmother got her fairy tales from - maybe she had some kind of magic bag from which she took them out, because every evening she was told new fairy tale. I liked most of all the fairy tale about the “Brave Daredevil” - about a guy who was not afraid of anything.
This is where my acquaintance with art began. With a fairy-tale village, with a fairy-tale rock from which clean water, with the fairy-tale grandmother and with the fairy tale itself. And to this we must add my uncle’s fairy-tale horses, which actually pulled heavy carts, but seemed so wild to me that they could even jump over castle walls. And also Sunday evenings filled with soulful singing.
This is how my encounters with real art began.
Then it was time for the book, or rather, books. It wasn’t “Robinson Crusoe” or “Treasure Island”; it was a much more modest book that captivated me for the first time - “And the Battle Broke Out” by Razusova-Martakona. Simple story in poems about the life of rural boys, who were divided into two camps - the upper and lower ends of the village, and then staged various pranks; sharpened old sabers found in their grandfathers' attics, sewed battle banners from their mother's skirts, and stole apples from the master's orchards. Probably, this book charmed me not with the brilliance of its rhythm and rhymes or poetic patterns, but with its content, which was close to my dreams and hobbies.
Although no one forced me, I knew most of this poetic work by heart. I recited it to my friends, and then we acted out what was written in the book. To this day, this book occupies a place in my heart, and I do not believe those who tell me that it is already outdated and its beauty has faded. But I myself don’t want to read it, so that the illusions of childhood do not disappear. Because we, adults, do not always know how to find in art the magic that children find in it.
Then meetings with art became more and more frequent. I was lucky: after graduation public school I entered the gymnasium of the city of Martin.
Martin was then the center of Slovak culture. Was here cultural center- Matica Slovacka and books were published, wonderful books. In the gymnasium we were taught by teachers who dedicated their free time art. And therefore, besides my grandmother, I am grateful to two more teachers for opening wide the gates to the kingdom of art, literature and books for me. The first of them, Mikulas Stano, was for many years my class teacher and taught me Slovak language and literature. The translator himself from Polish and French(among other things, he translated Sienkiewicz’s novel “In the Desert and in the Forest”), he was an inspired connoisseur of literature. And everything that he passionately loved, he passed on to his students with the same passion. He recommended us what to read and demanded that we know the best examples of Slovak poetry by heart.
He revealed to us an inexhaustible storehouse of treasures - from folklore to contemporary modernity, domestic and foreign. And I fell in love with literature and art to such an extent that I came into conflict with mathematics, physics and chemistry.
The second one also amazing person was the teacher Yaroslav Vodrazka, a member of the Academy of Arts, one of the founders of the famous library of children's books " Good word”, which was published by Matica Slovacka. He taught us how to draw, showed us the play of colors; we froze in admiration when, with his left hand, in a few strokes, he sketched either Janosik, then various animals, or a painted hut. Jaroslav Vodrazka also illustrated children's books. He even wrote some of them himself. He was a cheerful man, and his cheerfulness and humor flowed into both his illustrations and the stories he wrote. I remember it just like today: to one of my drawing lessons he brought prints of pages from the book “Pirates”. It was his own fantasy story with his own with my own illustrations. He showed us what the book looks like at this stage of production. His eyes lit up with delight, and ours lit up too.
Yunna Petrovna (Pinkhusovna) Moritz was born in Kyiv on June 2, 1937. After graduating from school, she entered Kiev University, but a year later she was accepted into the full-time poetry department of the Literary Institute. Gorky. Due to a lack of funds, she worked at night in a printing house as a proofreader and, of course, wrote poetry. In 1957, her first collection of poetry, “Conversation about Happiness,” was published. And in 1961, the first book “Cape of Desire” was published, based on impressions from great trip to the Arctic on board the icebreaker Sedov in the summer of 1956. Later, “Stories about the Miraculous” were published, which were created from travel notes from that trip. The adult poetry of Yunna Moritz reflected her civic position and progressive views on what was happening in the country. Because of this, her works were not published in 1961–1970.
The poetess began writing poems for children after the birth of her son. At that time, the atmosphere in children's publishing houses was freer and made it possible to realize many of the author's fantasies. Yunna Moritz worked in the magazine “Youth”, where she ran the column “For younger brothers and sisters”.
Yunna Moritz's children's poetry is amazing and bright images, and original stories. The inquisitive gaze of the poetess reveals to readers a lot of interesting things in ordinary life. Turns out, “...there are, by the way, /CThe vines are very polite. / It’s not all about nutrition, / But about upbringing!” We agree that “hot delicious tea / Will disperse boredom and sadness”, and with the fact that everyone should smile on such an important occasion: “Spring is coming to the city!”
Mischievous, sometimes absurd poems in the style of Daniil Kharms testify to the poetess’s irrepressible imagination, her belief in miracles and desire to fill her childhood with joy. In the poem “Sea of Wonders,” a horse is caught on a fishing hook: “With its tail in farewell / Waving to the fisherman, / The horned horse / Said “Ku-ku!”
And in “The Laughing Confusion” there are such funny lines:
The shaft went to the dance
IN new hat from a saucepan.
Her gentleman was a broom,
He ate a dumpling out of a hat!
Engaging children with poetic play, Yu.P. Moritz strives to develop children's imagination, enriching it with new images, and also encourages young readers to fantasize and dream. “I’m lying on the grass, / A hundred fantasies in my head. / Dream with me - / There will be not a hundred, but two hundred!”
It’s amazing how accurately and soulfully the poetess conveys the experiences of a child’s soul. Parents have a difficult relationship: either dad leaves mom, or mom leaves dad, but the child does not dramatize the situation and does not lose heart. “I entertain my dad on Wednesday, / I entertain my mom on Saturday...” And he even has a fun program for grandparents.
But the hero of the poem “Ticket to the Dacha” will have to leave home for the whole summer. But the boy is sure that his favorite toys “They will sigh pitifully, / They will cry quietly, / If I throw them on the shelf / And go away to rest.” Therefore, he decides to take them with him to the dacha. But will my aunt allow it? ticket office do this? It’s so good that my aunt turned out to be so kind. She immediately understood how “It’s sad to live in an empty apartment / Even for a small animal / From which shavings are climbing.” And she allowed the boy to take all his friends to the dacha: “Two camels with a baby camel, / Two bears with a baby bear, / And a baby elephant about five years old.”
This is how, without teachings and edifications, it is possible and necessary to cultivate kindness and responsiveness in children. The absence of strict intonations and cliches in the poems of Yu. Moritz, a joyful perception of life, as well as interesting plots and clear language make her children's poetry so beloved and popular among readers over five years of age. It is gratifying that books with these poems are not difficult to purchase. They continue to be published by various publishing houses: “Vremya”, “ROSMEN”, “Oniks”, “Rech” and others.
Yunna Moritz wrote several books for children “from 5 to 500 years old”: “The Happy Bug”, “Bouquet of Cats”, “House with a Chimney”, “ Big secret for a small company”, “Vanechka”, “Jump and play!”, “Tumber-Bumber”, “Move your ears”, “Limon Malinovich Compress”. Yunna Moritz's poems have been translated into everything European languages, and also in Turkish, Chinese and Japanese.
Since childhood, the poetess loved to draw. Her books for adults feature many graphic works author. Very interesting and high-quality graphics.
For her work, Yunna Moritz received many awards: “Triumph” (2000), the Prize named after. HELL. Sakharov (2004) for the civil courage of the writer; " golden rose"(Italy); national award“Book of the Year” in the nomination “Poetry – 2005”; Prize named after A. Delviga (2006); “Book of the Year” in the category “Together with the book we grow - 2008”; Russian Government Prize for the book “The Roof Was Driving Home” (2011).
We hope that there will be new poems and new awards ahead, because Yu. Moritz continues to compose. We congratulate Yunna Petrovna on her wonderful anniversary, we wish her health and creative success!
Annotation
A collection of famous poems for children - young and not so young; we know them well from cartoons and songs. Who doesn't know the rubber hedgehog?
Illustrations by Mikhail Samuilovich Belomlinsky.
DEEPLY ADORED READERS!
Fun breakfast
HEDGEHOG RUBBER
A TALE ABOUT A SONG
JUMP-PLAY!
HELLO ROBOT!
SPRING IS COMING AROUND THE CITY!
RASPBERRY CAT
DOLPHIN DOLFINYCH
BIG SECRET FOR A SMALL COMPANY
FRESH BAGEL
WITH GLASSES AND WITHOUT GLASSES
SCARROR
FUN BREAKFAST
THIS IS VERY INTERESTING
BELLY KETTLE
I WILL TELL YOU ABOUT THE PURCHASE
LUCKY BEETLE
The gnome's house, the gnome is home!
HOUSE WITH PIPE
WHAT'S LIKE WHAT?
HUNDRED FANTASIES
NOTEBOOK FOR FAIRY TALES
GNOME'S HOUSE, GNOME IS HOME!
CURLY POODLE
THE YOUNG GOAT WALKED
VANECHKA-SHEPHERD
WE TALKED THINGS
PARROT AND DUCK
HARDWORKING OLD LADY
I MAKE DUMPLINGS
MOTHER ELEPHANT, CHILD ELEPHANT AND ELEPHANT
It all comes not from nutrition, but from education!
A BALLAD ABOUT CHOCOLATE Tricks
A VERY THOUGHT DAY
COME IN FOR A VISIT!
WASH YOUR SOCKS!
ZHORA KOSHKIN
FUNNY FROG
TICKET TO THE DACHA
IT'S TRUE! THIS IS NOT!
DON'T TRUST THE WOLF!
THE END OF SHUTILKIN BORIS
YOU, ME, AND YOU AND WE!
WHAT OVER WHAT?
Once upon a time there lived a gardener
WHO IS STRONGER?
THE KITTEN HAS A WORK
FAVORITE PONY
THE CAT WENT OUT FOR A WALK
WHITE CHAMOMILES
Sea of miracles
SONG ABOUT A FAIRY TALE
MUSTACHEED POD
CAT-SAILOR
SEA OF WONDERS
WATER LILY
THE BIG HORSE SECRET
Once upon a time there was a candy
HUGE DOG SECRET
LAUGHING CONFUSION
ONIONS GREEN IN WATER
SHIP
AN EXCITING QUESTION
FIRST OF SEPTEMBER
SO THAT WE ALL FLY AND GROW!
DEEPLY ADORED READERS!
I received three carriages of letters from you, written in multi-colored block letters. Those who have seen the cartoon “A Big Secret for a Small Company” ask: “Do you have any other secrets? How many? And what?" I answer: “Yes! All sorts of things! There are many of them! Which ones do you want?” For example, you ask: “Tell me the secret - what to do if dark room lives a Lonely Scarecrow? Please! I’m revealing a secret: we urgently need to hug and pet the Scarecrow so that it stops being so lonely. And then - to make it laugh, so that it ceases to be a Scarecrow, and becomes a Laughter!
Or, for example: “Tell me a secret - who do you love most in the world?” Please! The one who is always growing. The one to whom something happens all the time. The one who flies in a dream. Someone who is able to ask three carloads of questions and rush off into a world of exciting adventures, dangers and great discoveries... Absolutely right! You guessed it! More than anything in the world I love... you! And that’s why for 30 years now I’ve been whistling my poems for you, like a hedgehog with a hole in its right side. And I’ll also say (in secret!) that everything in this book is the pure truth and happened to me personally. After all, for the sake of such a serious matter as poetry for you, I can turn into a Pony, into a Cheerful Frog, into a Sailor Cat, into a Laughing Confusion, into a Flying Horse, so that you, my dears, can swim in the Sea of Miracles.
Your poet Yunna Moritz
Fun breakfast
HEDGEHOG RUBBER
Through the viburnum grove,
Through the aspen grove
For the puppy's name day
In a crimson hat
A rubber hedgehog was walking
With a hole in the right side.
Visited the hedgehog
Rain umbrella
A hat and a pair of galoshes.
flower head
The hedgehog bowed affectionately.
Hello, Christmas trees!
What do you need needles for?
Are we the wolves around?
Shame on you!
It's a shame
When a friend bristled.
Dear bird,
Please come down -
You have lost your pen.
On the red alley
Where the maples turn red,
A find awaits you in the bureau.
The sky is radiant
The cloud is clear.
For the puppy's name day
Rubber hedgehog
He walked and whistled
A hole in the right side.
Many tracks
This hedgehog passed by.
What did he give to his friend?
He talks about this to Van
Whistling in the bath
A hole in the right side!
A TALE ABOUT A SONG
All the kids
They love to sing
All calves
They love to sing
All the curls
On the lamb
They love to whistle songs!
And who sings the song
He won't die of fear
And who always sings a song,
Tom's paw
even a wolf
Because -
ay-ay-ay! -
no way
Eat a song
can't
Here's a song
Oh-oh-oh!-
even a wolf
For the reason
such a good guy
All the frogs are singing
across the river,
All the grasshoppers are singing
And can I not sing?
All the kids
They love to sing
All calves
They love to sing
All the curls
On the lamb
They love to whistle songs!
JUMP-PLAY!
There is a hut in the forest,
And Parsley lives in it,
An animal is coming towards him
Jump and play!
Rhinoceroses,
Bears from the den
They come after each other
Jump and play!
Roe deer and raccoons,
And hippos
Running after the hunt
Jump and play!
Robin,
Live monkey
Everyone has the same thing -
Jump and play!
And I was a titmouse
A funny nosed bird,
And she flew in too
Jump and play!
I was hiding
And ate all kinds of midges,
But I still managed
Jump and play!
Now, as they say,
I'm not a tit at all
I don't run from cats
And I don’t catch midges,
But on holiday
At Parsley's
Jump at the party
Like other animals,
DEEPLY ADORED READERS!
I received three carriages of letters from you, written in multi-colored block letters. Those who have seen the cartoon “A Big Secret for a Small Company” ask: “Do you have any other secrets? How many? And what?" I answer: “Yes! All sorts of things! There are many of them! Which ones do you want?” For example, you ask: “Tell me a secret - what to do if a Lonely Scarecrow lives in a dark room?” Please! I’m revealing a secret: we urgently need to hug and pet the Scarecrow so that it stops being so lonely. And then - to make it laugh, so that it ceases to be a Scarecrow, and becomes a Laughter!
Or, for example: “Tell me a secret - who do you love most in the world?” Please! The one who is always growing. The one to whom something happens all the time. The one who flies in a dream. Someone who is able to ask three carloads of questions and rush off into a world of exciting adventures, dangers and great discoveries... Absolutely right! You guessed it! More than anything in the world I love... you! And that’s why for 30 years now I’ve been whistling my poems for you, like a hedgehog with a hole in its right side. And I’ll also say (in secret!) that everything in this book is the pure truth and happened to me personally. After all, for the sake of such a serious matter as poetry for you, I can turn into a Pony, into a Cheerful Frog, into a Sailor Cat, into a Laughing Confusion, into a Flying Horse, so that you, my dears, can swim in the Sea of Miracles.
Your poet Yunna Moritz
Fun breakfast
HEDGEHOG RUBBER
Through the viburnum grove,
Through the aspen grove
For the puppy's name day
In a crimson hat
A rubber hedgehog was walking
With a hole in the right side.
Visited the hedgehog
Rain umbrella
A hat and a pair of galoshes.
ladybug,
flower head
The hedgehog bowed affectionately.
Hello, Christmas trees!
What do you need needles for?
Are we the wolves around?
Shame on you!
It's a shame
When a friend bristled.
Dear bird,
Please come down -
You have lost your pen.
On the red alley
Where the maples turn red,
A find awaits you in the bureau.
The sky is radiant
The cloud is clear.
For the puppy's name day
Rubber hedgehog
He walked and whistled
A hole in the right side.
Many tracks
This hedgehog passed by.
What did he give to his friend?
He talks about this to Van
Whistling in the bath
A hole in the right side!
A TALE ABOUT A SONG
All the kids
They love to sing
All calves
They love to sing
All the curls
On the lamb
They love to whistle songs!
And who sings the song
Sometimes,
He won't die of fear
never!
And who always sings a song,
Tom's paw
even a wolf
serves!
Because -
ay-ay-ay! -
no way
Eat a song
can't
nobody!
Here's a song
in one
sit down
Oh-oh-oh!-
even a wolf
eat it!
For the reason
such a good guy
All the frogs are singing
across the river,
All the grasshoppers are singing
in the meadow!
And can I not sing?
I can't!
All the kids
They love to sing
All calves
They love to sing
All the curls
On the lamb
They love to whistle songs!
JUMP-PLAY!
There is a hut in the forest,
And Parsley lives in it,
An animal is coming towards him
Jump and play!
Deer,
Rhinoceroses,
Bears from the den
They come after each other
Jump and play!
Roe deer and raccoons,
Jerzy
And hippos
Running after the hunt
Jump and play!
Robin,
Oatmeal,
Live monkey
Everyone has the same thing -
Jump and play!
And I was a titmouse
A funny nosed bird,
And she flew in too
Jump and play!
I was hiding
From cats
And ate all kinds of midges,
But I still managed
Jump and play!
Now, as they say,
I'm not a tit at all
I don't run from cats
And I don’t catch midges,
But on holiday
At Parsley's
Jump at the party
Like other animals,
I still love it!
HELLO ROBOT!
Hello Robot,
Iron buddy!
Aren't you tired?
My dear friend?
I want to be! Not after, not in centuries,
Not by heart, not twice and not again,
Not in jokes or in diaries -
But only in the fullest sense of the word!
Y. Moritz
When someone hears the name of the poetess Yunna Moritz, then, of course, the first thing they remember is a melody from childhood: “To the sad moo, to the cheerful growl...” These famous poems of hers, “A big secret for a small company,” heard in distant childhood, we We will definitely repeat it not only to our children, but also to our grandchildren.
Amazing, fairy world Yunna Moritz, somewhere even difficult for a child to perceive - with bouquets of cats, a pie composer, a carriage of hairstyles, fog in sour cream - will not leave either children or adults indifferent.
Moritz is widely represented in Yunna's poetry fauna. Goats, cows, goats, dolphins and, of course, the poetess’s adored cats: a fat cat, a crimson cat and even a croaking cat. They are all kind, affectionate and sweet. Moritz could not do without charming dogs and puppies, in whom “forget-me-nots bloom in their souls, a clarinet plays in their stomachs,” and they themselves “sniff flowers and sing serenades” and work as postmen.
Illustration for the poem by Yunna Moritz “Crimson Cat”
It is interesting that all the heroes of Yunna Petrovna Moritz’s poems, animate and inanimate, behave like children. The characters exactly copy their behavior: they tumble, throw their socks under the closet, feel sad, fantasize, fool around, and act up. In every poem we feel the poetess’s boundless love for her characters and for children in general. That is why the heroes are sweet and good-natured, mischievous and cheerful, unusual and even fantastic. In her poetry the laws of the game apply, funny dream, cheerful confusion, when you can invent anything you want, fantasize, compose unprecedented words, go on fun journeys with the heroes. The tireless thirst to make every day, every second a holiday, to extract all the colors, voices, smells, forces Yunna Moritz to create more and more new heroes.
You will not find any edification or teaching in Yuna Moritz: every child has every right to be capricious and fool around. According to Yunna Petrovna, children need to be raised with love, sometimes pampered, “they need to be freed from all prohibitions that do not cause physical harm to them and those around them,” and the child should also know that sooner or later he will have to face the world of evil. With her work, the poetess may be trying to protect children from this world as much as possible in principle.
Moritz's language is always natural, devoid of any false pathos. Moritz's rhythmic and sometimes patently absurd poems have no age restrictions. The pleasure of reading them and a lot of laughter are guaranteed to everyone.
But we should not forget that, in addition to children's poems, she also wrote adult literature. Yunna Moritz published the books “The Vine”, “A Harsh Thread”, “In the Light of Life”, “The Third Eye”, “Favorites”, “Blue Fire”, “On This High Shore”, “In the Lair of a Voice”, “Face” , “Thus”, “According to the law - hello to the postman.” All of them included elements of graphics and painting, which, according to the poetess, are not illustrations: these are poems in a special language.
But, of course, in the hearts of each of us, Yunna Moritz will remain the author of wonderful poems about the “rubber hedgehog” and “a big secret for a small company.” Her poetry is a special world that cannot be expressed in words or brought to certain standards. All this would be useless and banal, just as it is banal to list the topics to which her poems are devoted: life, death, love, creativity. What poet doesn't write about this? Many people write. But each in his own way.
Text: Marina Latysheva