Kortava Tatyana V.

Background. The revival of the best Russian traditions of children’s reading is recognized by the pedagogical community as the most important way to counter the crisis in the field of intellectual development of children at the levels of preschool, primary and general education. This formulation of the question is based on global sociocultural shifts that have entailed rapid and significant changes in the child’s general outlook, his reading range, and his set of key reading skills. The high artistic level and enormous educational potential of Russian literature are prerequisites for the revival of Russian traditions of children’s reading. The path to understanding literature lies through learning to read. It is this skill that is considered as a fundamental and no alternative condition for the development of all other various aspects of education and spirituality.

Methods. The article, based on extensive historical material, presents the development of ideas of education through the artistic word, reflected in the works of N.I. Novikov, I.F. Timkovsky, I.I. Sreznevsky, I.A. Baudouin de Courtenay, F.I. Buslaev, P.G. Redkin, K.D. Ushinsky, L.N. Modzalevsky, L.N. Tolstoy, Kayum Nasyri, N.A. Rubakin, G.G. Shpet, L.S. Vygotsky, A.V. Lunacharsky, M. Gorky, K.I. Chukovsky, S.Ya. Marshak, E.N. Ilyina.

Results. It is shown that Russian pedagogical tradition, from the moment of its inception, is based on a solid foundation of the unity of teaching and upbringing of the younger generation on national values and traditions of Russian literature, with respect for the child’s personality and characteristics. Particular attention is paid to the role of children’s literature in the spiritual and moral development of a person, the education of a devoted citizen of his Fatherland.