Jewish heritage in Russian children's literature

Abstract

This paper explores the Jewish heritage in Russian children's literature. Whilst many Russian children's writers are Jews, there appears to be little known about children's literature in Russia. The author researched the subject by making contact with librarians, children's writers and literary critics who were brought up on this literature. Set against the political history of the Jews in Russia in the twentieth century, the paper explores the contribution of Yiddish to the Jewish heritage in Russia's children's literature. This very personal paper was first delivered at the Section for Libraries for Children and Young Adults at the 66th IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations) Council and General Conference in Jerusalem in August 2000.