News
An international conference on children's literature, The Child and the Book Conference, opens today in Zadar, Croatia. This year, the conference has been organised for the fourteenth time, this time under the slogan "Beyond the Canon (of Children's Literature)".
The Child and the Book Conference is one of the largest and most important scientific conferences on children's and youth literature. It brings together researchers and students to share experiences, insights, and knowledge. Each year, the conference is held in a different country. The previous editions have taken place in Canada, USA, Spain, Poland, and Portugal, to name a few.
During several thematic sessions, the panelists will discuss, among others, the place of children's literature in the context of the canon of national literature and world literary heritage, the formation of a literary canon for the youngest and its contemporary readings and reinterpretations, as well as the relationship of the literary canon with other fields of art and new media, and its adaptation in contemporary culture.
One of the discussion panels will be devoted to reading practices referring to classical children's literature - the representatives of the Book Institute will share their experiences in promoting generational reading as part of the social campaign "Small Book - Great Man" and will talk about bookstart projects for newborn children and pre-schoolers.
For reading together connects generations - readers and those who are read to - by experiencing literature that moves, entertains, teaches, and explains the world. This is particularly facilitated by returning to classic texts, well known to grandparents and parents, but also still topical and attractive to the youngest readers. And most importantly, reading together builds lasting and strong family ties, so valuable for the proper development of a child.
The conference is organised by the University of Zadar and the Croatian Association of Researchers in Children's Literature and will last until Saturday.