Author: Cai Xiaojie (Associate Professor, School of Foreign Languages, Capital Normal University)
1 From ballad to fable
Spanish children’s literature has a long history. Some people think that it can be traced back to the folklore ballads of the Middle Ages; some people think that the embryonic form of children’s literature is presented in several words written by the poet Gonzalo de Berceo, who was the first Poets who have given names in Spanish literature. One of the oldest heroic epics in Europe, “The Song of Cid”, was originally sung by troubadours. Although the audience at that time was mainly adults, there were also children among them; and according to researchers from the history of children’s literature From an angle analysis, under the background of the low level of education and the simplicity and naivety of the common people in the Middle Ages, only those works that are concise, vivid and catchy can be widely circulated. The characteristics of literature are highly consistent.
Some works of literature and art during the Renaissance had educational purposes, exhorting the public to maintain their beliefs, develop good habits, etc. Such books also became children’s books. In Don Juan Manuel’s “The Count of Lucanor” and Ramon Liuli’s “Animal Collection” there is much to appeal to children’s readers. Popular 16th-century chivalry novels and oral folktales also identified children as potential audiences. Rodrigo Caro described a large number of lively and interesting games in his “Happy and Fun Days”, which were very popular among Spanish children in the 17th and 18th centuries. In addition, the golden century drama master Lope de Vega, poet Luis de Gongora and so on have written some exquisite and unique nursery rhymes.
The earliest children’s literature newspaper in Spain, “Children”, was founded by Don Joseph and Don Bernabe Canga Arguelles. It was first published in Madrid in 1798 and has a total of 24 issues. From the second half of the 17th century to the 18th century, British and French theoretical books and literary works on children’s studies were translated and introduced, such as Rousseau’s “Emile”, Charles Perrault’s “The Tale of Mother Goose” and other works. Influenced by them, the Spanish court and aristocracy also began to invite writers to write books for children, Thomas de Ilialt’s collection of fables, Literary Fables, and Felix Samaniego’s Moral Fables. Collection” was born. They adhere to the tradition of ancient Greek and Roman fables, take animals as the protagonists, and tell stories with allegorical meanings. The language is fresh and concise, and humorous. For example, Ilialt’s famous allegory poem “The Ass Playing the Flute” uses vivid images and easy-to-understand language to persuade and guide children. At the same time, it seems to vaguely touch the laws of artistic creation. The more you think about it, the more memorable you are Infinite: “…In my place/by a meadow,/a donkey passed by/just by chance./a piccolo on the lawn/the donkey looked at it carefully,/the shepherd boy forgot it/just by chance./It was this one. The donkey / approached to smell the piccolo, / let out a breath / it was just a coincidence. / the breath blew into the belly of the flute / and then out again, / the flute sounded suddenly / it was just a coincidence. / ‘Oh’, the donkey shouted: / ‘How wonderfully I blow!/Who dares to say/Donkeys are always out of tune!’/No art rules/There are some little donkeys/Occasionally get it wrong/It’s just a coincidence.”
The bronze commemorative plaque of the little mouse Perez The picture is a file picture
2 Perez the little mouse with deciduous teeth
In the first half of the 19th century, Spanish romantic literature stimulated people’s imagination of the fairy tale world. Many writers in this period created classic works of children’s literature, such as Fernand Caballero’s adaptation of legends and folk tales. Published in newspapers for texts suitable for children’s reading; Luis Coloma created the story collections “Leisure Readers”, “Trivia”, “Heromin” and other works for children’s readers, while the Spanish-speaking world famous fictional mouse Pei Reis was popularized under his account. The storyline is clearly influenced by European folklore, and its origin is difficult to identify: when children lose their baby teeth, they put their teeth under the pillow, and the little mouse Perez’s task is to replace the teeth with candy and coins while the children are sleeping. or other small gifts. Yet it was through the work of Luis Coloma that Perez the mouse became a household name in Spain and the Spanish-speaking world. In addition, the famous Spanish writers Pedro Antonio de Alarcon, Perez Galdos, Clarin, etc. also have wonderful children’s literature works.
In the 19th century, the influence of the development of European children’s literature on Spain could not be ignored. The fairy tales compiled and created by the German brothers Grimm, ETA Hoffmann and Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen were translated and introduced one after another. In 1876, Satonino Cayeja founded Cayeja Publishing House in Madrid. The “Cayeha Tales” series of picture books issued by the publishing house adapts a large number of classic works of children’s literature in the world, such as “One Thousand and One Nights”, “Gulliver’s Travels”, “Robinson Crusoe”, etc., and invites famous The illustrator draws exquisite illustrations to match, and the selling price is low and affordable, and has gained a large number of readers. Its influence is not limited to Spain, but extends to the Spanish-speaking world in the Americas. Popularization played an important role.
“Pinocchio and Chapiter” picture is a file picture
3 “Spain’s Pinocchio” and the candid girl Celia
At the beginning of the 20th century, with the development of modern pedagogy, psychology and sociology, children’s literature was regarded as a serious genre with important educational value and literary value. Spanish children’s literature also participates in the climax of the world‘s children’s literature creation and development. Many famous writers and poets have written for children, such as the play “The Dragon’s Head” by Valle-Inclan, “The Prince Who Learned Everything from the Books” by Nobel Laureate Hassante Benavente, and Eduardo · Marquina’s “Doll That Won’t Break” and so on. The most representative children’s literature writers of this period are Salvador Bartolozzi, Elena Forton and Antonio Robles.
Salvador Bartolozzi, as the artistic director of Cayeja Publishing House, has created a large number of beautiful illustrations for the “Cayeja Tales” series. He founded the children’s weekly “Pinocchio” in 1925, and drew a series of cartoons with the classic image of Pinocchio created by the Italian writer Collodi as the protagonist. The storyline is actually very different, it’s original writing. His Pinocchio is an idealistic and adventurous puppet, and he also added a companion to the puppet named Chapiter. Chapiter and Pinocchio have very different personalities. Chapiter is reserved and timid, likes to be content with the status quo, but often gets into trouble. This pair of humorous and contrasting characters has the shadow of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, the classic images of Spanish literature, and became very popular children’s literature images in the Spanish-speaking world in the 1920s and 1930s.
Elena Forton’s “Celia” series of novels, published by Aguilar Press since the 1920s, tells the daily life of a young girl Celia and her upbringing. The writing of the “Celia” series lasted for more than 30 years. Although the author Forton lived in Spain, Argentina and other places successively, she continued to create and launched new series of works until her death. Bold and straightforward, Celia has become an iconic image in the history of Spanish children’s literature in the 20th century because of her challenging attitude and modernity.
Antonio Robles was also an important writer of this period. He cooperated with many magazines such as “Pinocchio”, and in 1930 founded the children’s literature magazine “Dog, Mouse and Cat”, with Elena Forton, Aristotelez, Ramon Gaia He cooperates with other writers or illustrators to launch novel and beautiful works. He also introduces absurd elements into children’s literature creation. His representative works include “Three” and “Doll Islands”.
During the Spanish Civil War and Franco’s reign, the development of children’s literature was relatively sluggish until Borita Casas created the children’s image “Magic Antoni Tower” in the 1940s, which first appeared on radio programs and was later put on stage, and published as a book. Antonita’s imaginative, childlike perspective blends reality and fantasy to bring warmth and joy to the difficult post-Spanish Civil War life.
“Stowaways from the Ulysses” picture is a file picture
4 “Small perspective” to see the big world
In the 1950s and 1960s, “mid-century” writers such as Gloria Fuerts and Ana Maria Matut made significant contributions to the new development of children’s literature. Gloria Fuerts has written a large number of children’s poems such as “Children’s Song”, and has also written scripts for children’s plays and TV shows. Most of her works advocate the defense of women and children’s rights, eulogize peace, and support environmental protection. Anna Maria Matut has written excellent works such as “The Green Grasshopper”, “Little Crazy Horse” and “The Stowaway from the Ulysses”. Road Literature Award, and was adapted into a film. The protagonist Hu Hu is a gypsy boy who was adopted by three kind-hearted single sisters. He lived in a small town since he was a child, and was cared for and taught by the three sisters until his peaceful life was disrupted by an uninvited guest. In Hu Hu’s view, this is a “stowaway”, taking the “big ship” Ulysses he built in the attic, and he himself is the captain of this dream ship. The two form a secret friendship and plan to escape and see the world together. The novel is full of twists and turns and is full of tension. Children’s real living space is limited, but the world created by imagination is infinitely vast. Rich imagination, courage to practice, and sensitive mind are the keys to open the door to dreams. Though dreams may be thwarted and friendships betrayed, those experiences and fond memories are still irreplaceable treasures that teenagers have grown up with.
From the 1970s to the 1980s, Spain’s democratic politics was improved, the economic situation also improved, children’s and youth literature developed significantly, the children’s book industry expanded, and children’s books began to enter educational institutions such as primary and secondary schools, public libraries and book markets in large numbers. During this period, many writers came out and achieved fruitful results. The more prominent ones included fantasy writer Conslo Amiho’s “Batautos”, science fiction writer Joan Manuel Gisbert’s “Toqueland” The Mystery of the Island”, “The Museum of Dreams”, and “Some Children, Three Dogs and More” by Juan Farias. In addition, the Spanish illustration industry also flourished in the 1980s, and a group of illustrators with superb skills and international reputation emerged.
From the 1990s to the present, with the changes in the social and cultural environment, Spanish children’s literature has faced new realities such as marketization of children’s books, electronic reading, increasingly diverse children’s reading interests, and increasingly complex concerns. challenges, showing a trend of diversification. Children’s literature writers who gained greater influence during this period included Alfredo Gomez Zelda, Cesar Mayorchi, Ilya Barcelo and Elvira Lindo. Elvira Lindo’s representative work is “Four-eyed Frog Little Manolin”, in which the protagonist Little Manolin is a little boy who lives in Madrid, the capital of Spain, because he wears a pair of large glasses. “Eye Frog” nickname. The work uses the child’s first-person narrative to describe the interesting events in the child’s growth process, and observes and thinks about the world around him from the child’s “small perspective”. Little Manolin is a talkative person who likes to ask why, and sometimes causes some trouble. He is like the child next door in daily life. He is naughty, innocent, real and simple, making people feel friendly and cute. The language of the works is full of childlike interest, often making people laugh, but at the same time sensitive and delicate, with irony and social criticism. This series of novels has become a classic of contemporary Spanish children’s literature, and has been translated into nearly 20 languages. It was also translated into Chinese in 2017, and is loved by many Chinese readers.
“Literary Fables” The picture is a file picture
“Guangming Daily” (14th edition on November 10, 2022)
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责编：张倩 ]