Children's poetry

The term children's poetry includes all lyric texts written for children and by children , such as nursery rhymes , poems and songs. The three categories cannot be clearly delineated from one another, they are often used synonymously.

Origin and creation

Lyric texts for children have existed in the early days, but records and evidence prior to the 19th century are rare and sporadic and, when they exist, are mostly fragments. The earliest traditions date from the Renaissance period , including the still known verses "Lirum, larum, Löffelstiel" (1572) and "Schlaf, Kindlein, Schlaf" (1662). Some nursery rhymes are based on ancient roots. They refer to views from pagan times or apply to figures such as Frau Holle, witches, and little men (Bi-Ba-Butzemann). At the beginning of the 19th century, Achim von Arnim and Clemens Brentano brought out the collection " Des Knaben Wunderhorn ", the third volume of which (1808) contains children's songs and verses as an appendix. This increased the interest in popular children's poetry, and collecting began in many German-speaking countries.

K. Simrock recorded the first significant success in this area with his collection "Deutsches Kinderbuch" in 1848. Children's rhyming anthologies were also brought out that referred to certain regions or dialects. So z. B. the "Children's and wet nurse rhymes in Low German dialect" collected by Heinrich Smidt and published in Bremen or August Stöber's "Elsässisches Volksbüchlein, Kinderwelt und Volksleben, in songs sayings, riddles, games, fairy tales, Schwänken, proverbs and the like. s. w., with explanations and compilations, a subject index and a dictionary «, which he published in Strasbourg in 1842.

Design, themes and use

Most of the traditional children's verses do not know any authorized forms and are therefore very flexible and dynamic and can be found in many variations. They express joy in sound games and funny word formations and use mostly dialect expressions. Often there is no logical structure and at the expense of a context of meaning, preference is given to sound, rhyme and rhythm.

The nursery rhyme, in particular, is usually characterized by single-phrase, formulaic beginning and a pointed end. The individual lines are short, concise and uncomplicated, but tend to be erratic and do not linger long on a subject or picture.

For the majority of children's verses, adults can be identified as the authors and therefore they are considered pedagogical literature. They are intended to have a positive effect on the children by making it easier to get up, getting dressed, eating, going to bed and falling asleep, praising them or blaming them for wrong behavior and comforting them when they experience pain and suffering. Occasionally the children's verses also contain reminders and threats (Black Man, Witch, Butzemann) and sometimes remind of the strict old house pedagogy. But most of the verses that deal with commandment, ridicule, exposure, reprimand and threats are kept in a friendly, benevolent tone and are not intended to intimidate the child.

Festivals

Lyric poets for children and young people regularly perform at the following festivals:

Children's and youth program at the Berlin International Literature Festival (since 2001)

Authors and editors of children's poetry

Georg Bydlinski
Julia Donaldson : The Gruffalo , The Gruffalo Child
Erwin Grosche : Elefa - Elefee - What is the elephant doing at the lake? (2007), poems and language games I like you - you like me (2011)
Josef Guggenmos : What Does the Mouse Think on Thursday (1971)
Uwe-Michael Gutzschhahn : Greetings from nonsense
Franz Hohler : Once upon a time there was a hedgehog (2011)
Edmund Jacoby (Ed.): It was dark, the moon shone bright (1999), Where do the words come from (2011)
Heinz Janisch : Is a boat coming ...
Gerald Jatzek : Rabauken-Rhime (2011)
Kristine Knödler (ed.): Paint your wishes in the sky
Paul Maar : I'm stretched like a rubber band (Collected poems from Sam)
Hans Manz
Arne Rautenberg : the wind makes a thousand hats fly (2010), supermann in the supermarket (2012)
Jens Sparschuh (ed.): Frippery - completely and completely and completely
Fredrik Vahle : Me and you and the dragon Fu
Edward van de Vendel : Superguppy (2008), Dear Be, Superguppy vor (2011), My happiness lives here (Ed. Edward van de Vendel)
Robert Paul Weston
Frantz Wittkamp

Children's lyric anthologies

2012: Edward van de Vendel (ed.), Natalie Tornai (ed.), Carll Cneut (illustrations): My happiness lives here - poems for children and adults

literature

Doderer, Klaus (ed.): Lexicon of children's and youth literature . 3 vols., Weinheim and Basel 1975.
Maier, Karl Ernst: Youth literature: forms, contents, educational significance . 8th edition, Bad Heilbrunn / Obb. 1980.
Marquard, Manfred: Introduction to children's and youth literature . 2nd edition, Munich 1977.
Thiele Jens / Steizt-Kallenbach: Handbook for children's literature. Basic knowledge for training and practice , Freiburg 2003.

Web links

Wiktionary: Children's poetry - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Collection of approx. 250 children's poems