2156719

SALİHA MİRAY DURU

CHILDREN’S LITERATURE IN TURKEY

Literature is a significant for children as much as adults. It improves children’s linguistic

development and their level of understanding. Children must have a great vocabulary in order

to have productive mind. To develop the child’s vocabulary is possible with the works of

writers, artists and poets. People who interested in literature attach importance to part of

literature for adults in old times. However, as time passes by, people recognized that the role of

children literature is an irrefutable fact. In this paper, I will examine the children’s literature in

Turkey from past to present.

As in the records, there were not much actions in literature for children until Tanzimat

(1839). There were some kind of legends, tongue twisters and tales in oral literature before

Tanzimat but they were not for children only, they were told for everyone of all ages. As I

know, there were two mesnevis which were ‘Hayriyye’ written by Nabi and ‘Lütfiyye’ written

by Sümbülzade Vehbi before Tanzimat and they were written in order to advise on life, society,

morals or etiquette (Şirin, n.d.). However, those books were over the level of children can

understand in terms of language and expression. With Tanzimat, Turkish people started to

understand importance of children’s literature, and they tried to do some actions in this field.

In Tanzimat reform era, because we did not have our own children literature, translated

books were important (Şirin, n.d.). Over time, the oral tales and legends converted to writing

such as Nasrettin Hoca Fıkraları. In the past, writers generally tried to educate and to raise

awareness about what was happening in those days with their works. After Second

Constitutional Monarchy Period, the big gap in the field of poetry have realized and poems have

been increased in number (Alpay, 2007). General topics of poem was religion, homeland,

nation, morals, work, love and counting elders, nature. Also, stories, folktales, tales and novels

have written.
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SALİHA MİRAY DURU
CHILDREN’S LITERATURE IN TURKEY

In end of 1860’s, with the first child’s magazine “Mümeyyiz”, magazines were started

to be written. Those magazines were generally written to educate, and also there were some

entertaining riddle and jokes in them. After 1950’s entertaining magazines were increased in

number but in 1970, intelligentsias realized that, then the topics were written in modern

education mostly. There also some magazines which were written to make children conscious

in terms of political issues in their future (Alpay, 2007). Topics were generally affected by

historic events.

In parallel with history, the subject of books in children literature has changed. Reforms,

wars and different movement of thoughts through history have affected the literature. I believe

that an impressive and emotional writing can affect people and when people are affected, their

lives can change. Moreover, writers know that both now and in the past. They are using their

pens for that. Therefore, the books written for children were influenced by historic events and

the topics changed with those events. For example, if there was a war, war was the topic; if

there was a revolution, the books were written through it.

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SALİHA MİRAY DURU
CHILDREN’S LITERATURE IN TURKEY

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Akbaş, O. (2007). Dünyada ve Türkiye’de Çocuk Edebiyatı’nın Gelişimi. Retrieved from:

http://turkoloji.cu.edu.tr/YENI%20TURK%20EDEBIYATI/onur_akbas_turkiyede_ve

_dunyada_cocuk_edebiyatinin_gelisimi.pdf

Alpay, M. (2007). Türk Çocuk Edebiyatı. Retrieved from:

https://www.turkedebiyati.org/turk-cocuk-edebiyati.html

Şirin, M.R. (n.d.) Lecture Notes. Retrieved from:

http://www.cocukvakfi.org.tr/Rapor/CocukEdebiyatiDersNotlari.pdf

https://orhansabanci.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/mustafa-ruhi-c59firin-ders-

notlarc4b1.pdf