Imagine: once on the main square of the city suddenly appeared ... a palace of ice cream! A real palace, whose roof was made of whipped cream, and the chimneys were made of candied fruits. Mmm… how delicious! All, all the townspeople are children and even old women! - the whole day they ate a delicious palace by both cheeks, and at the same time no one had tummy pains! This wonderful ice cream palace was "built" in one of his fairy tales by an Italian writer named Gianni Rodari.
... The parents of the most famous storyteller in the world - Hans Christian Andersen - were a shoemaker and a laundress. And Gianni Rodari grew up in the family of a baker and a servant. Both storytellers were not spoiled in childhood by either luxury or satiety. However, it was next to them that a wonderful sorceress and fairy, who chooses very few, - Fantasy, settled from a young age. More precisely, in childhood, she comes to everyone, and then remains only with the most beloved. She leaves the evil, cruel, greedy and unjust, but comes to the place where kindness and pity live. Little Gianni wrote poetry, learned to play the violin and drew with pleasure, dreaming of becoming a famous artist.
When the boy Gianni was only nine years old, his beloved father, who always felt sorry for homeless cats, dogs and in general every living creature, saved a small kitten during the pouring rain, which almost drowned in a huge puddle. The kitten was saved, but the good baker caught a cold in the cold rain, fell ill with pneumonia and died. Of course, such a noble person simply could not have a bad son!
Gianni Rodari always remembered his father and took over from him the desire for justice, hard work and a kind, bright soul.
At seventeen, Gianni became a primary school teacher. His pupils built houses from letters, together with the teacher they composed fairy tales and felt themselves completely happy: there was a lot of joy from such activities.
Well, how could the fairy Fantasy leave such a wonderful person? She watched with admiration an unusual adult who did not forget about the world of childhood, and sometimes even helped him write books.
But he, too, fell in love with her. And he even wrote in honor of his fairy one of the most amazing books for children and adults called "The Grammar of Fantasy" - about how to teach children to compose. Not at all so that they all become writers and poets, but so that “no one is a slave”. Because fantasy not only develops the mind. The main thing is that it makes a person kinder, stronger and freer.
Gianni Rodari hated oppression, always fought for justice - both when he fought the Nazis with weapons in his hands, and when he worked as a correspondent for the newspaper "Unity" (his sharp pen was a weapon no less powerful than a rifle).
His heroes also fought against evil: the clever Cipollino, and the honest master Grape, and the soft professor Pear and many others, thanks to which the fabulous country of vegetables became free, and the children in it could learn and play where they wanted.
Gianni Rodari, a cheerful, cheerful, inexhaustible and very kind storyteller, gave the kids a lot of extraordinary stories that they can play with like with colored balls. "The Adventures of Cipollino", "The Journey of the Blue Arrow", "Jelsomino in the Land of Liars", "The Grammar of Fantasy" - these books are loved by children all over the world.
It was he, Gianni Rodari, who brought the brave and kind Cipollino to our homes, he gave us the opportunity to hear the wonderful voice of Jelsomino destroying the walls of prisons, it is in his fairy tale that the devoted toy puppy Button turns into a living dog, and in another fairy tale the boy Marko, traveling in space on a wooden horse, got to the planet of the New Year trees, where there is no fear or resentment. However, if you talk about all the heroes of the books of the Italian storyteller, then no pages in the magazine will be enough. So it is better to read Rodari's books, and their heroes will become your faithful friends for life!
In Russia, J. Rodari is probably loved by everyone - both children and adults. They love him for his cheerfulness and inexhaustible imagination, for his funny humor. They are appreciated for their respect for the hands of honest workers and for their dislike for the rich white-handed people. He knew perfectly well what different professions smelled like, what the tears of poor children cost. Not hiding that there is a huge amount of injustice in the world - in a world where money reigns - Rodari believed in the victory of love and goodness and carried away his readers with this faith.
Coming up with his fairy tales, Gianni Rodari helped raise children around the world. He wanted them to be creative people - and it doesn't matter whether they become astronauts or geologists, drivers or sailors, doctors or pastry chefs. After all, a bright fantasy is not needed at all so that everyone is poets, but in order to "not be a slave."
It is also worth noting that Rodari's fairy tales bring up masculinity, kindness and honesty in children, making them cheerful and talkative - so that they always remain optimistic. It was this goal that he strove to achieve with all his deeds.
Characters born by D. Rodari's fantasy appeared from the pages of a fairy tale. The writer met the funny Neapolitan face of his hero in the Palace of Culture, in the foyer of the theater, in the houses of Moscow children. The storyteller's dream has come true. The toys he made “from letters” in his stories turned into real ones. They can be fun to play with the whole family. Rodari's fairy tales are the same ordinary toys that help moms and dads to get closer to their kids, to laugh together. On our site you can look at an online list of Gianni Rodari's fairy tales, and enjoy reading them absolutely free.
Chapter 1. Signora at five minutes Baroness Feya was an old lady, very well-bred and noble, almost a baroness. “They call me,” she sometimes muttered to herself, “just a Fairy, and I don’t protest: you need to have condescension to the ignorant. But I am almost a baroness; decent people know this. “Yes, Signora Baroness,” the maid said. “I’m not a 100% Baroness, but I don’t miss her before ...
CHAPTER 1: In Which Cipollone Severed the Leg of Prince Lemon Cipollino was the son of Cipollone. And he had seven brothers: Cipolletto, Cipollotto, Cipolloccia, Cipolluccia and so on - the most suitable names for an honest onion family. They were good people, I must say frankly, but they were not lucky in life. What can you do: where there is a bow, there are tears. Cipollone, his wife and sons lived in a wooden shack ...
There was once a war, a big and terrible war between the two countries. A lot of soldiers then died on the battlefield. We were on our side, and the enemies were on theirs. The shooting went on day and night, but the war still did not end, and we began to lack bronze for cannons, we ran out of iron for machine guns, and so on. Then our commander, the Super General ...
Gianni Rodari
Bon Appetit!
This book includes most of my stories, written for children over fifteen years. You will say that this is not enough. In 15 years, if I wrote only one page every day, you could already have about 5500 pages. So I wrote much less than I could. And yet I do not consider myself a big lazy person!
The fact is that during these years I still worked as a journalist and did many other things. For example, I wrote articles for newspapers and magazines, dealt with school problems, played with my daughter, listened to music, went for a walk, thought. And thinking is also a useful thing. Perhaps even the most useful of all. In my opinion, each person should think for half an hour a day. This can be done everywhere - sitting at a table, walking in the woods, alone or in company.
I became a writer almost by accident. I wanted to be a violinist and I studied violin for several years. But since 1943 I no longer touch her. The violin has been with me ever since. All the time I'm going to add strings that are missing, fix the broken neck, buy a new bow instead of the old one, which is completely disheveled, and start again from the first position. Maybe I'll do it someday, but I don't have time yet. I would also like to be an artist. True, at school I always had bad marks in drawing, and yet I always loved to drive with a pencil and write in oils. Unfortunately, at school we were forced to do such boring things that even a cow could become impatient. In a word, like all the guys, I dreamed about many things, but then I did not do much, but did what I least thought about.
However, without knowing it myself, I spent a long time preparing for my writing career. For example, I became a school teacher. I don't think I was a very good teacher: I was too young and my thoughts were very far from the school desks. Perhaps I was a fun teacher. I told the children different funny stories - stories without any meaning, and the more absurd they were, the more the children laughed. It already meant something. In schools that I know, in my opinion, there is little laugh. Much that one could learn by laughing is taught with tears - bitter and useless.
But let's not get distracted. Anyway, I have to tell you about this book. I hope it will be as fun as a toy. By the way, here's another activity that I would like to devote myself to: making toys. I always wanted toys to be unexpected, with an invention, so that they would suit everyone. Such toys last long and never get bored. Not knowing how to work with either wood or metal, I tried to make toys out of words. Toys, in my opinion, are as important as books: if they weren't, the guys wouldn't love them. And since they love them, it means that toys teach them something that cannot be learned otherwise.
I would like the toys to serve both adults and children, so that they can be played with the whole family, the whole class, together with the teacher. I would like my books to be the same. And this one too. She must help parents to get closer to their children, so that one could laugh with her, argue. I am pleased when a boy listens to my stories willingly. I am even more happy when this story makes him want to speak, express his opinion, ask adults questions, demand that they answer.
My book is published in the Soviet Union. I am very pleased with this, because the Soviet guys are excellent readers. I met many Soviet children in libraries, in schools, in the Palaces of Pioneers, in the Houses of Culture - everywhere I went. And now I’ll tell you where I have been: in Moscow, Leningrad, Riga, Alma-Ata, Simferopol, Artek, Yalta, Sevastopol, Krasnodar, Nalchik. In Artek I met guys from the Far North and the Far East. They were all great book eaters. How great it is to know that a book, no matter how thick or thin, is printed not in order to lie somewhere in the dust in a showcase or in a closet, but in order to be swallowed with great appetite, eaten, digested hundreds of thousands of children.
Therefore, I thank all those who prepared this book, and those who, so to speak, will eat it. I hope you enjoy it.
Bon Appetit!
Gianni Rodari
Journey of the Blue Arrow
CHAPTER I. SIGNORA WITHOUT FIVE MINUTES OF BARONESS
The fairy was an old lady, very well-bred and noble, almost a baroness.
They call me, ”she sometimes muttered to herself,“ just a Fairy, and I don’t protest: you need to have condescension to the ignorant. But I am almost a baroness; decent people know this.
Yes, Signora Baroness, - the maid assented.
I’m not a 100% Baroness, but I don’t miss her so much. And the difference is almost imperceptible. Is not it?
Invisible, Signora Baroness. And decent people do not notice her ...
It was just the first morning of the new year. All night long Fairy and her maid traveled across the rooftops, delivering gifts. Their dresses were covered with snow and icicles.
Light the stove, - said the Fairy, - you need to dry your clothes. And put the broom in its place: now for a whole year you can not think about flying from roof to roof, and even with such a northerly wind.
The maid put the broom back in place, grumbling:
Nice little business - flying on a broom! This is in our time when airplanes were invented! I already caught a cold because of this.
Get me a glass of flower broth, ”the Fairy ordered, putting on her glasses and sitting down in an old leather chair in front of the writing table.
Just a minute, Baroness, ”said the maid.
The fairy looked at her approvingly.
“She's a little lazy,” thought Fairy, “but she knows the rules of good manners and knows how to behave with the lady of my circle. I will promise her to increase her salary. In fact, of course, I will not increase it, and so there is not enough money. "
I must say that the Fairy, for all her nobility, was rather stingy. Twice a year she promised the old servant to increase her wages, but she limited herself to promises. The servant had long been tired of hearing only words, she wanted to hear the jingle of coins. Once she even had the courage to tell the Baroness about it. But the Fairy was very indignant:
Coins and coins! - she said, sighing, - Ignorant people only think about money. And how bad it is that you not only think, but also talk about it! Apparently teaching you good manners is like feeding a donkey with sugar.
The fairy sighed and buried herself in her books.
So let's sum up the balance. Business is not important this year, money is not enough. Still, everyone wants to get good gifts from the Fairy, and when it comes to paying for them, everyone starts bargaining. Everyone tries to borrow money, promising to pay later, as if the Fairy is some kind of sausage maker. However, there is nothing to complain about today: all the toys that were in the store have sold out, and now we will need to bring new ones from the warehouse.
She closed the book and began to print out the letters she found in her mailbox.
I knew it! she said. “I run the risk of getting pneumonia by delivering my goods, and no thanks! This one didn't want a wooden saber - give him a pistol! Does he know that a pistol costs a thousand lire more? Another, imagine, wanted to get an airplane! His father is the doorman of the courier of a secretary of a lottery employee, and he had only three hundred lire to buy a present. What could I give him for such a pittance?
The fairy threw the letters back into the drawer, took off her glasses and called:
Teresa, is the broth ready?
Ready, ready, Signora Baroness.
And the old maid handed the Baroness a steaming glass.
Did you pour a drop of rum in here?
Two whole spoons!
I would have had enough and one ... Now I understand why the bottle is almost empty. Just think, we bought it just four years ago!
Sipping a boiling drink in small sips and managing not to burn yourself, as only old ladies can do.
The fairy wandered through her little kingdom, carefully checking every corner of the kitchen, shop and small wooden ladder that led to the second floor, where there was a bedroom.
How sad the store looked with drawn curtains, empty windows and cabinets piled high with boxes of no toys and heaps of brown paper!
Prepare the keys to the warehouse and a candle, - said the fairy, - we need to bring new toys.
But, signora baroness, do you want to work even today, on the day of your holiday? Do you think someone will come shopping today? After all, New Year's Eve, Fairy's Night, has already passed ...
In Russia, J. Rodari is probably loved by everyone - both children and adults. They love him for his cheerfulness and inexhaustible imagination, for his funny humor. They are appreciated for their respect for the hands of honest workers and for their dislike for the rich white-handed people. He knew perfectly well what different professions smelled like, what the tears of poor children cost. Not hiding that there is a huge amount of injustice in the world - in a world where money reigns - Rodari believed in the victory of love and goodness and carried away his readers with this faith.
Coming up with his fairy tales, Gianni Rodari helped raise children around the world. He wanted them to be creative people - and it doesn't matter whether they become astronauts or geologists, drivers or sailors, doctors or pastry chefs. After all, a bright fantasy is not needed at all so that everyone is poets, but in order to "not be a slave."
It is also worth noting that Rodari's fairy tales bring up masculinity, kindness and honesty in children, making them cheerful and talkative - so that they always remain optimistic. It was this goal that he strove to achieve with all his deeds.
Characters born by D. Rodari's fantasy appeared from the pages of a fairy tale. The writer met the funny Neapolitan face of his hero in the Palace of Culture, in the foyer of the theater, in the houses of Moscow children. The storyteller's dream has come true. The toys he made “from letters” in his stories turned into real ones. They can be fun to play with the whole family. Rodari's fairy tales are the same ordinary toys that help moms and dads to get closer to their kids, to laugh together. On our site you can look at an online list of Gianni Rodari's fairy tales, and enjoy reading them absolutely free.
Chapter 1. Signora at five minutes Baroness Feya was an old lady, very well-bred and noble, almost a baroness. “They call me,” she sometimes muttered to herself, “just a Fairy, and I don’t protest: you need to have condescension to the ignorant. But I am almost a baroness; decent people know this. “Yes, Signora Baroness,” the maid said. “I’m not a 100% Baroness, but I don’t miss her before ...
CHAPTER 1: In Which Cipollone Severed the Leg of Prince Lemon Cipollino was the son of Cipollone. And he had seven brothers: Cipolletto, Cipollotto, Cipolloccia, Cipolluccia and so on - the most suitable names for an honest onion family. They were good people, I must say frankly, but they were not lucky in life. What can you do: where there is a bow, there are tears. Cipollone, his wife and sons lived in a wooden shack ...
There was once a war, a big and terrible war between the two countries. A lot of soldiers then died on the battlefield. We were on our side, and the enemies were on theirs. The shooting went on day and night, but the war still did not end, and we began to lack bronze for cannons, we ran out of iron for machine guns, and so on. Then our commander, the Super General ...
Giani Rodari (1920-1980) - Italian children's poet and writer, journalist and storyteller.
Childhood
Gianni was born on October 23, 1920 in the small town of Omegna, located in northern Italy. The real full name of the writer is Giovanni Francesco Rodari. His dad, Giuseppe Rodari, worked as a baker, he died early when Gianni was only 10 years old. The family was poor, the father's salary was not enough, and her mother, Maddalena Ariocchi, worked as a servant in rich houses.
The family had two more sons - Mario and Cesare. After the death of their father, the mother with three children returned to her native village of Varesotto, where the boys spent their childhood.
Gianni from an early age grew up as a sickly and weak child. He liked music very much, he even took a few violin lessons. But he loved books even more. True, the boy read far from children's literature: the works of Nietzsche and Schopenhauer, the works of Lenin and Trotsky.
Despite poverty, Gianni grew up as a talented and kind boy. He was an incredible visionary, constantly dreamed and believed in the best. Perhaps this is what made him a writer - the best friend of children around the world.
Study, work, war
Gianni went to study at a seminary for the poor, in addition to studying there they also fed and gave clothes. After studying for three years, the young man received a diploma in an elementary school teacher and took up teaching at a local rural educational institution. At that time he was only 17 years old. Later he said to himself: “I turned out to be no teacher, but the kids didn’t get bored in my lessons”.
When he was 19 years old, Gianni went to Milan, where he attended lectures in the Faculty of Philology at the University of Catalica. Then he became a member of the youth fascist organization "Italian Lictor Youth".
For the second world war, the young man was not called up for health reasons. From 1941 to 1943, he again worked as an elementary school teacher and was a member of the fascist party. But at the end of 1943, after Germany occupied Italy, brother Cesare ended up in a Nazi concentration camp, and two of his best friends were killed by the Germans, Gianni joined the Resistance Movement, and in 1944 he was admitted to the Italian Party of Communists.
Literary and journalistic activities
In 1948, Gianni began working as a journalist in the publishing house of the Italian communists "Unita", at the same time he became interested in writing children's books, which in the future became his main activity.
In 1950, a weekly children's magazine was created in Rome, and Gianni was appointed by the party to the post of editor-in-chief. In 1951, his works "The Book of Merry Poems" and "The Adventures of Cipollino" were published there.
His membership in the Communist Party helped popularize Rodari's books in the Soviet Union. In 1953, Soviet children could already read the Russian translation of "The Adventures of Cipollino", in 1961 they shot a cartoon based on the work, and in 1973 a fairy-tale film "Cipollino" was released, where the author himself, Italian Gianni Rodari, played role of oneself.
In 1952, Gianni visited the Soviet Union for the first time, then he visited this country several times.
In 1957 Rodari passed the exams and received the title of professional journalist. But he did not stop writing for children, one after another his collections of poems and stories are published:
- "Train of Poems";
- "Poems in Heaven and on Earth";
- "Tales on the Phone";
- "Cake in the Sky".
In our country, his works are very popular, which were filmed:
- "Jelsomino in the Land of Liars" (film "The Magic Voice of Jelsomino");
- "The Journey of the Blue Arrow" (the film "Blue Arrow").
And also a poem that every Soviet schoolchild probably knew - "What do the crafts smell like?"
In 1970, the writer was awarded the prestigious Hans Christian Andersen Prize, thanks to which Gianni Rodari became known to the whole world. Upon receiving the award, he said: "The fairy tale gives us a key with which we can enter reality in other ways".
With his fairy tales, Rodari taught children not only to learn about the world, but also to transform it: to overcome grief and injustice, in difficult situations still believe in light and good.
Personal life
In 1953, Gianni married, his wife was Maria Teresa Ferretti. After 4 years, the couple had a baby girl, Paola.
Once on a trip to the USSR, Gianni took his little daughter with him, they walked past the windows of Soviet shops and in one of them they recognized Signor Tomato, Cherry, Cipollino, Prince Lemon. He stopped in front of this toy store completely happy, because his childhood dream came true: the heroes of his works became friends of children.
In the late 70s, Gianni Rodari fell seriously ill, he underwent surgery, but it was unsuccessful. The writer died on April 14, 1980 in Rome, he was buried in the Verano cemetery.
