Korney Ivanovich Chukovsky is a writer, translator, literary scholar, and critic. His book “From Two to Five” will be read and reread as long as the human race exists, because this book is about the child’s soul. Chukovsky was among the first to use psychological methods to study children’s language, thinking, and poetic creativity, tirelessly proving that childhood is not some “indecent disease that must be treated.” At the same time, “From Two to Five” is not just an anthology of entertaining stories and children’s oddities—it is a cheerful, talented, and perhaps unique in its kind “guidebook to child studies,” deservedly included in the gold fund of children’s psychology and pedagogy. And for every adult, it’s also a book about returning to oneself.
In “From Two to Five,” Chukovsky’s main views on children’s literature are laid out, observations on the development of children’s language are summarized, and the “commandments for children’s poets” are published. The edition is aimed at a wide range of readers: parents, teachers, children’s psychologists, artists, poets, and writers.