"What to read?!": original project of the National Centre RUSSIA held in Krasnoyarsk for the first time

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The Literary Club "What to read?!", an original project of the National Centre RUSSIA, has been held for the first time at the Centre branch in the Krasnoyarsk Territory. Instead of the traditional format of discussing literary works, schoolchildren were offered an interactive introduction to traditional printed books — a real show featuring scientific demonstrations and experiments. This method was developed by Natalia Antonova, Head of the Reader Service Department at the Krasnoyarsk Territory Childrens' Library, to draw children away from gadgets and spark their interest in books.

"In any book you can find a story and present it in such a way that it captures childrens' attention. Then they develop the desire to read the book themselves and try the experiments or demonstrations described in these books on their own. I deliberately offer very different books so that children with various interests can find something engaging," said Natalia Antonova.

Children aged 11–13 took part in the interactive book review called "Stories from the Bookshelf". The event brought together 25 young readers. The unusual format of the meeting allowed the children to choose any book they liked from those presented, after which the librarian shared a story from the selected book. She did not simply tell the story, but "brought the book to life" by showing mathematical tricks or conducting visual experiments. This approach allowed each child to discover something that interested them.

The idea of how to engage children in reading books was developed by the librarian herself. Natalia Antonova spent a long time looking for a way to present books in a manner that would appeal to children who are used to having gadgets. This modern approach proved successful — the children enthusiastically took part in the literary meeting.

The book review programme featured publications on a wide range of topics. Schoolchildren learned about a day in the life of a cosmonaut thanks to the book "One Day with a Cosmonaut" by Yury Usachev. Together with the characters from Yakov Perelman’s entertaining puzzles, the participants tried to look at familiar things from an unexpected perspective. Meanwhile, the engaging linguistics book "How Words Appear" by Maria Ulybysheva introduced the children to the secrets behind the origins of common expressions.

The meeting took place in a warm and engaging atmosphere. The schoolchildren enthusiastically solved puzzles and shared their impressions. After the event, many of them became interested in the books they met at the meeting and expressed a desire to continue exploring popular science literature in the city’s libraries.

The author club "What to read?!" was created at the National Centre RUSSIA as a platform for discussing literary legacy and exchanging ideas and experience. At the centre of this intellectual platform are the development of a reading culture, an interest in thoughtful writing, and the expansion of the space for public dialogue.