Dětská literatura a problém kýče
Children’s Literature and Kitsch

Summary/Abstract: The question of kitsch concerns all areas of art, including literature for children and young adults. The exploration of the forms of kitsch in this literature merits particular attention for several reasons. It is not possible, however, simply to apply aesthetics theories of kitsch to it, because aesthetic communication with a child perceiver has its own special features, including the recipient’s immaturity and lack of experience with art and the category of beauty in general. The author of the article bases her discussion on Tomáš Kulka’s important essay on kitsch (apart from a formulation of basic aesthetic categories), and adds speciic examples from research on literature for children and young adults. She considers this literature in the broader context of books for children, looking at kitsch not only in literature but also in illustration, because children too perceive an artistic statement as a whole. In addition to her attempt to formulate in theory at least some of the typical features of kitsch in books for children, the author briely analyses selected areas, including well-known brands, fairy tales, poetry, and tried and tested titles. She concludes that she has only scratched the surface of such research, and that more thorough research has yet to be done. She also notes the seriousness and importance of this area of research, which has a considerably inluenced the youngest generation’s attitude to art and beauty. Kitsch is ubiquitous, and can hardly be avoided. The most important thing is the approach taken by adults, and how successful they are in forming the personalities of children in their attitude to high-quality works of art.

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