I lived my childhood in Russia. And in Russia people, especially children, read a lot. We had to read 15-20 books (stories) each year. But the books had problems – they were old. We read the folk literature, or the books of a Soviet époque, or the Russian Golden Age – the 19th century.

You may guess that such books were not entirely relevant for us – we live in the 21st century and want to know more about actual things and read contemporary masterpieces. Unfortunately, most people and I don’t understand that someone doesn’t understand the need for contemporary reading in childhood, even in adult age.

I am a person who likes to read – I read 40-80 books per year, mostly about architecture, design, business, and non-fiction. Sometimes I read something new – I guess that it is always great to know more about different topics because mostly all the things in our world are connected. You may implement ideas from other spheres to create something innovative.

I wondered about an art bookstore in Museums Quartier located in Vienna, and I was looking for good books. I found four good books that I recommend reading: “Soft City,” “New Move, ‘Michael Schumacher, ‘The Fastest Guide To Architectural Form’, ‘Architects’ Houses. ’

When I chose the books, I started looking around the store. There were hundreds of themes like music, art, sculpture, sustainability. Suddenly my eyes came across stunning covers – covers of biography of famous and influential people. I usually don’t read such literature, but they were written: ‘for children. ’

I took a book about Greta Thunberg, and what you have not thought about her, the book has told her story so simply and interestingly, that I started reading another about Michelle Obama.

That is an exciting thing – usually, the children’s books are written so simply, without complex constructions and terms, but with excellent illustrations, so that I understand the idea that the author wanted to say perfectly.

Interesting, but many professors or ‘educated ‘people think that the children’s book format is for children only, but that is not true. People want to seem cleverer, so that they invent new words and overcomplicate theorems, that the regular students or people can’t understand what they were asked to understand. This way maybe be more accurate in science, but it doesn’t give the main feature: Be on the same wave with the author.

Let’s come back to our theme. There were hundreds of new storybooks. All of them were a real masterpiece, and my mind and eyes got so much fun. Let’s look at this picture: this is a patterned book so that there is a hole in a book, which makes the story so interesting. It seems like you go forward every time, and some action happens. I wish I could share the pictures with you, but the author’s rights prohibit it.

Or let’s look at the story of a Black Lives Matter. This is an important event in our society, and it is so important to tell children in the right and neutral way about this problem. This book has solved this problem. The book reveals that we all appeared in Africa and all people have been living there for 2 million years, and only in the recent 200000 years have they started to relocate to the new territories. Later, they tell the story of Africans in America, starting with the Columbus ship and ending with 2020.

I guess such books could bring me a better understanding of today and tomorrow than the patriotic books of our ancestors.

(This article is still in editing, but I will be happy to hear your thoughts in comments)