The famous Turkmen poet, writer and playwright Hemra Shirov is always a long-awaited guest at meetings with young readers. They are waiting impatiently for him because most of the writer’s works are written for children, about children and in the name of children.

Books by Hemra Shirov are constantly in great demand among children. After all, the poems in them are devoted to topics that are close to the children, such as how to beg from grandma a flying carpet or how popcorn is actually made…

For the writer, the International Children's Day is not just a date on the calendar. For him it is a big celebration. This is always a conversation with young readers.

And what are they talking about? About life. About fantasy. About dreams.

The writer has been readily participating in literary meetings with children for more than 40 years. And each time these meetings are different, because children's curiosity is inexhaustible.

The writer never looks down the children when talking with them, instead – the conversations are always on equal terms.

This is felt in his poems addressed to the children’s imagination, to their inner world.

FLYING CARPET

So many different carpets

You have woven grandma

During your life!

If you make another one,

Please, weave a flying carpet for me

Like in a fairy-tale!

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Here are the poems of a completely different type, for they are more like pictures. Graphic poems by Hemra Shirov are especially loved by children because such poems can be read in different directions and look like pictures at the same time. Thus, children's imagination is encouraged to full force.

For example, in the poem “The eyes of a wild cat that sneak into a barn at night” the writer describes the moment when a pair of burning cat eyes look at the reader from the darkness. And if someone was afraid, it was in vain, for the cat itself is afraid of us.

«These are the wild cat’s eyes that look at us with fear».

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All children love snowy winter: you can build a snowman and play snowballs. And children’s best helpers in such games are mittens: they keep hands warm and make the snow roll well. Sometimes during snow games, the kids lose their mittens, but would that really stop them from funny pastime?

Hemra Shirov’s visual verse in the form of a mitten is just about this:

«Winter has come again,

It's time to wear mittens.

Hey, kids, guess for which hand

Is this mitten for?»

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The visual verse "A Conversation with a Lonely Shoe" is dedicated to all the children's shoes lost in rainy puddles.

- Lonely shoe, tell me where is your pair?

- It got lost in the rain.

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And here comes the snowman - a favorite winter fun character. Many of us used to make snowmen in the yard being kids. Visual verse "Snowman" is a small but a dramatic story about a snowman made by two boys - Mered and Ashir. Its eyes are black like coal, and instead of a nose, there is a carrot - so everything is as it should be. But the boys, having played enough, went home, and the man made of snow was left alone, and began to gradually melt.

«It’s evening outside, everyone is sitting at home. And only a lonely snowman stands in the yard, for it has no home».

In a picture made up of words, the snowman actually melts. The letters on one of its sides began to blur. Who knows, maybe in the morning Ashir and Mered will find only a small puddle. This is all what will remain of the lonely snowman

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Childhood is the country where each of us comes from. And the brighter and warmer this country is for the child, the kinder and better person he or she will grow up to be. For Hemra Shirov this topic is very important because he is sure that good children books will lead young readers to the light of knowledge, love to nature, and understanding of the people around them.

“In every childish game there is a particle of creativity and desire to explore our world. Surround children with good books; time will pass, and the children will definitely direct their abundant energy, curiosity and the desire to socialize in a creative way,” - the writer explains us through his works.

As a hymn to the country of childhood, I would like to quote Hemra Shirov’s poem “We Are the Children”.

WE ARE THE CHILDREN

If the world is a big ship,

We are its small captains.

Listen when our time comes,

We will steer the ship of the world!

We will steer the ship of the world,

Singing joyful songs.

Our ship will sail peacefully,

Storm of war will not arose.

Storm of war will not arose,

Will not unfold its black sail.

Please protect the world today,

And we will protect it tomorrow!

Author is Maral Hydyrova

Translated from Russian by Serdar Shirov