Transformation of Children's Literature in the 21st Century: From Paper Book to Multimedia Experience

The paper analyzes the transformation processes in the field of children’s literature in the 21st century in the context of the intensification of digitalization and the formation of a multimedia-integrated reading environment. It is established that the key vector of transformation is the transition from linear, materially fixed text organization to hypertextual, nonlinear and multimodal architectonics, which form variable ways of reading, which leads to a change in the ways of perception and reading of text by children. It is proven that the integration of digital technologies into the structure of children’s literature determines the expansion of its functional and target purpose, ensuring the intensification of didactic, communicative and therapeutic-compensatory potential. It has been established that multimedia and interactive formats contribute to increasing the level of reading motivation, activating cognitive activity, developing speech competencies, critical thinking and forming the ability to productively interpret narrative structures. The change in the role of the child in the reading process has been clarified: from passive perception of the finished text to active interaction with it, where the child acts not only as a reader, but as an active participant in the interpretation and partial formation of content, which contributes to the development of independence, creative thinking and involvement in reading. The dual nature of the influence of the digital environment on the processes of perception and processing of information has been revealed: on the one hand, it expands access to literature, enhances intercultural interaction and ensures individualization of learning, and on the other hand, fragmentation of attention, a decrease in the ability to deep analytical reading and a deterioration in the holistic understanding of the text are observed. It has been proven that excessive use of multimedia elements, especially when they are not consistent with the content, leads to an overload of attention, which reduces the efficiency of information assimilation and the formation of reading skills. It is proven that the paper book retains a leading role in the formation of deep reading, analytical thinking and long-term memory, acting as a basic means of developing holistic cognitive and interpretative skills. It was found that the effectiveness of digital formats is variable and is determined by the level of cognitive coherence of multimedia elements with the narrative structure, age characteristics of readers and the quality of pedagogical support. The systematization of transformational parameters allowed us to identify key trends in the development of children’s literature, in particular: digitalization of the literary environment, multimodal convergence of the text, hypertextualization of the reading space, interactivization of receptive practices, personalization of the narrative and institutionalization of digital educational technologies.