Peretata O. Zirka Menzatyuk’s works and Ukrainian children’s literature of the second half of XX – the beginning of XXI centuries

In this dissertation Zirka Menzatyuk’s works are researched in the context of the second half of XX – the beginning of XXI centuries. An attempt to determine the specific character of children’s literature in margin of literary theory, to identify the main features of this phenomenon which identify its nature within the framework of literature process – genre features (mainly small prose forms), the subject, technical mounting, correspondence of recipient’s age and psychophysiological peculiarities is made in this research. In the example of Zirka Menzatyuk’s prose works author's concept towards the evolution of Ukrainian children’s literature of the second half of XX – the beginning of XXI centuries is investigated. The writer’s creative activities are analyzed in synchronic and diachronic cut considering the specificity of children’s literature, national literature tradition of postmodernism, author's creative imagination, text and context, which have an impact on the form and the content of present-day works of an Ukrainian writer for children. The analysis of Zirka Menzatyuk’s works demonstrates that the author’s conception is based on the combination of neoteric (postmodern trends) and ultra traditional (the oldest forms of folk) in the text space of literary work. As a result of the research a capability to investigate Zirka Mentazyuk’s works in wider semiotic coordinates is proved and it gives prospects for new researches.