Childhood and humanization: the encounter of children with tolstoy based on a historic cultural perspective

Presentation The purpose of this text is to socialize an experience with dramatized storytelling, realized between 2011 and 2014 with 3 to 5 year-old children in a public school in Florianópolis, SC, Brazil.i Based on historic cultural theory, weekly storytelling sessions were conducted with stories by Leo Tolstoy, found in the book “Contos da Nova Cartilha” which includes 161 short stories for young children. Tolstoy was chosen because his stories use fables and metaphors to present experiences in life that problematize collective dilemmas. Contrary to classic European stories, whose moralizing nature emphasizes goodness, sacrifice, love, individual work and courtesy, Tolstoy emphasizes collective work, solidarity, cooperation, justice and questions that involve social equality among different peoples. We believe that these stories are opportune for addressing complex issues such as the exploitation of the labor of others, which is made possible by the stories presented in this text.