«Libri per ragazzi»: Daniele Ponchiroli nel laboratorio per l’infanzia di Casa Einaudi

The essay tries to retrace the life of Daniele Ponchiroli, a brilliant editor in chief who worked at the Giulio Einaudi Editore for almost thirty years. A special attention is given to his activity dedicated to the publishing for children and young adults. In fact, among the editors of Einaudi, he was the point of reference in this field and also a writer for children himself. Thanks to the study of his correspondence with the editorial staff between 1974 and 1978, this research sheds some light on the criteria used for the selection of the texts and the political and pedagogical purpose of the collection «Libri per ragazzi» published by Einaudi and edited by Ponchiroli. He introduced a new way of thinking the child and gave space to the most relevant and innovative authors for children of the postwar Italy, such as Mario Lodi and Gianni Rodari.