Abstract:

Problem Statement:
How do the images of representatives of non-European ethnos change in didactic illustrations during the period when children learn letters.

Research methods:
Content analysis, intent analysis, comparison, interpretation.
The empirical object of research was 16 ABC-books published in Greece, Netherlands, Germany, France, Kyrgyzstan, Bulgaria, Iraq and Russia.
It has been established that with the introduction of the letter “I” from 1850 the images of an Indian are used, and with the introduction of the letter “C” the images of Chinese are used. In didactic illustrations, images of Mexicans and Eskimos are used. These images have undergone a certain historical dynamics.

It consists of:
1) a departure from the realism of images to the symbolic representation of individual details;
2) in the abandonment of the image of adults to the representation of children in national clothes;
3) in transferring typical details of an ethnic costume to the decoration of animals, which discredits the national culture and its carriers;

Conclusions:
The number of images of the Chinese is totally reduced, which is directly proportional to the actual number of representatives of these cultures.
In the XXI century, the images of representatives acquire an ironic discourse of the image that does not form a respectful attitude to the representatives of these cultures.

Keywords:

Education, ABC-book, didactic illustration, learning to read, image of an Indian, image of a Chinese, nationality.