EN
The paper discusses the guidelines imposed on the authors of literature for children and young people during the period of social realism in Poland. It is a synthesis of the statements of the then theorists of social realism published in the social-literary periodicals. The study presents the role of the positive hero in poetry and prose work and the pattern of the socialist-realist novel as well as their modifications in literature for younger readers. It also discusses, using the examples from Soviet and Polish literature, the subject matter of literary works for children and young people and the recommended restrictions, inter alia concerning realistic science fiction. The article also deals with the problem of the organization of the child’s mentality by means of field trips and the method of propagandistic creation of demand for literature for young people. It also focuses on the educational role of literature and its results.