A STORY BEYOND CHILDHOOD: THE IMAGE OF A CHILD MIGRANT IN CONTEMPORARY CHILDREN’S LITERATURE

This article explores how contemporary children’s and young adult literature reflects the complex experiences of forced migration. It analyzes how the image of a child migrant functions within literary texts, the themes it raises, and its impact on readers. Particular attention is paid to how literature helps children process the traumatic experiences of losing their homes, being separated from loved ones, and adapting to new living conditions. By analyzing works by contemporary Ukrainian authors and English literature, the article demonstrates how the image of a child migrant becomes a symbol of a generation that has faced trials. Additionally, the article explores how contemporary children’s and young adult literature shapes new understandingsof identity, existence, and one’s place in the world. A child migrant is forced to reconsider their place in the world, seek new reference points, and create a new identity. Literature aids in this process by offering various behavioral models and strategies for overcoming difficulties. An important aspect of the study is the analysis of the topos of home in the context of migration. The article explains how the concept of “home” transforms from a physical space to an internal state, to connections at the level of the soul. The article also considers the image of a child migrant in the context of comparative literary studies of contemporary Ukrainian and English literature. Particular attention is paid to narrative strategies and the communicative arc of the literary work, whichallows for the use of research results in educational settings and for further research in the fields of literary studies, psychology, and sociology. Analysis of texts of contemporary children’s and young adult literature, in which the discourse of migration unfolds, allows not only to understand contemporary social processes but also to constructively comprehend the collective traumatic experience, transforming it into a resource for the development of literature and society.