12279 | 9 April 2026 | 11:00

One of her works, "How to Read and Write with Beginners," has been a source of dedication for many years of her life. While working with students, she always takes notes. She observes and describes everything that impresses her about them

You have probably forgotten his name or have never met him at all - Violino Primo. This is his alias, and his real name is Tsanko Popov.

 He has written many children's books. Among them are: "I Know, I Know", "The Uncle's Little Girl", "Radostincho and Veselushka", "Tsar Valkan and Queen Angelina", "King Marko". He is also the author of the books: "Among the Firstborn", "School Bell", "At the Dawn of Liberation".

 Violino Primo is one of our children's writers who is almost never mentioned by literary historians. It will be difficult to find his books, which are a bibliographic rarity. He also creates stories, essays, poems and articles. He is distinguished by a true literary gift. He has collaborated with many publications in our country. He is the editor of a magazine for the education of the youngest called "Children's Garden". The author has given over 50 lectures on pedagogical issues in the "Women's Newspaper." Among his many essays, poems, and stories, he also uses other pseudonyms. One of them is Emilian Pilya. He uses this name when writing pedagogical articles and critical notes. However, he is most well-known to his readers as Violino Primo, a pseudonym he began using in 1907.

 Tsanko Popov was born in Kotel on August 12th, 1881. He is the son of the priest Peter Velikov, from whom he inherited alertness and nobility. In 1901, he graduated with honors from the Shumen Men's Pedagogical School. He was appointed as a teacher in Shumen, Kotel, Karnobat, and Kotlensko. His teaching career also took him to Sofia, where he taught at the Model School. He is the author of primers, readers, and math textbooks for young children.

 His wife, Mara Popova, is also a teacher and shares his creative pursuits. He is active in the public life of our country. An important moment in his biography is his membership in the Committee for Establishing the "Library for Bulgarian Children".

 Violino Primo tirelessly works for the youngest, giving them all of his creativity. He searches for different methods in his work, which will bring him closer to the child's soul. His enthusiasm does not go unnoticed. In 1913, he was sent by the Ministry of National Education to visit Germany to familiarize himself with the German education system. There he learns about the ideas associated with the art of the German pedagogue Schaelemen. Later, these ideas are known in pedagogy as artistic didacticism.

 In one of his works, "How to Read and Write with First Graders," he devotes many years of his life. While working with students, he always takes notes. He observes them and describes everything that impresses him. He wants to understand the child's soul and succeeds in discerning its uniqueness. In the child, he sees an extraordinary and surprising world that can only be perceived by the sensitivity of someone who knows the importance of childhood.

 In his story "In a Dream," from his collection "School Bell," he writes: "How all the children here and everywhere resemble each other. I wonder how school has been able to smooth out, to scorch all the edges, to castrate all the shoots of individuality? How rich is the child's soul, how much originality is hidden in every little one, how magnificent is the child's individuality, and here everything fades, everything takes on a well-behaved and virtuous appearance... Our tireless school has tried to remove all obstacles, to fix the uneven, to heal the wound, to smooth the rough edges, to fit everything into one mold.

 The mold is still the same today... Not a single teacher has the time to discover the child's individuality, buried under bureaucracy, and often does not have the senses for it. But through the lines written by Violino Primo, his views on children's education and upbringing are clearly seen. In this world, one must enter with quiet steps, in order not to disturb the child's freedom and mischief, because we all come from the world of childhood...

 I unfold the yellowed pages of the magazine "Svetulka" from 1921, intended for the youngest readers. There, I find a short fairy tale signed by Violinko, as the writer used to sign. "Grandpa God, while walking on the earth, hitched two oxen, went to the fields, and started teaching people how to plow. He plowed for a while, then got tired and sat down to rest. In the meantime, Uncle Wolf snuck in and ate one of the oxen. Grandpa God caught the wolf, hitched him to the other ox, and started plowing again.

 The wolf resisted and strained, while the old ox kept poking him in the ribs with his sharp horns. Finally, exhausted, Wolf collapsed on the field with his tongue out. Grandpa God let him go. From then until today Kumcho Vulcho has been afraid of sharp horns… and a crooked hoe… “That's how the writer describes the children's world. Simply and effortlessly.

 Today on a hidden street in Kotel you can see a small house. On it there is a memorial plaque: “In this house until 1940 lived and created Violino Primo – Tsonko Popov – a distinguished Bulgarian pedagogue.” This is one of the few remaining memories of him.

 I think it is time for Bulgarian teachers to unfold the old textbooks, books, and magazines, where the methods of education and upbringing that create quality and good people have long been written. With their own worldview and individuality.