Abstract
Purpose. The article deals with the pragmatic analysis of verbal and visual means of representation of objects and phenomena found in children's popular science books in Russian and French.
Results. Depending on the function performed, all the means were divided into 5 categories: verbal nominative, verbal expressive, verbal figurative, visual figurative and visual non-figurative. The authors of the books use various types of means to simplify the perception of the material by children. Verbal nominative and verbal expressive means are more typical for the French encyclopedia, verbal figurative ones – for the Russian book.
Conclusion. Visual figurative means were found only in the Russian book. Consequently, the linguocultural specificity of the representation of objects and phenomena in the analyzed books is revealed. The French encyclopedia is focused on unadapted representation of scientific facts and the frequent use of verbal nominative and expressive means; it contains a small number of verbal figurative means and no visual figurative means, whereas the author of the Russian book strives for greater «artistry» of the text and creates a fabulous atmosphere through the introduction of permanent heroes of a series of encyclopedias and extensive use of verbal and visual figurative means.