How Children's Lit can Affect Development

When you think of children's literature do you think about boring bedtime stories? That used to be the only thing that came to my mind when I thought about children's books. However, I have learned the importance of children's literature and how it can affect the development of a child. Children who are introduced to literature at a young age have shown to have better cognitive and language development. One of the best ways to introduce your baby to literature is by reading to them aloud. During a read aloud a child can gain vocabulary, recognize the correct use of words and phrases, learn problem-solving skills, boosts memory, etc.. So, if you are a parent, grandparent, teacher, babysitter, or a supportive friend of someone with a young child, encourage reading aloud to the child for these reasons plus so many more! 

A group of three diverse children reading. 

What you chose to read to your child has a huge impact on how they develop socially as well. Books are a great form of entertainment for your children; however, they are also a great way to introduce your child to the diversity among society! 
I learned in one of my reading education courses at UTK that if a child is being offered books about all types of individuals within the population, there could be less confusion as they age into the real-world. For example, some my favorite children's books series have characters in them who look like every child/ person you could encounter in the world! I have heard stories from adults who felt isolated as a child because they were never offered books with characters that looked like them, so introducing books that have diverse characters also increases the chance of seeing characters that look like you or your child! I personally have a special place in my heart for those with disabilities, and think it is so important to have books in my at home library as well as my classroom library that includes those who have disabilities! I would love to share some examples of books that you could introduce to your children that would show how important and easy it is include those with disabilities! 

Some books I recommend adding to your at home library or classroom library that involve inclusion are: 

"Yes I Can! A Girl and her Wheelchair." by Kendra Barrett, "Awesomely Emma" by Amy Webb, "Lucas at the Paralympics" by Igor Plohl, and " A Sky-Blue Bench" by Bahram Rahman. These are just a few books that I love, and think would be great to read to a preK-3 grade child to incorporate the idea of inclusion into their life. 

Introducing Children's Literature

 The main goals of children's literature are inform, persuade, entertain, or describe things to the younger population. However, children's literature is great to read at all ages! Faculty from the University of South Florida believe that children's literature is often defined as, "a collection of books written for children, read by children, and/or written about children." These books are designed to keep children entertained and intrigued throughout the entirety of the story. Some might say that children's books are pointless stories based off of a specific reading level, but others might say that about some adult books as well! 

Two children reading a book together. 

Over the course of this blog, my beliefs and opinions on children's literature, book genres, and diversity within story topics will be discussed. Most of my opinions have been formed overtime by reading hundreds of books to the children I nanny (ages 1-7) and the educational courses that I have taken over time at the University of Tennessee. Although I am not an avid reader as an adult, I have found such a love for children's literature and the impact it has on young children. Watching a child's language development and reading skills blossom overtime is an extremely sweet thing. Reading skills will develop differently for each child, so being able to provide the attention and resources that are needed for the individual learner is important. I hope that I can provide resources and materials that allow growth. In this blog, I would also like to provide ways to encourage the younger population to continue reading as they age. I truly believe that if I had been encouraged by my parents and educators as a child, I would enjoy reading as an adult so much more. There are so many types of stories that I want to discuss throughout this blog. Overtime, I hope that you can find the best books to add to your at home and/or classroom libraries!