Introduction to Children's Literature

Author: Huang Yunsheng
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2001-06-01
Features: This is where the advantage of children's literature lies. Let's take a look specifically at how children's literature fulfills its functional value in the quality education of young people and children. First, children's literature can broaden the horizons of young readers, increase their knowledge, and help them improve their ability to perceive life. Young people and children have a strong curiosity and desire for knowledge. Whether it's the surrounding environment or the distant world, they want to explore. However, their real life is relatively narrow, and they come into contact with few things, so books become a window for them to broaden their horizons and understand the world. The books mentioned here naturally do not refer only to children's literature but can be various types of knowledge-based reading materials. However, literary reading materials are irreplaceable. Highly educational science fiction, for example, is naturally favored by young readers. It is more imaginative and interesting than non-literary knowledge-based reading materials and is aesthetically refined, making it more attractive and engaging to read, leaving a particularly deep impression. Most children's literary works, however, do not leave much trace of introducing knowledge, and their significance in understanding life and the world is often overlooked. In fact, the artistic images presented to young readers by children's literature, whether reflections of real life or scenes of fantasy worlds, are infused with the author's experience in understanding life and the world, possessing a high degree of typicality, and thus are invaluable. That is to say, children's literature not only helps young readers learn many unfamiliar and unseen social and natural things but also primarily conveys life experiences to them, including the experience of observing life and understanding the world. In other words, children's literature not only shows young readers what to see but also lets them experience how to see. This is very important. Young readers generally read books out of interest, to satisfy their curiosity and desire for knowledge. At the beginning of engaging with a work, what naturally captures their attention is the storyline—the various fresh characters, things, and scenes. At the same time, they unconsciously experience the way of understanding life and the world. Similarly, children's literature also influences young readers' value judgments on the objective world with its active images and rich emotions, which is a process of broadening horizons, increasing knowledge, and exercising the ability to perceive life. Second, children's literature plays a significant role in developing young readers' imagination and training their way of thinking. The imaginative quality of children's literature is unparalleled. Not only fairy tales and science fiction but all forms of children's literature are richer in fantasy than adult literature. This is not difficult to explain. In the psychology of childhood, fantasy is everywhere. The famous children's literature writer Jin Jin said, "The most prominent feature of children's thoughts and emotions is fantasy, which permeates the entire course of childhood." Therefore, children's literature suitable for them to read and appreciate should possess the quality of fantasy. The famous Russian writer A. Tolstoy said, "What kind of books should be given to children? They should be books that inspire children to imagine, books that awaken the healthy, creative imagination within them." It can be said that children's literature will play an important role in enhancing the imaginative quality and innovative ability of young people and children. Third, children's literature has a positive impact on the formation of young people and children's personality traits, such as interests and hobbies. A person's personality traits, such as character, interests, and hobbies, have both a congenital foundation and are gradually formed and developed through life experiences. Since these are personality traits, they should neither be nor can they be uniform or monotonous. Therefore, it is very important to allow young people and children to develop freely both physically and mentally. The first sign of forming personality is the emergence of self-awareness. Every person's childhood memories are treasured with some "naughty" stories of their own initiative. In fact, they are practices of free personality development. Excellent children's literature always genuinely, vividly, and actively portrays the external and internal worlds of children, always adopting a positive and encouraging attitude toward children's self-awareness, and thus quickly gains their identification. Young readers then have their own artistic realm, allowing their physical and mental development to be healthy and joyful. In the lives of young children, games are indispensable. Games are an important way for young children to learn from life. Children play freely yet earnestly, gaining joy while expressing their individuality. Children's literature is a literary form with a strong spirit of play. Many children's songs and fairy tales have operable game elements, and the fantasy worlds created by children's literature are the skies where children's souls can soar freely. Language training is very important. It is a necessary means to activate thinking and stimulate imagination, as well as a key aspect of forming personality. Children's literature, with its unique simple yet clear style and alert, lively humorous language, brings joy to young readers while inevitably having a positive impact on their character formation. Fourth, children's literature helps young readers cultivate their moral sentiments and develop well-rounded personalities. Quality education ultimately aims to lay a foundation for cultivating high-quality, well-rounded individuals, and noble moral sentiments and perfect personalities are undoubtedly the most essential qualities. Moral sentiments are a psychological realm formed by the integration of emotions and thoughts, while personality refers to the sum of characteristics such as temperament, ability, and moral qualities, usually referring to a person's moral character. Noble moral sentiments and perfect personalities are formed from a young age through the subtle influence of the social environment, cultural and artistic education, family and school education, and more. In this process, reading literary works is extremely important. Bacon said, "Reading is for the purpose of cultivating perfect personalities." This means that the fundamental goal of reading is to educate young people and children on how to be a person, how to be a truly good person. It can be said that the ultimate significance of children's literature lies here. This is where the advantage of children's literature lies. Let's take a look specifically at how children's literature fulfills its functional value in the quality education of young people and children. First, children's literature can broaden the horizons of young readers, increase their knowledge, and help them improve their ability to perceive life. Young people and children have a strong curiosity and desire for knowledge. Whether it's the surrounding environment or the distant world, they want to explore. However, their real life is relatively narrow, and they come into contact with few things, so books become a window for them to broaden their horizons and understand the world. The books mentioned here naturally do not refer only to children's literature but can be various types of knowledge-based reading materials. However, literary reading materials are irreplaceable. Highly educational science fiction, for example, is naturally favored by young readers. It is more imaginative and interesting than non-literary knowledge-based reading materials and is aesthetically refined, making it more attractive and engaging to read, leaving a particularly deep impression. Most children's literary works, however, do not leave much trace of introducing knowledge, and their significance in understanding life and the world is often overlooked. In fact, the artistic images presented to young readers by children's literature, whether reflections of real life or scenes of fantasy worlds, are infused with the author's experience in understanding life and the world, possessing a high degree of typicality, and thus are invaluable. That is to say, children's literature not only helps young readers learn many unfamiliar and unseen social and natural things but also primarily conveys life experiences to them, including the experience of observing life and understanding the world. In other words, children's literature not only shows young readers what to see but also lets them experience how to see. This is very important. Young readers generally read books out of interest, to satisfy their curiosity and desire for knowledge. At the beginning of engaging with a work, what naturally captures their attention is the storyline—the various fresh characters, things, and scenes. At the same time, they unconsciously experience the way of understanding life and the world. Similarly, children's literature also influences young readers' value judgments on the objective world with its active images and rich emotions, which is a process of broadening horizons, increasing knowledge, and exercising the ability to perceive life.