Why does kid lit, or children's literature, matter anyways?
Well, it promotes language development and offers other educational boons, but perhaps more importantly, most of what you learn to value begins in childhood. It's why so many of us, even as adults, don’t feel so very different at our core than we felt when we were young. Wiser, more cynical, more complacent maybe, sure, but there's always that core, and kid lit helps shape that, not only through the moralistic lessons (be kind, be thankful) and practical advice (don’t talk to the hungry wolf) imbued in most stories but also through the inestimable encouragement to dream, hope, wonder, question, and connect. Through kid lit, we explore worlds, inner and outer. We also learn about ourselves and about “other.” Stories and their many characters can help readers develop empathy, understanding, tolerance and compassion as well as judgment and reason, qualities and skills so badly needed.
My thought for the day.
(from January 2018)