Literature Supports Children’s Personality Development

. Captivated by the trials of others’ encounters, the reader finds hope in his own life. For some, books are an escape. He is able to disappear into a new world, with different lives, and extreme or sometimes even similar situations. However, his real world problems are still ever-present. In Sherman Alexie’s article, “Why the Best Kids Books Are Written in Blood,” he claims that many

Having a connection with a book and having it be comparable to an event that a child id going through can affect them tremendously.

Children’s literature is an effective teaching tool for children but also a way for children to escape their daily lives through fantasy. Didactic material can be used to teach life lessons, manners and morals where subversive and fantasy genres can allow children to release from daily expectations and allows an outlet for their large imaginations.

Before we divulge into the topic of this essay, let me begin by stating that neither the author of the main source, Steven Johnson, nor I intend to devalue books or look down upon them. In his book, Everything Bad Is Good For You, he starts off talking about the importance of books. He says, “We should all encourage our kids to read more, to develop a comfort with and an appetite for reading” (Johnson 21). Reading provides many different benefits, some including “concentration, the ability to make sense of words, to follow narrative threads, to sculpt imagined worlds out of mere sentences on pages” (Johnson 23). As an avid reader myself, I have always had an interest in books.

Through the course, I learned that there are many benefits of reading books to children. Children would improve their communicative skills by talking about their favorite part of the story. Children would respect each other by taking turns. They would improve their cognitive skills by predicting the events of a story. Moreover, reading books would expand children’s vocabularies by introducing new words.

Nurture is much more important than nature in shaping a person’s personality. When a child is only months old, it already begins to attach and develop personality traits that are similar to their caregiver. Babies can recognise when their parent is gone, and will learn ways to make them come back, such as crying and screaming. Humans are very cognitive, and will learn throughout all stages of life. Undoubtedly, nature is the dominant factor in a child’s development because children are impressionable and conform to their surroundings, humans tend to learn from their surroundings, and infants require a parental figure to attach to in order to develop.

When picking out literature keep the child’s age, gender, attention span, and personal interests in mind. An uninterested child is unlikely to pay attention to the story. Do not overwhelm the child with a complex storyline beyond their comprehension or emotional level.

Harry Potter, Junie B. Jones, Narnia, Lemony Snicket, Hunger Games, Lord of the Rings, Goosebumps, Magic Tree House, and the Boxcar Children: Popular book series that most kids get into. I never did. Ever since school required mandatory reading, I perceived books as hassles. School effectively turned me off of reading for pleasure. Going into middle school, where students have regular book reports and summer reading, I faced a challenge. To make it by I had to learn to live with books, as they played an integral part to my career as a student. However, my current state of mind labeled reading a hassle and wanted nothing to do with it, necessitating change. Transitioning from elementary to middle school, I matured both physically and intellectually.

Books allow for creativity and the finding of oneself in the world. Elementary school through high school is a time when kids are figuring out who they are and how they will present themselves to the world. With this mission in mind, books grant access to many life lessons and new worlds that students may not have known existed. though there is much good to come from reading and expanding one’s knowledge, sometimes students stumble upon books that do not send the right message. Some believe that when students get a hold of books with the wrong message, it can have negative consequences and repercussions.

“Reading gives us someplace to go when we have to stay where we are,” (Cooley). Reading has impacted us in many ways throughout our lives. Often time’s books give people different perspectives on their lives. People with high stress levels often find comfort in reading books to take their mind off of their concerns. Sometimes, people just need to take a step back from their life and relax for a while; therefore, reading is a great tool. Reading all kinds of books has also helped me become a better writer. There are many different books that have impacted me over the years.

“Any book that helps a child to form a habit of reading, to make reading one of his

“The more that you read, the more things you will know, the more that you learn the more places you’ll go,” says the famous author Dr. Seuss. In today’s culture though, many children spend great amounts of time staring at their personal devices or watching television. Children do not realize that reading provides a form of entertainment that proves not only educational but fun, too. Providing an exciting way to learn, books offer better entertainment than a movie, since books last longer than a movie because reading takes longer, as a result of this, they give more detail. Also, books grow the reader’s imagination because they allow the reader to envision the setting themselves. Whether through fairy tales, historical

Do you remember the first book you learned to read? Well, I do and it shaped me into the reader I am today. During my early years in elementary school, I began to learn about what reading was and how to read books. I always remember my kindergarten teacher reading “Love you forever” before I would go to nap time everyday. I eventually learned to read my favorite childhood book on my own. However, this was a problem when I didn't want to branch out and read books to better my reading skills. Reading and writing are such and important aspect in our lives that get abused every day. It may sound silly, but as a young child I came in contact with books that impacted me, changed me, and shaped me into the reader and writer I am today.

Literature if used correctly can enhance a child’s life. It can become a valuable tool in helping children to understand their home, communities and the world in which they live. Through literature children’s vocabulary, imaginations, and self understanding is built. Children should be exposed to literature that is age appropriate and within the context of learning respect for themselves and others by the diversity of the books. My literature plan is based upon multicultural diversity which reinforces reading readiness, read-along that emphasis multicultural songs and rhymes, build self esteem through art, music and movement and responses to literature.

There are numerous children’s books available for educators to utilize as they create, integrate, and incorporate reading books into their lessons. When selecting books for students, many factors come into play. One central component to employ when selecting Children’s books is ensuring the book is developmentally appropriate for the child (Lennox, 2013). In order to select