What is childrens literature & how does it enrich children's lives - Essay Example

Therefore, it makes them familiar with all these things and prepares them to handle such situations or problems which may arise in their own lives. A written work produced specifically for the purpose of educating or entertaining young people is termed as Children’s literature. The range of this genre of writing includes classics, picture books, fairy tales, fables, songs from the folk tradition and illustrated stories. Earlier, stories told in the oral tradition constituted this genre, but the late 18th century and the early part of the 19th century saw a spurt in activity in this area while high levels of literacy in the 20th century gave a great impetus to the creation of this form of writing.

The purpose of children’s literature is to create a “revelation, expansion and exploration-pushing back limits” according to Peter Hunt, one of the foremost proponents and critic of this form of writing. Children’s literature plays an important role in molding and nourishing a child’s character. Children’s literature is created keeping in mind the fact that its target audience is not yet ready for adult literature and it is designed to cater to a age group which is still not equipped with the necessary mental skills required to understand and read complex words and ideas.

Literature enriches a child by helping him to understand themselves and their surroundings better by placing them in a make believe world, where they immerse themselves into one of the characters and experience the world vicariously. Nancy Anderson has divided children’s literature into six broad categories- early childhood picture books , fiction, traditional literature, biographies and autobiographies, poems and verses, and non-fiction. She also delineates what does not constitute this genre, and these include joke books, comics, and cartoon books.

Pictus” published in 1658 followed by John Newberry’s