The Importance of Children's Literature and Its Impact on Adulthood

The Importance of Children’s Literature and its Impact on Adulthood It is assumed that if an adult has a strong passion for reading and educating children, then that adult must have had a childhood of abundant children’s books and bedtime stories. However, Shirley Brice Heath has a much different background than the one assumed for an educator. Heath tells her story in her own chapter of The Handbook of Research on Children’s and Young Adult Literature, titled, “The Book as Home? It All Depends”. Heath’s story shows her love of literature coming from something very contrary to a home full of books. Heath kept her childhood close to her and never revealed it to others. To many, it was unfathomable for an English teacher to have never owned a children’s book. For Heath, it was a reality. Heath grew up in a “household, not home” (p. 33). She was raised by her grandmother while her parents seemed to be too busy with their own lives. Her grandmother did not own any books and the only book she ever came across was the Hymn book at Sunday service. (Heath, 2010, p. 35). According to Heath: “Reading with young children requires times for snuggling and conversing. As children grow in their reading, they need ample space for sprawling out bodies and books whose numbers and sizes may overwhelm the capacity of available bookshelves. Children who read books demand time for stop-action attention from adults willing to inspect drawings, watch dramatic re-enactments, and listen to retelling of tales. Childhood reading comes with a price, literal and figurative, in time, space, and commitment by intimates who love their children and value reading as a part of the expression of love.” ( Heath, 2010, p. 33). Essentially, if parents do not have the devoted time or willingness to spend with their children, then childhood stories will be scarce. Heath’s childhood proves that even if the time and attention from parents (or grandparents) is not available, a

References: Heath, Shirley Brice (2010). The Book as Home? It All Depends. The Handbook of Research on Children’s and Young Adult Literature ( p.32-45).