Children's Literature, Briefly ch.2

When I read this chapter I kept thinking about my four year old son and a his favorite book. Its title was something like Fables you Shouldn't Pay Any Attention to. The storeys all ended with the character learning an inappropriate lesson, such as; it pays to be greedy, it pays to not take care of your things, it pays to lie. Every night my son wanted to read this book. The writing was not brilliant, the illustrations were bland and the lessons taught were unsavory. He loved it. I think he identified with the characters and their misbehavior. I hid the book and got another book called David Gets in Trouble. This book also had a character that misbehaved, but the books literary qualities were at a higher standard and the illustrations were wonder full. He instantly fell in love with this book as well. Within a few weeks he had memorized the book and was reading it to me. If we know a child's interest we can suggest book titles to them of a higher quality. That way it fits the quality and taste requirements of a good book.