Books take up an important portion on children’s cognitive development. This is why the public and critics get sensitive when critiquing children’s books. While so many fables and stories are made from the imaginative minds of the authors, the books share some traits in common.
- Personification
Personifications such as “the sun is smiling” or “the lightning is furious” are a frequent literary device that is used in children’s books. Personification can make non-human entities and subjects more vivid and realistic in their characters. Since children have lower ability to comprehend abstract concepts or empathize over various feelings and emotions, many children books’ authors use personification to evidently highlight the overall mood.
- Usage of non-human, unique characters
Many children’s books include distinct characters that are not common and unobservable in other books. The story further develops to the interaction of the non-human characters and animals. They use monsters and bizarre creatures to draw the attention of the young readers.
- Clear themes and lesson-learnings
Many authors express themes straightforward to avoid misunderstandings and misinterpretations. Children lack the ability to induce or estimate the intention, or theme, of a book. Therefore, authors have to directly portray the purpose or intention of the overall content of the book. As mentioned, books influence children’s cognitive development, the way children acquire knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and senses, and the authors try to explicitly display the positive themes of the book.
- Happily Ever After
Children’s books always end with a happy ending. Through this typical ending of “happily ever after,” authors try to emphasize that taking action with a good intention normally leads to a happy, or successful, ending. This is why so many books utilize the word “happy” in the end. With that, children associate the ending with happiness while attaining a wisdom of positivity with the good outcomes.
Other components can also be seen in children’s books.
By: Minjung Kwon