Having read the importance of selecting literature for our students, discuss the implications of one of the following statements, applying them to any book(s) you know or remember:
- A book is a friend whose face is constantly changing.
- The true university of these days is a collection of books.
- The only important thing in a book is the meaning it has for you.
Analyze how your personal, environmental background contributes to your reading insights of the book(s) relating to what you have read in the resource regarding how books should be selected for children.
When I was studying philosophy during my bachelor's degree in linguistics, our professor Yedige Dzhumagalievich often joked about reading. He used to say that you should not get used to reading, because reading is like a drug, once you get addicted to it, it will be a lifelong love affair. That's what happened to me. In the beginning I had small Soviet books with picture stories, poems and fairy tales, then the books became bigger and the stories longer, until the pictures from the books disappeared completely.
When choosing a children's book, the aspect of physical development should be taken into account, so that manipulative skills and fine motor skills are developed, attention span and visual attention are increased, and growth and change are provoked. The aspect of language development is also unquestionably important (Trim, 2004). Vygotsky's theory of language development includes three points: Zone of Proximal Development, Scaffolding and Respect an interactive, interpersonal language environment (Trim, 2004). Whereas Cambourne and Turbin identify seven optimal conditions for language and literacy growth: immersion, demonstration, real-life purposes, responsibility, expectation, approximation, and feedback (Trim, 2004).
Based on all of the above, I would like to point out the children's book Duck and Goose (Storytime with Ryan & Craig, 2022): Two bills, four webbed feet, and a lot of feathers make good ideas even better! Despite their differences, Duck & Goose put their heads together to solve problems and bring out the best in one another (Apple TV, 2022). I was first introduced to the story of the two friends when I was looking for a bedtime cartoon for my son. The stories were just right for his age and very understandable. They also have a learning and developmental function (Duck and Goose: Colors | through the Looking Glass Children's Book Review, 2015), where the child can get to know, for example, different colours and remember them by association. You can also find this book in the audio version (Storytime with Ryan & Craig, 2022) and listen to each favourite story several times.
I think the statement ‘The only important thing in a book is the meaning it has for you’ fits this book. Because I find my meaning in the adventures of the friends, and my son finds his. And we are right each from our own experiences, needs and personal perceptions. Where I am guided by the experience of an adult, my son is guided by the experience of a three-year-old boy learning about the world. And I love that I can give him that perception through children's literature.
References
Apple TV. (2022, July 16). Duck & Goose — Solve Problems with Duck & Goose | Apple TV+. YouTube. Duck & Goose — Solve Problems with Duck & Goose | Apple TV+
Duck and Goose: Colors | Through The Looking Glass Children’s Book Review. (2015). Lookingglassreview.com. https://lookingglassreview.com/books/duck-and-goose-colors/
Storytime with Ryan & Craig. (2022, October 19). Duck & Goose By Tad Hills | READ-ALOUD. YouTube. Duck & Goose By Tad Hills | READ-ALOUD
Trim, M. (2004). Growing and knowing: a selection guide for children's literature.
