Picture Books for Children of Early School Age for the Purpose of Environmental Education

Abstract

Abstract Environmental education is gaining more and more significance, not only because of the wasting of natural sources but also because of the polluting of the environment. The aim of environmental education is not only the knowledge or a line of facts which a child should learn about the environment, but also building proper attitudes and a positive relation towards the environment. It’s important to practice literature to develop an ecological conscience. It’s possible to accomplish a connection of literature and education on three levels: on the basic, on some higher and on the highest one. On the basic level, picture books and illustrated books for children process ecological themes more from the cognitive and less (or almost not at all) from the poetical point of view appeared. Exactly because of that, they are called a cognition type of picture books or illustrated books for children. The aim of this paper is to describe picture books with ecological themes and also to analyse functions of each picture book taken in the account. Six books were selected: Sunčica upoznaje činčilu (eng. Sunčica meets chinchilla), Brdo na kraju grada (eng. Hill at the end of town), Priroda priča... (eng. Nature talks), Nauči poštivati prirodu uz kravicu Šaricu (eng. Learn to respect nature with Šarica the cow), Zatvori vodu! (eng. Shut the water off!) and Zraka trebam, hitno! (eng. I need air, now!).