ROLA LITERATURY W ROZWOJU DZIECKA W WIEKU PRZEDSZKOLNYM

Abstract

Literature plays a pivotal role in versatile development of a child. The contact with texts adjusted to a child’s age, interests and needs influences his emotional and social development. Reading also expands a child’s vocabulary, enriches his imagination, helps to understand the complicated world of moral rules and develops a young reader’s sensitivity and empathy towards another person. Undoubtedly, the texts, which have been appropriately selected, prepare a child to recognize and feel the right emotions which are connected not only with positive situations but also with those which evoke pain, sadness, disappointment or fear. The books create the treasury of values for preschool children, for instance: love, friendship, respect, justice, and honesty. One should also pay attention to the values which are not present in the stories or fairy tales, for example: a lie, betrayal, fraud or loneliness. A young reader learns to distinguish good from bad. Just like the protagonists of his favourite stories or fairy tales, he learns to tame with a new situation, making the right choices and decisions, learning to be independent, dutiful, and overcome difficulties. A child also observes the value of a written word and analysing and drawing conclusions. What is more, a young reader learns to follow particular moral norms and sensitive perception. He also learns to understand and respect the emotions expressed by other people.The subject of texts for preschool children is similar to the world of little reader. The described stories often take place in familiar environment: a family house or in the playground. A young reader often identifies with the protagonists of the books he reads. He gets to know the characters who, just like him, experience various emotions. The child learns to share happiness or sadness with the protagonists, he laughs and cries, and learns to name the emotions. A little child, while listening to the stories describing children similar to him, often identifies with the protagonists of the texts and notices the similarity of situations from his life to the situations which happen to the literary heroes. The stories described in the texts for children support the development of independence, they teach how to achieve the assumed goal and how to be happy when a barrier in life is overcome. They help to answer the questions bothering a child. They show to parents how meaningful the emotions of their children are, although they are sometimes difficult to understand. Situations which are complicated for a child or the questions which are difficult or painful are very often present in literary texts. Such a text can, therefore, become a great opportunity to start a conversation with a child. Home reading should become an everyday habit, awaited both by parents and children. The positive aspect of reading can also be the possibility to observe a child during this activity. The parents can see how a child reacts to the text, whether his mimics changes or not. The role of parents is therefore invaluable. By reading a book to children they help them to develop readership and love for books and selected texts. An interesting initiative has been originated in Poland. The action entitled “The whole Poland reads to children” popularizes reading for at least twenty minutes a day to children.Literature for children plays a huge role in versatile development of a child. A contact of a child with books expands his knowledge about the surrounding world. The plurality of topics, behaviours, and decisions which should be made by literary characters, places in which the action takes place and relations between the protagonists, who represent not only the real world but also fairy-tale world, influence the emotional, cognitive and social development of a child. If we choose the right texts suitable for perceptive skills of a child, the numerous problems described there can help to develop a child’s curiosity and the need to read new books.