Literature, of any kind, inherently contains educational elements. Of course the science books teach you about science, but fiction books can teach problem solving, morality, and many other subjects. Not only should children’s literature contain educational elements, there really is not a way around it. Children’s literature teaches a wide variety of topics; specifically language, empathy, and imagination. The most basic purpose of children’s books is to teach language. Children can learn their ABC’s from books with brightly illustrated pictures. Older children build their vocabulary from almost any genre of text. There really is not a way to read a book without improving language skills. Science and math books also fall under this category. Obviously, science and math books teach science and math, which is educational. This is where most people stop with what they consider to be educational, but there is so much more to a comprehensive education for children. …show more content…
Young children, by nature, can be very selfish and almost bratty. How do you make them care about others around them? They learn to identify with characters in books and put themselves in the character’s shoes. Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird is a wonderful example of teaching empathy. Atticus Finch demonstrates how to treat other people kindly, even when they are different from you. He teaches his children that all people, regardless of skin color or wealth, deserve to be treated with kindness. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to see kindness and empathy in our world today, but we have books to fill the void. While To Kill A Mockingbird may not teach science or math, it teaches empathy, which may be even more