Abstract

During the last century, children’s literature came to be valued and appreciated as an art form for children. Research supports that it provides young children with a foundation for later literary understanding and aesthetic development. Young children’s aesthetic experiences assist them in all facets of their lives including their use of language. In addition children’s literature has a significant effect on young children’s intellectual and emotional experiences to their wider world (Kiefer, 2004). The purpose of this chapter is to review the scholarship on children’s literature; discuss how children’s play is reflected in classic literature; provide an historical perspective on the development of scholarship in children’s literature; describe the different theories in children’s literature, including the controversies; report research in children’s literature from a literary perspective; and review the implications of children’s literature in early childhood education.