The theme for this year’s Book Week was “Find Your Treasure”. When it comes to books, what is your treasure? Is it adventure, mystery, classic literature?  Do you want to be transported to a different time or place through carefully crafted words or increase your knowledge and understanding through factual texts?  Author F. Scott Fitzgerald’s (The Great Gatsby) beautifully describes what he believes is the treasure of literature when he said “That is part of the beauty of all literature. You discover that your longings are universal longings, that you’re not lonely and isolated from anyone. You belong.”

When I first saw this quote a light bulb switched on.  This quote made it clear that we don’t read just to be entertained, the most important reason we and children need stories is so that we can all understand our world and our part in it. Stories from good quality literature are important for children and adults alike.

Stories play a vital role in the growth and development of children, their confidence, coping with feelings, language and learning.

Confidence – Confidence and self-esteem is knowing where you fit into the world. Stories can help with this process by showing children what people’s lives are like where they live and in other parts of the world.

Development of Imagination – stories introduce new ideas about fantastical worlds, other planets, different points in time and invented characters. It’ll encourage the children to realise that they can, and should, imagine anything they want.

Coping with Feelings – When children read stories that contain feelings it can help them understand and accept their own feelings. It helps them understand that there are other children who feel the same way and they are not alone.

Language and Learning – Stories are a great way to introduce new words and ideas into a child’s language. Stories are also useful for teaching more complex ideas. Fiction based on real-life can also help children with their own life experience – it shows them how diverse the world is and that some people’s lives are vastly different to theirs.

On the surface of our Book Week activities it may have looked like a bunch of pirates jiggling around and walking the plank into the pool, but what we were really celebrating is the incredible contribution that literature makes to developing our own personal, safe worlds.

Carol Peterson – Year 2 Teacher