UNIT 1

Child’s reading interest

− Children’s reading materials, when chosen in
the light of their needs and interest, serve as one
of the essential factors in their development in
the various phases of growth. Good literature
brings the child into contact with great minds
and various forms of experiences, increasing his
knowledge of human nature and of the
expanding world around him
− Literature does not only increase the child’s
knowledge about life and living but can also
become a spring board for creative writing,
dramatic, art and music. In order to achieve these
desirable changes in the child through literature, it
is necessary to know each child- his interest,
capacities, needs, and aspirations.
− Parents, teachers, librarian share the
responsibility of helping him find the right books
and provide activities that are related to his
interests and needs.
− Interest is an expression of an individual’s pattern
of reaction or behaviour toward himself, his
environment, his associates and the situation he
may find himself interest develop from early
childhood and progress onward as a result of
experience.
− An interest can be interpreted as a motivation
force that stimulates the individual to participate
in one activity rather than in another.
− Needs has been defined as the “desire for what
are called or considered necessities.” need is lack
of these necessities. Needs are strong motivations
that have to be me needs have been classified in
several ways:
− Physical, mental, emotional, social, moral and
spiritual aesthetic, economic and recreational.
Other educators and child psychologist classify
needs of children which are also basically man’s
needs as: need for material security, need for
emotional security, need for spiritual security,
need to be long, to be part of a group, need for
recreation or diversion, need for aesthetic
satisfaction.
− Certain basic needs are common to most people at
most times a child’s needs at first are very
strongly personal, but as he grown up and
matures, they become
• 1. need for material security
− The child’s needs of material or economic
security comes first and begins in his
mother’s or father’s arms. It extends
gradually to include his regular routine of
eating and sleeping and everything that
gives him comfort and well-being
• 2. need for emotional security
− Every child feels the need to be loved and
wanted. Stories about home life are popular to
children of all ages. Emotional is the higher kind
of security than materials or economic security. It
has an inner and spiritual quality made up of love,
courage and happiness- the fundamental factors
of security which every child should have and
build into his ideas of family life.
• 3. need for intellectual security
− The child need to know accurately and
surely nowadays parents and teachers
realize that the child with been intelligence
has also video intellectually curiosity about
many things.
• 4. Need for spiritual security
− spiritual security enables the individual to
surmount dangers, overcome failures and
even tragedies... Spiritual security is a
result of a strong religious belief. Spiritual
security grown out of a belief in god.
• 5. The need to belong
− Growing out of the need for security in the need
to belong and to be an accepted member of a
group . A child starts saying, my mommy” or my
daddy” or my big brother "with great pride.
• 6. The need to love and be loved
− Every human being wants to love and be loved. It
is in his family that the child learns his first
lessons in the loves of affectionate relationships.
His sense security develops from these family
patterns. When family relationships are normal
and happy, a child starts his life with healthy
attitudes.
• 7. The need to achieve, to do or be someone
worth of respect
− Children, as well as adults, have a strong desire to
achieve, to do something for which they will be
respected and loved. The child’s first heroes are
his father who buy things for him and his mother
who prepares his food.
• 8. Need for recreation or change
− One of the needs of the human being is rest or plays as a
part of the desire for change. If we work and study hard,
we need rest or play. Children need freedom from
pressure. Some children suffer from failure in school,
family troubles, or feelings of social and physical as well
as mental inferiority.
Lesson 3
Selecting Books
for Children
− Good book selection not only requires a
thorough knowledge of children and thier
individual’s needs, interests, and abilities,
but likewise demands an equal
understanding of the field of children’s
literature.
− A teacher must have understanding of children-
their needs desires, thoughts, interests and
abilities. The teacher must know when to give the
book, a story or a poem to a child or to a group of
children according to the degree of understanding
of which a child or groups is capable of. The ability
to understand is the result of intelligence, of
experience, and of environment.
− She must know that among children of school age,
pleasure from reading books is dependent upon skill
in reading. If a selection is suitable and interesting
in content, but too difficult for a child to read for
himself, the teacher should read for him. One must
choose books that are simple enough for the child
to read himself and as the child grows in reading
ability, the teacher must provide books adopted to
his developing skill.
− Children are surrounded with literature of many
kinds. They sample the literature of the times from
the singing commercials on radios and television to
the comic books and comic strips from news
papers.
− The six years of elementary school are the most
crucial period of the child’s life. This is the time
when the child will established reading habits that
will prevail through high school and adult life.
− A good elementary school reading program
should provide for two inseparable and
interdependent ideas;

− the development of reading skills, and

− The encouragement of reading pleasure.
− The joy of reading and taste for good must be
developed and encouraged by the teacher and not
left to chance. The extent to which children find
joy in hood books depends upon the teacher.
Pleasure in reading comes from discovery that
reading many kinds of books or stories can bring
satisfaction. Each book enjoyed strengthens a
child’s desire to read further. The constant purpose
of a teacher is to interest children in a varied and
well-balanced program of reading.
− Book is a source of information, comfort and
pleasure for people who know how to use them and
how to choose them. We must know two facts: A
book is a good book for children only when he
enjoys it; a book is a poor book for children, even
when adults rate it as a classic, if children are not
able to read it and enjoy it.
− A teacher must not only know the variety of book in
many fields, their virtues and limitations, but he
must also know the children for whom they are
intended - their interests and needs.
Certain basic needs of children as well as adults are:

− Material security- it embraces everything that gives

him a sense of comfort and well-being. The old
fairy tales were told by people who seldom had
enough to eat or to keep them comfortable. So the
tales were full of splendid places, rich clothes, and
sumptuous food.
− Emotional security- the need to love and to be
loved. Stories of home life ae popular with children
of all ages.
• Intellectual security- the need to know things more accurately.
One must realize that the keener a child intelligence, the wider
his intellectual curiosities. Books full of information on various
subjects- birds, plants, domestic and wild animals, stars, people
from other lands, airplanes, jets, rockets, are now available in
readable, accurate, and well-illustrated books.
• Children’s encyclopedias are increasing not only in number but
also in attractive formats such as Collier’s Encyclopedia,
Compton’s Pictured Encyclopedia, World Book Encyclopedia,
Junior Edition of Encyclopedia Britannica, The Book of Wonder,
Book of Knowledge, etc.
− Dictionaries are also available for very young
children. The Thorn dike Century Beginning
Dictionary; The Golden Dictionary; The New
Winston Dictionary; Webster’s Elementary
Dictionary, etc.
− The need to achieve- to do or be something worthy
of respect. Autobiographies and biographies appeal
to children. Stories about adventure, the mystery
and career stories are popular with children.
− Need of recreation and diversion- fairy tales,
stories of adventure and romance are examples.
Books of laughter help dissolve fear and tensions.
− Need to belong- to be a part of a group. Stories
about family life, the school, his community, his
country, and later about the world about him.
Children’s not only need to belong to their own
group but, to identify themselves warmly and
sympathetically with other groups and peoples.
Children should read books about people of other
races, creeds or nations which are honestly and
appealing presented.
− The publication of an increasing number of
books for children increases the difficulty of
books selection and at the same time,
emphasizes the need of good book
selection. We must not only rely upon the
choices of children for they are not born
with good taste in literature but they must
be guided in their choices.
Criteria for Book Selection;
Fiction
− Theme- the theme of a book reveals the author’s purpose in
writing the story. It is the idea of the story, the meaning
behind the story. The theme of book might be the love of
animals, feeling of belonging to others and acceptance of
self, the achievement through difficulty or overcoming fear.
The should be worth imparting to young people and should be
based upon justice and integrity. The theme or purpose of the
book should be interwoven into the structure of the book
naturally through the events in the story and the development
of the characters. Children avoid preachy, moralizing books.
− Plot- the plot is the plan of the story; it tells what
the characters do and what happens to them. It is
the action of a story built around a theme. The plot
should develop through action and incident, rather
through detailed descriptions or character
delineation. Children crave suspense and action in
their stories. The plot should be credible and well-
constructed.
− Quality of Content- aside from the plot, the quality
of content of the book must be examined. The story
must be worth telling or reading. Is the story
appropriate to the experience and background of
the children for whom it is intended?
− 4.Characterization- the character in the story whether they
are people or animals should be convincingly real and lifelike.
The characters should be so depicted that everything they do,
think, and say will seem natural and true. They should act
and speak in accordance with their age, culture, and
educational background. There must be growth and
development in personality of the characters. This
development of his character is made clear as he solves his
problems. The change should be gradual and convincing
rather than swift and unrealistic
− Style- the style of book refers to the manner or the way the
author has written it. Every author has his own individual
style. A good writing style must be appropriate to the plot,
subject, theme, and characters of the story. The writer must
present the story clearly and in a simple manner that is easily
understandable. The dialogue should be natural and suited to
the characters. It should be well-written.
− Some examples of books which are considered excellent for
their richness of language are: A.A. Milne’s Winnie the Pooh,
Grahame’s Wind in the Willows, E.B. White’s Charlotte’s
Web, De Jong’s The house of Sixty Fathers. They have well-
constructed plot, suspense, quick climax and satisfactory and
ending.
− Format- the physical aspect of the book must also be
considered. The binding should be durable and practical, one
which can withstand frequent use and handling. The quality
of paper must be considered. A dull-finished paper that is
thick enough to prevent any penetration of ink is very
desirable. It should not be very white but creamy in color.
Typography is also important. The type should be large
enough for easy reading by the age level for which it was
intended. The space between the line should be wide enough
to make the text clear. The marriages should be simple,
usually larger at the bottom than at the top. All of these
factors should create an attractive appearance of the book.
− Illustrations- the illustrations for a picture book are
as important as the text. Children prefer colored
pictures, but some of the most popular picture
books and storybooks are black and white. The
illustration should be appropriate to the text.
Children and found of action in pictures as well as
in stories. A book is made more desirable to
children by the presence of numerous illustrations.
Large pictures are preferred to small ones.
Beautiful illustration and design deepen and enrich
the child’s enjoyment of a book.
− Beautiful and satisfying books for children result from a a
combination of three arts- the art of the writer, the typographer,
and the illustrator.
− The text is the author’s expression of life as he sees it and given in a
form that children can understand and share. The selection of type,
engraving, binding, the whole process of book designing calls for
imagination and insight. The illustration may enrich and expand the
author’s meaning and add to the enjoyment of children.
− Other Considerations- how does this book compare with other books
on the same subject? How does it compare with other books written
by the same author? Does it appeal only to a few children or does it
have an appeal to a greater number of children.
Criteria for Other types of Books:
− II. Biographies
− The same criteria for fiction books may be used for
biographies. A biography should be true to all the facts known
about the subject’s life. The hero of a biography must be
areal-life hero, with real-life faults, weakness and doubts.
− Biography for children should be about heroes of action and
deeds. Lives about people from the Old Testament can be
told to children lives of Moses, David, Jacob, Abraham,
Joseph.
− The teacher can introduce an episode or two from the lives of
great men and women or a brief summary of the whole life in
connection with the celebration of certain national heroes or
great men.
− III. Informational Books
− Books that are primarily concerned with facts should be accurate,
easy to read and understand, adequately treated, well presented in
such a way that it will be easy to find what one is looking for.
− IV. Reference Books
− Dictionaries and Encyclopedias- As soon as children can read, they
should have reference books of their own. When they start asking
questions, they should learn how to look up information for
themselves. They discover the fun of digging up the information they
need in encyclopedias. They drive great pleasure in adding new
words to their vocabulary-- and not only the words they learn in their
spelling lesson.
 − Dictionaries and Encyclopedias for the Young
− Dictionaries
− The thorndike- Century Junior Dictionary. Scott. (Edited by E. L. Thorndike)
•
− Webster’s Elementary Dictionary for Boys and Girls.
•  
− The Winston Simplified Dictionary for Schools. Winston. (Edited by J. K.
Brown and W. D. Lewis)
 − Encyclopedias
− The modern Children’s Library of Knowledge. Grolier Society Ltd.

 
− Champlin’s New Yong Folk’s Cyclopedia. Holt

 
− Compton’s Pictured Encyclopedia F. E. Compton anf Co.

 
− The Lincoln Library. Frontier Press. (Edited by M. J. Kinsella)

 
− The New Wonder Book of Knowledge. Winston. (Edited by Henry C. Gill)

 
− The World Book Encyclopedia W. F. Quarrie.
LESSON 5
DEVELOPMENT OF CHILDREN’S
LITERATURE
− Children literature in the Philippines had
been in existence as far back as the
primitive era even before colonizer came to
the Philippines, the Filipinos already had
their own language, their own alphabet,
knew how to read and write and had a
system of communication. Due to the dearth
of writing materials, oral means prevailed in
the transmission and preservation of ideas.
− Early literature for children was in the form
of lullabies that mothers hummed or
chanted to their children, song s for
different occasions like planting songs,
verses, riddles, proverbs, ditties, nonsense
rhymes and fairy tales. Baliwayway, an
Ilongot lullaby, shows how a father express
his hopes, fears, and doubts about his
growing boy’s future.
− Diwaya, an ilocano lullaby, ad panghehele
of the tagalogs, express the mother’s wishes
to share the child’s glory and the pride.
There were tales of beasts, legends of
strange events and phenomena, origin of
that first man and woman, stories about
strange creatures like the pugot, the kapre
and other fantastic tales.
− There were also stories about mythical heroes and
herines like bernardo carpio, lam ang, mariang
makiling and others. The early filipinos were fonds
of proverbs and riddles which embodied their own
philosophy and unwritten code of marality which
passed on to their children. Riddles were also forms
of entertainment. Sometimes the children
themselves composed ditties and nonsence ryhmes
while at play. An example is an igorrot dity, “bag-
bagto, bag bagto lambik...” a rhythmic singing
game
− When the Spanish colonizers came to the
islands, they not only brought Christianity
and their culture but also their religious
literature and instruction for children.
− In 1593, the first book for children in the
philippines, Doctrina christiana en lengua
taga Y espanola by father Domingo nieve
was published.
− In 1606, memorias de la Vida en lengua china was
publihed. Pamphets containing the lives of saints,
novenarios, prayers and sermons of the missionaries
and parish priests were circulated among the
converts. The passio, the story of the life of
suffering of jesus, had the widest popular appeal
because of the verses in which it was written.
− Later the children were exposed to metrical tales
known as corridos, in which the characters were
kings and queens, knights, monsters, etc.
− Jose Rizal wrote some children’s stories like “the
monkey and the turtle” and translated some fairy
tales of Hans Christian Andersen from Danish to
tagalog.
− When the american came to the philippines in the
1990’s, they inroduced books in english like
pilgrim’s, alice in wonderland, Aesop’s fables, Rip
Van Winkle.
− Literature books written by american authors, but
prepared in the philippines were published by Ginn
and company. Of these was Hugo Miller’s Philippine
folklore stories (1904).
− No filipino child went through seven years of
elementary education without having read the
series from grade 1 to 7.
− The Philippine readers contained native folklores,
myths, and legends stories of animals familiar to
the Filipino child written in English.
− Maximo Ramos, one of those writers who
recognized the importance of preserving the
literary heritage, especially for children, wrote
tales of long ago and Philippine myths and tales.
− In 1940, the philippine book was founded. It began
publishing children’s books like all time favorites
fairy tales in english and filipino, the voyages in
reading series for elementary levels.
Thank you!