Check out this wonderful tribute to children’s literature! "17 Reasons for Children's Books" is a collection of simple, good and pedagogical arguments - translated into several languages and to be presented to any one with power over children's access to books.
The 17 Reasons for Children's Books have been written by the Swedish Academy for Children’s Books with art work by Swedish illustrators. The reasons are so far presented in a pamphlet, as posters and in a pixie book which has been translated into several languages. A Tribute to Children's Books is also the title of an exhibition distributed over the world by the Swedish Institute.
So far the reasons are available in 20 different languages and can be downloaded for free from the web site of Swedish Academy for Children’s Books.
1. Books can make us laugh and cry. They can comfort us and show us new possibilities.
2. Books help us develop our language and our vocabulary.
3. Books fire our imagination and train us in finding inner images.
4. Books can ask fresh questions that arouse our interest and cause us to reflect further.
5. Books give us concepts to think with. They broaden our consciousness and our world.
6. Books give us knowledge about nature, technology and history, and about other countries and other ways of life.
7. Books enable us to become someone else. They develop our ability to empathise and to feel compassion.
8. Books make us reflect on what's right or wrong, good or bad.
9. Books can explain reality and help us understand how things are connected.
10. Books can show us that most things can be seen from different points of view.
11. Books boost our self-confidence when we realise that others think and feel as we do.
12. Books help us understand that we are both similar and dissimimal.
13. Books offer company when we're lonely.
14. Books are part of our cultural heritage. They give us shared reading experiences and common frames of reference.
15. Books that are read aloud bring children and adults together.
16. Children's books give us access to different artistic forms such as illustration, photography, poetry and drama.
17. Children's book represent our first contact with literature - an unending world that lasts all our lives.
The Swedish Academy for Children’s Books is an association dedicated to the promotion of good literature for children and young people. It strives to influence politicians, institutions, and public opinion in the area of children's literature. The Academy has 18 members, who are all authors and illustrators of books for children and young people. Read more on their website
