Introduction
The worth of children’s literature cannot be ignored in modern education for several reasons. First, this activity allows teachers to understand how to introduce new information to young readers and involve them in a learning process. Second, children use books to increase their language and cognitive development for problem-solving and decision-making (Pulimeno et al., 2020). Finally, children’s books introduce a unique way to share information and knowledge and facilitate studying. The book The Fruits We Eat From A-Z will be analyzed in terms of its purposes, creation elements, focus, standards, and language concepts to be proven effective for children’s practical use.
Age and Group
The Fruits We Eat From A-Z is a picture book that can be interesting for children of several ages. For example, children aged from 2 to 5 will find it interesting to observe the offered images of fruits. Although not all of them are able to read at this moment, they can cooperate with their parents, who read simple and clear sentences under each group of fruits. Readers from 5 to 8 years should also find the offered source of information helpful and educative because of the offered colors and divisions. It is not always easy for a child to understand how different fruits are connected, and this book contains explanations and illustrative examples. Thus, this book was intended for boys and girls aged from 2 to 8 for informative and educative purposes to represent a variety of existing fruits that are healthy and sweet.
Creation Elements
When a person decides to create a book for children, several critical elements should be taken into consideration. Pusey (2022) underlines the necessity of determining the book’s audience, which helps to identify other moments in writing. Thus, she recommends using a few words, developing a simple plot, and inserting lots of pictures for 0-8-year-old readers (Pusey, 2022). These rules were followed, and almost all pages of The Fruits We Eat From A-Z have one sentence, except the first and the last pages, where two sentences are written. The repetition of the same sentence structure does not disturb readers and allows them to memorize information quickly and enhance reasoning. Young children need to develop their abilities to reason analogically and symbolically and transfer conceptual data (Strouse et al., 2018). Repetitive page design, bright coloring, and content simplicity are the main elements in creating this book.
Focus on Early Childhood Curriculum
The idea of creating children’s books is not new, and many studies discuss what and how authors should write for young readers. Most children’s literature focuses on describing moral principles, entertaining, and educating (Pulimeno et al., 2020). One of the evident purposes I wanted to achieve is to educate and inform children about various fruits in the modern world. Some readers may be familiar with the fruits mentioned in the book, while others find many of them new. Children can develop specific attitudes toward fruits by finding brief descriptions under each picture, and all sentences contain positive characteristics of products. Therefore, another meaningful focus of my book is promoting the desire to develop healthy eating habits from a young age.
Standards
The success of The Fruits We Eat From A-Z is in my intention to follow all the critical standards of book creation. According to Pusey (2022), the children’s book should have an important lesson, be easy to follow, include illustrations, be relatable to a wide range of children, and entertain adults. My book may be interesting and entertaining for young and adult readers because it discusses well-known and exotic fruits. The structure is easy to follow because the pages are in the same format. Finally, illustrations, fruits’ names, and descriptions of their qualities contribute to early childhood education.
Vocabulary and Language Concepts
The Fruits We Eat From A-Z is characterized by a simple vocabulary, not to overload children with new information. Strouse et al. (2018) admit that children’s books influence children’s desire to learn and transfer their knowledge to real-world situations. There may be many unknown names of fruits in the book that I found online. I decided to use the personal pronoun “you” to establish contact with the reader and explain the worth of the offered material.
Practical Use
In the classroom, this book can be used in several ways. The primary goal is to provide students with illustrative information. I would show the pictures of each fruit and read the sentences at the bottom of the page to develop the necessary associations. Children can learn that there are some acid kinds of fruits, like oranges or pineapples, or juicy fruits, like mangoes and nectarines. At the same time, it is easy to take this book home and read it with parents. Then, in the classroom, students may share the results of their communication and new fruit experiences.
Conclusion
In general, the possibility of creating this project allows me to understand how important each element of the book is in early childhood education. The Fruits We Eat From A-Z is a book for children, parents, and teachers. It is not enough to open it and look through the illustrations. It is more interesting to read each description and develop personal judgments or remember personal experiences with a particular fruit. I did everything possible to follow the standards and use the critical elements of book creation to ensure that the reader gets enough clear information on the topic. Healthy eating is one of the principles children should understand from an early age. If they can recognize fruits and learn how they taste or look, I believe my purpose as the author of the children’s books is successfully achieved.
References
Pulimeno, M., Piscitelli, P., & Colazzo, S. (2020). Children’s literature to promote students’ global development and wellbeing. Health Promotion Perspectives, 10(1), 13-23. Web.
Pusey, M. (2022). How to write a children’s book: Steps, structure + tips. Self-Publishing School. Web.
Strouse, G. A., Nyhout, A., & Ganea, P. A. (2018). The role of book features in young children’s transfer of information from picture books to real-world contexts. Frontiers in Psychology, 9. Web.