How Children’s Books Help Young Readers Understand Their Feelings
Raquel Cuperman
Raquel C. Cuperman works in a school library in Bogota, Colombia.
A couple of years ago, I was at the library reading to a group of 2nd-graders. The book, La vida sin Santi (Life without Santi) by Andrea Maturana, is a beautiful story of two very good friends who suddenly have to separate; one of them is going to live far away and they will not see each other for a while. The book explores loneliness and nostalgia as friends say farewell. With time, other friends appear and we understand there is space in our lives for the many friendships we all have and make.
When the group of children left for their next class, one little girl stayed behind and summoned me to come talk to her. She asked me if I knew she was adopted and I said that I did. She told me that before her adoption she used to live in a foster home and she had a very special friend there—a girl much older than her who she used to call “sister.” She told me she never had the opportunity to say goodbye to her and that she had thought about her today and wanted to know if she also remembered her. Tears began to cloud her eyes when she told me that she could not even recall the girl’s name and so would never be able to go look for her. The book I had read did not talk about adoption, nor about lost friends, but nevertheless sparked a powerful memory for this young girl.
There are two ways to approach the role of books in our lives. One is to see reading as a necessary activity to acquire a specific result—such as finding a specific answer to a question or learning material for a grade. The other type of reading focuses on understanding oneself, others, and life itself. In that sense, books can help us find the words to name difficult feelings that keep our hearts and minds restless. Reading books, and experiencing other “texts,” provides opportunities to express what is happening inside oneself and understand what may be happening with others.
Colombian writer Yolanda Reyes states that literature allows us to name our fears and expectations—“to put words where there are thorns and also where there are roses.” Children’s books create the perfect atmosphere to help youngsters to deal with many emotions that they may otherwise find hard to explain.
Children’s books help young readers find the words to name the emotions and feelings that disturb them. Books allow children to internalize motives and prompt them to search their own thinking and examine their inner selves. A character’s experience in the story will help them find meaning in what is happening to them.
The reader gives meaning to the text. Each individual finds a particular and specific meaning in every book, even if that meaning might not seems evident in that particular story. Interactions with books provide opportunities to raise questions, reflect, and negotiate meaning—to discover personal connections between the literature and their own lives and the world itself. However, in order to achieve these connections, young readers need time and an atmosphere of trust and confidence. The examples portrayed in this article were only possible because the children felt secure enough to say what was on their mind.
Parents, teachers, and other mediators must encourage children to think about what they read and what the story means to them, going beyond asking comprehension questions that emphasize the utilitarian purposes of reading. We should expect, respect, and accept a variety of student responses and accommodate them within literacy instruction.
Here are some examples of how books have evoked feelings in young readers and revealed the words to name and understand those feelings:
During the read-aloud of The Baby Swap by Jan Ormerod and Andrew Joyner (a jealous crocodile girl wants to swap her baby brother because he drools and so she goes to many stores to find possible replacements for him but discovers that her brother is just perfect after all), one kindergarten student asked what jealousy was and another one answered: “It is being scared that your mom won’t love you.” Another student immediately said, “I’ve felt that!”
During the read-aloud of Jesus Betz by Bernard Fred and François Roca, one 1st-grade student said that the book left her feeling something that was very hard to describe and actually grabbed her stomach and said, “It left something inside, similar to what one feels when one has been mocked at or when someone has bullied another.” This book tells the story of a man born without hands and feet and all his experiences – happy, cruel, sad, and tragic.
For a special 1st-grade girl in a private tutored class, the book Por cuatro esquinitas de nada (Four little corners of nothing) by Jerome Ruillier provided an opportunity for her to talk about her discomfort in class. The book tells the story of a little square that has many round friends; the door into the playroom is round and Little Square cannot pass through unless they find a solution. A few minutes after the reading, the young girl said, “I am not going to cut my borders; the others will have to learn to be nice and kind to me.” She immediately identified with the character and was able to express what she was feeling in class.
While reading The Pearl by Helme Heine, a book about a beaver who finds a mussel that might have a pearl inside and how that affects his relationship with his friends and other animals that live near the dam, the kindergarten students talked about envy. One of them described the feeling this way: “Envy is what I feel whenever my sister does not lend me her crayons.”
Second-graders were listening to the book The Butter Battle Book by Dr. Seuss, which “chronicles the feud between the Yooks and the Zooks from slingshots through sophisticated weaponry, until each side has the capacity to destroy the world” (summary by goodreads.com) and one of the students said that vengeance meant destroying the wall.
In a library class with 2nd-graders, the students tried to describe anger while reading Dos tontos sentados cada uno en su barril (Two fools sitting each in his barrel) written by Ruth Rocha. One of them said that anger had color and that whenever he felt it he began getting hotter and hotter. The other student responded that when he feels rage or anger he becomes red.
Conclusions
Books help children find words to describe what they feel, think, see, and believe; to explore and discuss what aches and what is kept inside; and to realize that others may be experiencing similar feelings. Art and literature, like dreams, are responsible for bringing together the general with the particular and the particular with the general.
Teacher Tips
Often, children share meaningful comments when least expected and catch teachers and mediators off guard. Do your best to listen for and grab onto these comments, as they may be hints of important things that teachers and parents should be aware of. It is wise to report anything unusual (indicative of bullying, abuse, depression, fears) to the appropriate persons.
Remember that while some students may feel they can reveal their thoughts and story interpretations in front of their peers, others may feel a need for intimacy or secrecy. Always listen carefully when a student requests time to speak after a book.
Never judge nor give opinions. Children need the space to say out loud what they have discovered and they might be in need of an adult to hear and reassure him. Ask open-ended questions to give children the opportunity to build their thoughts in a complete way.
Works cited:
Homze, A. (1962). Reading and the self-concept. Elementary English, 39(3), 210-215. Retrieved from www.jstor.org/stable/41385258
Petit, M. (2009). Lecturas: Del espacio íntimo al espacio público. Buenos Aires, Argentina: Fondo de Cultura Económica.
Reyes, Y. (2016). La poética de la infancia. Bogotá, Colombia: Luna Libros.
Spiegel, D. (1998). Reader response approaches and the growth of readers. Language Arts, 76(1), 41-48. Retrieved from www.jstor.org/stable/41482936
The butter battle book by Dr. Seuss. (1984, January 12). Retrieved from https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/275325.The_Butter_Battle_Book
