Books that children read are a major influence over the values that they form. High quality books that teach morals are the best books for children to read while their minds are still determining what is wrong and right. E. B White describes the influence of literature on children like this, “Children are demanding...They accept, almost without question, anything you present them with, as long as it is presented honestly, fearlessly, and clearly...They love words that give them a hard time’ (White, 1973:140). This explains why it is so important to have children read influential books that will affect them positively in the future. Children tend to relate to a character in a story and they start to have the same thoughts and feelings as
…show more content…
The books that are given to children regarding disabilities will inevitably shape their opinions regarding people who are not able bodied (Butler, 2016). There are, “many negative influences in our culture that teach children early in life to accept the idea that certain human qualities like physical 'wholeness, ' good looks, high intelligence, and clear speech, are valued” (Solis, 2004). Because of this, children that are in a wheel chair or have a walker can sometimes be rejected by children that don 't have these physical complications. This is why children need to be introduced to different types of characters, so when they actually encounter someone that is not like them they will be kind and accepting. One book that deals with a disability is Clifford 's Big Red Ideas: A Special Friend, written by Liz Mills. When a dog named named KC comes to the beach to meet Clifford, Cleo, and T-Bone, Cleo says "KC only has three legs!... He doesn 't look like us!" (Mills, pg. 5, 2003) but then T-Bone says that he seems very friendly. This takes the focus off of KC’s disability and points out that what is on the inside is more important. Children need to read literature like this, that positively discusses disabilities so that they will be more inclusive and have values that are
The books that are given to children regarding disabilities will inevitably shape their opinions regarding people who are not able bodied (Butler, 2016). There are, “many negative influences in our culture that teach children early in life to accept the idea that certain human qualities like physical 'wholeness, ' good looks, high intelligence, and clear speech, are valued” (Solis, 2004). Because of this, children that are in a wheel chair or have a walker can sometimes be rejected by children that don 't have these physical complications. This is why children need to be introduced to different types of characters, so when they actually encounter someone that is not like them they will be kind and accepting. One book that deals with a disability is Clifford 's Big Red Ideas: A Special Friend, written by Liz Mills. When a dog named named KC comes to the beach to meet Clifford, Cleo, and T-Bone, Cleo says "KC only has three legs!... He doesn 't look like us!" (Mills, pg. 5, 2003) but then T-Bone says that he seems very friendly. This takes the focus off of KC’s disability and points out that what is on the inside is more important. Children need to read literature like this, that positively discusses disabilities so that they will be more inclusive and have values that are