2 Instruction or delight?

The focus of this course so far has been on adults’ memories and views towards engaging with children’s literature. If you’ve previously studied creativity in language, you’ll be familiar with the concept of creativity having a purpose other than straightforward enjoyment. While reading is probably considered by most children to be simply for fun, adults have often regarded the activity as having a didactic or educational purpose for child readers. In the next activity, you’ll look at what children’s literature is traditionally considered to be for.