Children’s and young adults literature in school: purpose and mediation

Abstract

The article highlights that literature education can contribute to students’ intellectual and emotional development, as imagination, when sparked by literary texts, enables the experience of fictional realities that simultaneously reveal and deepen understandings of the real world. To support this perspective, the article displays a methodological approach to reading literary texts, expressed through the creation and application of reading guides, presenting an example in the appendix. The theoretical foundation is based on the works of Candido (2023), Saraiva e Mügge (2006); Saraiva, Mügge e Cunha (2013); Saraiva, Mügge e Kaspari (2017) e Bajour (2012), whose studies emphasize that literature allows readers to reflect on themselves and the world around them. The article demonstrates that reading guides can serve as references in teachers’ planning, offering inspiration and helping develop strategies that respect students’ individuality, enabling them to express the feelings and emotions evoked by literary reading. In its methodological framework, the article relies on bibliographic research aimed at understanding the effects of literary reading on adolescent audiences. It concludes that literature is an effective tool for shaping competent readers, building personal identity, fostering understanding of cultural diversity, and promoting critical engagement within one’s context.