CHILDREN’S LITERATURE, IMAGINATION AND MEANING CONSTRUCTION

Abstract

Children’s literature represents one of the most significant spaces for the symbolic, linguistic and cultural development of children. More than a pedagogical tool, it constitutes an aesthetic experience and a social practice that enables the construction of meanings about the world, about oneself and about others. This chapter discusses children’s literature as a formative dimension in basic education, analyzing its relationship with imagination, language and processes of meaning construction in childhood. The discussion is based on the assumption that literary reading, when intentionally mediated, contributes to expanding cultural repertoires, stimulating creativity and fostering cognitive and socio-emotional development. The study draws on authors who investigate children’s literature and reader formation, such as Abramovich, Coelho and Zilberman, and also engages with sociocultural perspectives of learning developed by Vygotsky and Bruner. Contributions from Cosson and Soares regarding literacy and reader development are also considered, as well as guidelines from the Brazilian National Common Curricular Base concerning reading practices in childhood. The analysis demonstrates that children’s literature cannot be reduced to entertainment; rather, it constitutes a cultural language that allows children to experience different perspectives of reality, elaborate emotions and construct meanings about their experiences. In this context, the role of the teacher as mediator of literary experiences becomes central, since educators are responsible for creating reading environments that value imagination, listening and interpretation. It is concluded that children’s literature, when integrated into pedagogical practices in a reflective way, contributes to the formation of sensitive and critical readers capable of constructing meaning from human experiences.