STORYTELLING IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

Abstract

This study addresses storytelling in Early Childhood Education and aims to understand its importance for children's integral development. It is a bibliographic research with a qualitative approach, based on books, scientific articles, and official Brazilian educational documents. The study discusses the history of children's literature, its contributions to human development, and the role of storytelling as a pedagogical practice. The findings indicate that children's literature promotes the development of imagination, creativity, language, oral communication, social interaction, and values formation. Furthermore, storytelling contributes to the development of reading skills, stimulates critical thinking, and supports children's cognitive, emotional, and cultural growth. The research also highlights the importance of the teacher as a mediator of this process, responsible for creating meaningful experiences that encourage an interest in reading and promote learning. It is concluded that storytelling is an important pedagogical tool in Early Childhood Education, contributing to children's integral development and to their formation as critical and active individuals.