Children’s literature in schools

Based on the experience of a bookstore specializing in children's literature operating in the school environment and investigating the effect of the publishing industry's actions in schools on children's access to books, a study was proposed on the relationship between children's literature and the school environment, considering the influence of the publishing industry on the circulation of books and their use. Based on these concerns, we sought to describe and discuss how children's literature circulates in the school context. Taking the concept of cultural industry as a theoretical reference, it was observed that the book industry assumes responsibilities that would originally belong to the school, with regard to the selection of books appropriate for each stage of schooling or age; suggestions for activities to be developed with the works read; and the training that teachers should have in order to encourage the development of more autonomous readers. It was found that market actions lend children's literature an exclusively school-based character, contributing to the transformation of literary texts into textbooks.