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Literature can help learners to be more comfortable and functional in their new environment as it models and teaches. Literature can contribute “to both the process and purpose of learning” (Widdowson, 1982, cited in Sage 1987, p. 9)
Literary Elements in Children’s Literature

Quality children’s literature can model a wide range of effective writing and illustrating techniques. When exposed to good models of writing, children can be encouraged to reflect on how authors and illustrators have shaped a story, literary elements and story structure. The use of story markers, such as ‘Once upon a time’, ‘The end’ and ‘They lived happily ever after’ are evidence that children are beginning to understand story structure. The ubiquitous ‘Once upon a time’ not only serves as a formal starting of a story but also tend to imply that a particular set of narrative forms, “with a particular stock of lexical and syntactic forms” ( Stephens in Hunt 1999, p.56), will ensue.

Stories are organised in predictable ways, whereby it includes patterns. Literary elements of story, story structure and design can be consequently identified. Learners in the primary schools, when being exposed to large amount of children’s literature are able to identify the plot of a story by enumerating the sequences of events that occur. They are able to recognise the settings and traits of characterization that follows. Thus children’s awareness of story elements and structure can be raised by engaging them with good books.

Plot

The most important part of a fiction story for children is the plot.

‘The plot is the plan of action; it tells what the characters do and what happens to them.... A well-constructed plot is organic and interrelated. It grows logically and naturally from the actions and decisions of the characters in given situations’ ( Huck, Hepler & Hickman, 1987).

A plot is acts like a thread and it holds the story together and as a result of this readers find it appealing and will want to continue reading. A good plot should be unique and fresh and not common, tired and predictable. Further discussion on the elements of the story such as setting, theme, plot and characterization will be discuss below.

Setting

It is natural that a story includes both the construction of a plot and its setting. Setting here could be in the past, the present or even the future. It also tells the reader the location of the story that takes place such as in a village, forest and it could also be deliberately vague to hold the suspense of readers. ‘Both time and place of the story should affect the action, the character and the theme’ ( Huck, Hepler & Hickman, 1987).

Theme

The theme is the central idea or belief in a short story. It reveals the writer’s purpose of writing the story. Themes provides a dimension to the story that goes beyond the action of the plot.

Characterization

The people or characters that portrays in children’s books should have convincing real life characters. A character is a person or sometimes even an animal who takes part in the action of short stories or other literary work. Many of the animals that are in the children stories have human like personalities. The credibility of the characters will depend on the authors ability to show the