Enhancing critical thinking skills through children’s literature: a case study of relevant Portuguese picture books

Children’s literature or juvenile literature is a means for putting a purpose into practice, which enhan- ces the development of language skills and other critical thinking skills that provide the foundation of learning. Children’s literature belongs more to the arts than to the scientific disciplines. Besides concerns for skills development and the acquisition of knowledge, children’s literature goes beyond these, which are usually defined by educators as being practical, enjoying, appreciating, and develo- ping tasks, which can help children foster their capacities with a critical mind. And, therefore, it was strongly selected as one area in which the process of critical thinking could be taught, because the purposes for including it in the curriculum are unique. This study looks at how children’s literature portfolios help develop critical thinking skills in our children’s learning process and, moreover, aims to assess how children comprehend critical thinking as a term. Regarding this framework, the study intends to achieve the above-mentioned goals by focusing on a systematic literature review to examine the development of critical thinking in children’s literature through the selection of relevant Portu- guese picture books as a case study, in order to provide a clear picture of the extent to which critical thinking skills are addressed in schoolchildren’s curricula.