IDENTITY FORMATION IN THE CRUCIBLE OF THE WORLDOF STORIES: THE FORMATIVE VALUES OF CHILDREN'S LITERATURE IN BILINGUAL COMMUNICATION CONTEXTS

Abstract

Children's literature occupies a unique position at the intersection of language development, emotional growth, and identity formation. Within bilingual educational contexts, literary narratives may acquire additional significance, functioning as pedagogical resources and as symbolic spaces in which linguistic belonging and cultural continuity are negotiated. This article examines the formative value of children's literature through a theoretical and applied perspective that integrates narrative theory, developmental psychology, communication studies, and bilingual education. Drawing upon the works of Bruner, Vygotsky, Bettelheim, Nikolajeva, Cummins, and Krashen, the study explores the role of literary narratives in supporting meaning-making, emotional externalization, communicative development, and identity construction. Particular attention is devoted to Romanian minority education in Hungary, where children's literature may contribute to the development of an affective relationship with Romanian as a heritage language. The theoretical discussion is complemented by a case study based on the literary narrative ”A Carriage of One's Own”, (Birescu Iacob & Olteanu-Sturza, 2025), selected from the volume ”Stories from Romanian Homes”, illustrating how the same story may generate different forms of participation, interpretation, and identity work across developmental stages. The findings suggest that the educational value of children's literature resides not primarily in the transmission of cultural content, but in its capacity to create symbolic environments where communication, emotion, and belonging becomeinterconnected. Within such environments, identity is not directly taught, but gradually constructed through meaningful narrative experience.