Children’s Literary Skills
Twelve Ss at each of four age levels performed a story completion and retelling task designed to measure children’s skills of understanding, retelling, and creating literature, and to test various theoretical formulations about aesthetic development. Sensitivity to literary style was also examined. Though Ss 11 or 12 years of age generally evinced the most literary skill, a few children at eachage level were outstanding. Characteristic performances at each age level, individual differences, trends in the development of literary skill, and educational implications are discussed.