This article examines how children’s emotional thinking is reflected in the language of fiction. The study explores linguistic, stylistic, and psychological features that reveal the emotional world of child characters. Through qualitative analysis of selected literary texts, the research identifies narrative techniques, lexical choices, and stylistic devices that embody the emotional perception of reality typical for children. The findings contribute to understanding how fiction represents and shapes the emotional development of young readers. The article investigates how children’s emotional thinking is expressed and reflected in the language of fiction, emphasizing the interrelation between linguistic form, psychological perception, and narrative structure. The main objective of the study is to analyze the linguistic and stylistic mechanisms through which writers convey the emotional world of child characters. The research is based on the qualitative analysis of several literary works, including The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, and Matilda by Roald Dahl. The study applies elements of cognitive linguistics and child psychology to identify how specific linguistic features—such as expressive adjectives, interjections, metaphors, repetitions, and childlike narrative perspectives—reflect emotional cognition. The results show that authors deliberately simplify syntax and use emotionally charged vocabulary to capture the sincerity, curiosity, and sensitivity characteristic of children’s emotional thinking. Furthermore, the analysis demonstrates that the fictional depiction of a child’s emotional experience not only enhances the reader’s empathy but also supports children’s emotional and cognitive development. The research concludes that the language of fiction functions as a mirror of emotional thought, providing a linguistic framework for understanding and expressing human emotions in early cognitive stages.

Children’s literature, emotional thinking, linguistic reflection

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