The History of Children's Literature

The History of Children’s Literature

Literature has been a huge part of life since time began. Books have been used to entertain and educate mankind for centuries and continues to be a huge part of life to this day. The idea of literature aimed at children became a very important thought as  and entertaining young people will help to create a brighter future. For hundreds of years  stories were told through storytelling and myths which were spoken to children to teach them a lesson or simply help them to sleep at night. Stories of mythical creatures and faraway  became an important part of a child’s upbringing. The first modern children's book was written in the mid-18th-century in England. The growth of polite middle-class behaviour and the influence of the philosopher John Locke’s theories of childhood innocence combined to highlight the importance of childhood education and growth. ‘A Little Pretty Pocket Book’, was written and published in 1744 by John Newberry and is widely considered the first modern children's book. The book consisted of rhymes for each letter of the alphabet to help children learn the  letters. To promote the children’s book, it came with a ball for a boy and a pincushion for a girl. Although this book seems simple it was an important development which helped to shape children’s literature in the future. As the book was also educational, it helped with the schooling of children also and encouraged them with their studies. The book had many illustrations of the English countryside and the great outdoors. This meant that children that lived in the country would respect their surroundings and appreciate them, and children born in the city can see the importance and beauty of nature. Using botanical imagery within the book helped to make the book eye catching and keep the children interested in what they were reading and learning. The bright colours known to attract children also helped them to be drawn into the idea of reading a book.

Another great movement within children’s literature was The Brothers Grimm who preserved and published traditional tales which originated from Germany. The stories were a massive success and they were so popular that realistic children’s literature became uninteresting and only fairy tales were being read by children at the time. The Danish author Hans Christian Anderson did a similar thing and gathered fairy tales from around Europe and created and published his own fairy tales too. In 1812 the Swiss writer Johann David Wyss published the Swiss Family Robinsonin order to teach children about family values, good husbandry and self-reliance. The book became even more popular after being translated into French by Isabelle de Montolieu. Then came the Golden Age of literature which introduced Lewis Carroll’s tale, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderlandwhich was the first children’s novel to introduce the themes of the bizarre within it. The novel was regarded the first English masterpiece written for children. Other successful children’s books were also released in this period such as, Treasure Island, The Jungle Bookand Tom Sawyer. All of these books are still extremely popular children’s stories to this day and have all had a massive impact on the way children’s literature has been written since.

Then came the 19^thcentury which is when children’s literature well and truly became a success. At the end of the Victorian era Beatrix Potter published her classic book The Tale of Peter Rabbit. The books also and beautiful illustration which helped the children to concentrate and imagine the animals and how they looked, thus making the story more engaging. Potter was seen to be the first author to use pictures as well as words to tell a story. The Kailyard school of Scottish writers helped to bring the idealised version of society back into popularity and helped to make the fantasy genre fashionable once more. Writers such as J.M Barrie, creator of Peter Pan, and Kenneth Grahame who wrote The Wind in the Willows both helped to bring back the wonder of children’s literature and fairy tales. The Golden Age of Children’s Literature ended with World War I and publishing became a lot more of a slow process. The main exceptions in England were the publications of Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne I 1926 and Mary Poppinsby P. L. Travers which have both since been put on the silver screen by global conglomerate Disney. With the introduction of the paper back we see Enid Blyton and The Famous Fivewho travelled across England on many adventures. These bestselling books became a motivation for kids to see the great outdoors as they would want to explore the countryside solving mysteries just as The Famous Fiveand The Secret Seven did.

In present day literature we still see the fantasy genre remaining the most popular within children’s literature as J.K Rowling’s Harry Potterseries of seven novels can be seen to be the one of the bestselling book series ever to be created as the series has been translated into 67 languages and sold all across the globe. Children’s literature still remains a massive market and is still a huge success globally.

Emily Dimond