History of Children’s Literature

Children’s literature is a relatively new kind of literature. Before 1850, books taught lessons on manners and morals. Books also contained lessons on the ideas of history and science that existed at the time.

Children’s Books Children found the books dull, so they read stories intended for adults. Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving

Advantages in reading adult books: Made it possible for children to live more lives than one. Able to find new friends, laughter, knowledge, and an understanding of people of all ages in all parts of the world.

Early Beginnings In 600 A.D., the Old English period, monks and other learned men wrote “lesson books” for children.

Early Beginnings Aldhelm (640?-700AD), Bishop of Sherborne, was probably the first man to write lesson books for children. Riddles and puzzles children had to solve were written in Latin. He set the pattern for all books of instruction from that time up to 1500 AD. All books used question and answer form and were written in verse.

Early Beginnings The Venerable Bede (763-735AD) was a teacher at a monastery school. His lessons showed more imagination. They were a spark of learning in the Dark Ages. They contained all the knowledge then known of natural science, natural history, and the study of plants and flowers and stars.

Early Beginnings Egbert of York (766 AD) founded the famous school of York. Collected the works of the previous monks and books by outstanding Greek and Roman authors. Wrote a variety of lesson books, still using question and answer (dialogue) method.

Early Beginnings Egbert of York (766 AD) [continued] Wrote many books on grammar. Tutored sons and daughters of the household at the court of Charlemagne (the first Holy Roman Emperor). This is also one of the earliest records of co-education.

Early Beginnings Alfred the Great (849-399 AD), King of England drove back the invasion of the Danes. He translated Latin literature into Anglo-Saxon with the help of many scholars.

Anglo-Saxon Anglo-Saxon Name given to distinguish the barbarian settlers of Britain, "the English Saxons," from their kindred still on the continent. Now generally used to define the period in England between the collapse of Roman power c. 410 and the Norman Conquest of 1066, and applied to artifacts - Anglo-Saxon pottery, metalwork, houses, etc.

Early Beginnings Alfred the Great [continued] Until 1350, children in monastery schools had to read and speak Latin in and out of school. He had the best literature of his time translated from Latin into old English so it would be understandable to the common man.

Early Beginnings Anselm (1033-1109 AD), the Archbishop of Canterbury, wrote the first encyclopedia for children.

The Middle English Period In 1066 William the Conqueror and his Norman French knights invaded and won England. They were the Anglo-Saxons, who gave England its name (Angel Land).

The Middle English Period French words were introduced into English because it was the language of the nobility. mouton carpentier fourniture tailleur

The Middle English Period Children of nobility continued to receive instruction in manners and morals of the period. This period lasted until the invention of the printing press by Gutenberg in 1456 in Germany and the coming of the Renaissance.

The Middle English Period Renaissance comes from the French words “re,” meaning “again” and “naitre,” meaning “born.” Hence, a “rebirth.” The first book published was The Bible.

The Middle English Period William Caxton was the creator of the first English printer in 1476. His first publication was Aesop’s Fables.

The Renaissance Books were too expensive to be used by children, so the Hornbook was created for them about 1550. It was the first “permanent” book.

The Hornbook It was a square piece of wood with a handle at one end which measured 2¾ inches by 5 inches. A printed page of vellum (made from skin of calf, lamb, or goat) was pasted on the board.

The Hornbook The page was protected by a transparent piece of horn (a hard, smooth material forming the outer cover of the horns of cattle and other related animals). The book was often bound by a metal rim, had a cord through a hole in the handle, and was fastened to a child’s belt. Another source said it was worn about the neck.

The Hornbook The text contained the Crusaders’ cross, followed by the alphabet in lower and upper case. Groups of syllables were written below the letters.

The Hornbook The final text was “The Lord’s Prayer.” The next piece of text was the words “In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.”

The Renaissance After the hornbook, rhymed alphabets and primers were published for children. The Royal Primer had a letter of alphabet, followed by a familiar verse. A In Adam’s fall, we sinned all.

The Renaissance This primer sold 5 million copies during the hundred years it was used as a text book for younger children. The Royal Primer was followed by the New England Primer, published in Boston in 1690. [Remember, the pilgrims arrived in 1620.]

Puritan Times In the 1600s in England and America, children’s books were rather gloomy. They reflected the Puritan outlook, which was one that was more interested in the fear of God than in the love of life.

Puritan Times Books for children were either reprints of English publications or local writings that were even drearier. First important illustrated book for children was written by John Amos Comenius, a bishop of Moravia in 1651. Comenius believed in teaching children by visual means. Book was written in Latin and German, translated into English in 1659.

The 1700s John Newbery was a writer, publisher, and bookseller of St. Paul’s Church, London. He published a series of books for children. He recognized they had special interests and tried to meet them.

The 1700s Newbery printed chapbooks, cheap little paper editions, which were sold on the streets by chapmen (peddlers). They contained ballads and folktales. The ordinary person could afford to buy these books.

The 1700s Newbery also published translations from the French: Tales of Mother Goose by Charles Perrault It was considered beneath the dignity of authors to write books for children, so they were published without any name attached.

The 1700s It is also believed that Perrault wrote “Blue Beard,” “The Three Witches,” “The Sleeping Beauty,” “Puss in Boots,” and “Red Riding Hood.” Madame de Beaumont, a lady in the king’s court, wrote “Beauty and the Beast.”

The Early 1800s In the beginning of the 1800s, children’s literature became more honestly creative. Real literary authors could write for children and not damage their reputations.

The Early 1800s Charles and Mary Lamb, brother and sister, wrote to give children pleasure. They worked together (in 1807) to write a children’s version of Shakespeare’s plays.

The Early 1800s Jane and Ann Taylor wrote poems for children. Kate Greenaway did the illustrations. Jane wrote the famous little poem, “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.”

And Then . . . A period of change began in the next 50 years. Authors had a profound influence on children’s literature.

And Then . . . Jacob Ludwig and Wilhelm Carl Grimm traveled around Germany, talking to people and collecting folk stories. Their collection was translated into English in 1824.

And Then . . . Hans Christian Anderson, in 1841, wrote “modern” fairy tales, so called because Anderson actually created them and copied old ways of telling stories. Some of his stories are “The Little Mermaid,” “The Ugly Duckling,” and “The Emperor’s New Clothes.”