A Brief Account of Timeline of Important Works 1484: Aesop’s Fables first printed by William Caxton, England’s first printer 15 th -18 th C.: Hornbooks 1580s+: Chapbooks included Who Killed Cock Robin and Jack the Giant Killer 17 th C.: Battledores 1641: Spiritual Milk for Boston Babes in Either England by John Cotton, the first children’s book published in America. Used to teach the Bible and Puritan morals 1659: Orbis Sensualium Pictus by John Amos Comenious. A Latin primer (written in English and Latin) considered to be the first children’s picture book 1683: The New England Primer, a concept book used to teach reading 1697: Charles Perrault’s Tales of Mother Goose, containing Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Little Red Riding Hood. Originally written for the French court (adults) 1719: Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe (written for adults, but acquired by children) 1726: Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels (written for adults, but acquired by children) 1744: John Newbery publishes A Little Pretty Pocket Book, specifically for children 1765: John Newbery publishes The Renowned History of Little Goody Two Shoes, considered the first children’s novel 1774: Tommy Thumb’s Pretty Storybook, the first known collection of nursery rhymes 1812: Grimm’s Nursery and Household Tales published in Germany, including Snow While, Hansel and Gretel, Rumpelstiltskin (not specifically for children) : Fairy Tales and Stories by Hans Christian Andersen. Numerous volumes contain 350 fairy tales. For children and adults : Victorian Era -- Considered the “Golden Age” of Children’s Literature 1846: Edward Lear’s Book of Nonsense limericks 1851: Norwegian Folktales, including Three Billy Goats Gruff 1865: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll’s modern English fantasy 1868: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, realistic depiction of Victorian family life I. Early Literature/Oral Tradition: Literature began as an oral tradition. Storytelling was popular among ancient peoples, to entertain everyone, not just children, and to explain natural phenomena. Myths, epics, legends, folk tales, and fables were passed down to each generation and many were later written down. Such stories are still enjoyed by children today. Why do these early stories have so many similarities? Two theories: 1.Monogenesis -- single origin. Stories were spread as people migrated, traveled, traded 2.Polygenesis – multiple origins. Similar stories were made up by different tellers. Early humans shared the same curiosity about origin, self, universe, so stories are similar II. Middle Ages: Childhood was short and not given much attention. Very little literature was available for children, except didactic texts written in Latin. Children, however, enjoyed adult works like Beowulf, Robin Hood, King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, the Odyssey, and continued to enjoy myths, folk tales, and fables. Toward the end of the Middle Ages, hornbooks appeared. A sheet of paper (which was very expensive) with the alphabet, the Lord’s Prayer, and other instructional material was affixed to a wooden slate with a handle. A transparent covering made of cow horn was used to protect the paper. III. 16 th to Early 18 th Centuries: Puritan influences kept children’s literature didactic and religious. Secular or popular stories for children were discouraged. Children did, however, continue to read works written for adults. Chapbooks began to appear around These cheap paper booklets were sold by peddlers and contained popular stories. With paper becoming less expensive in the 17 th Century, battledores began to replace hornbooks. These pamphlet-style books usually contained the alphabet, prayers, beginning words, and illustrations. At the end of the 18 th Century, Charles Perrault published his collection of folktales, although these stories were intended for the enjoyment of the French court, not children. The fables of Aesop, a 6th Century B.C. Greek slave, use personified animals to convey moral teachings. These fables were preserved in writing by ancient historians and continued to be told orally for centuries. First printed in 1484, these stories are still popular today.

Timeline, Continued 1870: Jules Verne’s Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea 1871: Edward Lear’s poem “The Owl and The Pussycat” 1876: Mark Twain’s Adventures of Tom Sawyer 1878: British illustrator Randolph Caldecott’s The House that Jack Built and The Diverting History of John Gilpin released for Christmas. Caldecott illustrates two books for Christmas for the next seven years 1879: First of Joel Chandler Harris’s Uncle Remus stories published 1880: Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island 1880: Heidi, a realistic novel by Johanna Spyri from Switzerland 1881: The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi published in Italy 1885: Robert Louis Stevenson’s collection of poems celebrating childhood, A Children’s Garden of Verses 1890: Joseph Jacobs adapts folk and fairy tales for a child audience in English Fairy Tales, including The Three Bears and The Three Little Pigs. Four more collections appear in the next four years. 1894: Joseph Jacobs’s The Fables of Aesop 1894: Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book, set in India. 1900: L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the first American children’s fantasy 1901: Beatrix Potter’s classic picture book, The Tale of Peter Rabbit 1908: The Wind in the Willows, an animal fantasy by Kenneth Grahame 1908: First in the Anne of Green Gables series by Canadian writer Lucy Maud Montgomery 1910: Realistic fantasy The Secret Garden by Francis Burnet 1922: Hendrik van Loon’s The Story of Mankind, a nonfiction children’s book and the first winner of the Newbery Medal. 1922: The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams 1926: A.A. Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh 1930: The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper 1931: The Story of Babar by Jean de Brunhoff in France 1932: Little House in the Big Woods, first in Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House series 1938: The first Caldecott Medal awarded to Animals of the Bible, illustrated by Dorothy P. Lathrop, stories selected by Helen Dean Fish 1939: Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans 1950: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis 1952: Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White 1957: Dr. Seuss’s Cat in the Hat uses rhyme and nonsense for early readers IV. 18 th and Early 19 th Centuries: Romanticism overshadowed the Age of Reason and the real beginnings of children’s literature emerged. People began to regard childhood as important and were more open to literature meant specifically for children. In 1744, John Newbery became the first publisher to devote himself entirely to children’s literature. He also was the first to publish literature meant to entertain, as well as teach, children. His first book, A Little Pretty Pocket Book, was even sold with a ball for boys and pincushion for girls. It also contained a letter from Jack the Giant Killer. At this time, illustrations were few and often very crude wood-block types. Expense of printing and lack of interest in children’s literature kept serious artists away. V. Victorian Era (1836 to 1901): This time period is considered the Golden Age of children’s literature. Children’s literature flourished during this time, and many of these works of fantasy, realism, and adventure are still popular today. While the first serious children’s literature of the previous century was intended both to instruct and entertainment, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland began the trend of literature purely for enjoyment, not instruction. Novels of this period are often characterized as domestic or girls’ stories and adventure or boys’ stories. By the end of the 19 th Century, illustrators were creating beautifully illustrated children’s books, in part due to cheaper printing techniques. Notably, Randolph Caldecott, Kate Greenaway, and Walter Crane were three major British illustrators whose work was very influential. VI. 20 th Century and Beyond: Children’s literature exploded. With greater diversity in genre and style, children in the early 20 th century had plenty to choose from: picture books, poetry, fantasy, biography, informational and realism. Emphasis was placed on quality literature, although plenty of formula fiction was and is produced. This century also saw libraries dedicating entire sections to children’s literature. Numerous awards were established for excellence in children’s literature, including the Newbery Medal, the Caldecott Medal, the Carnegie Medal, the Hans Christian Andersen Medal, the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, and the Coretta Scott King Award. In the last half of the 20 th Century, realistic fiction dealing with sensitive issues became a significant trend in children’s literature, such as books by Judy Blume, Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, Robert Cormier, and Katherine Paterson. Many of these books received awards and challenges. As the 20 th Century closed and the 21 st began, literary criticism and the study of children’s literature emerged.