The History of Children’s Literature From Humpty Dumpty to Harry Potter

What is childhood? Until 500 years ago, childhood as we know it didn’t exist. Kids were part of the workforce and had no special privileges. Everybody in the village played together (Red Rover was popular) and listened to stories and ballads together.

What were the stories?

In the East… China had the first Cinderella story! Her name was Yeh Shen (around 600AD)

It was thought that children were born sinners In western Europe, and in Puritan America!

To avoid evil… Children needed instruction Puritans were convinced that the devil could enter young bodies. Death was preferable to corruption! Books were instructional and religious in nature.

The Spoken Word Folk and fairy tales made their way into print —but NOT for children! Women were writing stories in French salons. Charles Perrault wrote down eight fairy tales for the French Court such as The Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast, and Little Red Riding Hood

Perrault’s versions of the fairy tales became very popular His collection, published in 1697, was called Histoires ou Contes du Tempes Passe or, in England, Tales of Mother Goose.

In the Colonies… John Cotton emigrated to Massachusetts. He published Spiritual Milk for Boston Babes drawn from the Breasts of Both Testaments for their Souls’ Nourishment Pilgrims Progress (1678) was written for adults but shared with children. Hornbooks contained an alphabet and prayers Chapbooks (“cheap books”) told stories like Jack the Giant Killer.

The Moral of the Story is… The Life and Strange Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, of York, Mariner… by Daniel Defoe (1719) Another favorite (1726): Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift (although not written for children either) THE John Newbery writes the first best seller for kids, The History of Little Goody Two Shoes.(1765)

Oh, Those Victorians! More and more books began to be written expressly for children… Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865) The Little Mermaid (1837) The Ugly Duckling (1843) Little Women ( ) Uncle Remus (1881)

At the end of the 19 th Century children enjoyed Familiar titles like Treasure Island and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Poetry-- “A Visit from Saint Nicholas” The first science fiction: Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea Wonderful illustrators like THE Randolph Caldecott

In 1919, the first magazine by Blacks for Black children was published! It was called The Brownies’ Book and its goal was to help “the children of the Sun” take pride in their beauty and their heritage. The publishers believed that education and the arts were important components in the struggle for equality. One of the editors was W.E.B. DuBois

In the early-mid 20 th Century, many of our old favorites were published !

The Wizard of Oz (1900) The Tale of Peter Rabbit (1901) Winnie the Pooh (1926) And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street (1937) Little House on the Prairie (1938) Make Way For Ducklings (1942) Goodnight Moon (1947) Charlotte’s Web (1952)

Series Books were Big! The Five Little Peppers The Bobbsey Twins The Hardy Boys Nancy Drew

Is Everyone Represented? 1975 Larrick article (The all-white world of children’s books) Kids should see themselves in books. How are children of color portrayed? How authentic is the portrayal? Are there stereotypes?

Current trends:Realistic Fiction Real life problems are reflected in books School, family, friendship stories are popular.

Issues in Children’s Books Separation and Loss War and violence Divorce and family situations Heritage Sexuality and gender What are the criteria for handling these? How can bibliotherapy be effective?

Popular Culture and Books –What is the role of TV in children’s response to books? –What about technology? –How does popular culture influence children’s reading?

Who is deciding? What makes something controversial? Who gets to decide? Many people are against books about

What’s the future of children’s literature?