History of Children’s LiteraturePrepared by:

Abigail L. Odi

BEEd III - Scorpio

1

Early Beginnings: Anglo-Saxon

PeriodLesson Books

Written by monks and other men for

children.

Designed for teaching.

Aldhelm (640-709)

Abbot of Malmesbury and bishop of

Shernone

First man to write lesson books for children

De Septenario, de Metris, Enigmatibus, ac

Pedum Regulis ( contained the meaning and

use of the number seven in the bible, riddles,

and puzzles in Latin which children were

asked to solve )

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15th century

books on manners and morals began to

appear ( England, 1430 )

William Caxton

Boke of Curtayse (1477 )

The Babies Boke ( Manners and Meals in

the Olden Times )

Contained rules of behavior for boys who

trained to become knights during the Age of

Chivalry

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The Medieval Period

ABC Books or Primers

Called primers because they were used

at the hour of prime as a book of private

devotions in the Angelican Church.

Henry VIII

ordered the printing of both Catholic and

Protestant primers that contained the

alphabet and Christian principles.

4

ABC Books

5

HornbookFirst books

designed for

children to handle.

3 by 4 ½ inches

long and 2 inches

wide.

Capital letters

followed by vowels

and their

combinations with

consonants were

printed at the

bottom.

The Lord’s Prayer

was printed at the

bottom.6

The paper used for this was

covered with a transparent

horn and was held in place

by metals like silver, brass

and copper.

These books could be hung

around the necks of children

These were used to teach

the alphabet and

combinations of letters and

to continue religious

instruction.

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Called chapbooks because they were

sold by itinerant peddlers calledd

chapmen.

Broadsides

Single sheets of paper printed on one

side only

Contained ballads of Robin Hood

Charles Perault

Comtes de Ma Mere L’Oye or Tales of My

Mother Goose

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Chapbooks

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The books stressed fear of God, religious instruction and preparation for death which the children did not enjoy.

John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress (1678)

Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe (1714)

Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels (1726)

Mallory’s Death of King Arthur, Reynard the Fox, and Aesop’s Fables

10

Puritan Period

New England Primer

Book made especially for the children of the American colonies

A small book, about 3 by 4 ½ inches and had about 100 pages

Contained alphabet, words and syllables for spelling lessons, the Lord’s Prayer, catechism, hymns and verses, rhymes for each letter of the aphabet.

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Orbis Sensalum or Orbis Pictus ( The World in Pictures )

First illustrated books in 1658

Invented by Johann Amos Comenius

Bishop of Moravia

Educator who believed in teaching children by letting them see things with t heir own eyes.

12

First Picture Book

17th Century and 18th

Century Books

Dr. Isaac WattsPubished Divine and Moral Songs for Children

Starting point of the history of children’s literature and

“The Cradle of Hymn” as the first children’s poem

Battledore4 by 6 ½ three-leaved cardboard that folded like a pocketbook

Had the alphabet and easy-reading matter that made it popular until 1840.

13

John Newberry Era

A writer and publisher who first thought of publishing books solely for children.

“Father of Children’s Literature”

He conceived the idea of publishing books for the enjoyment and entertainment of children.

Published Little Pretty Pocket (the first book that can be truly called a child’s book

Mother Goose Melody (collection of nursery rhymes)

Newberry Award (award for the most distinguished book)

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The Didactic Period

Jean Jacques Rousseau

Emile

Children must be given freedom to develop their natural interests and learn from actual experiences.

He advocated that children be taught about the real things and the world in which they live.

Thomas DayHistory of Sanford and Merton

A story about a good little boy and his teacher and both tried to reform a bad boy.

Peter Parley

Informational about countries of the world, about the wonders of science and about historical figures.

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The Return of Fairy

Tales Old and New

Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm’s

Fairytales

Hans Christian Andersen’s Fairytales

(Great master of the Literary Fairy

Tale)

Thumbelina

The Emperor’s New Clothes

The Nightingale

Edward Lear’s Book of Nonsense

Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland

and Through the Looking Glass 17

Realistic LiteratureAppearance of stories of boys and girls in

simple home situations, stories of

adventure, of brave men and women,

history and growth of countries, the

wonders of nature and science.

Louisa M. Alcotts’s Little Woman (1868)

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