Children's literature timeline
Encyclopedia
Timeline of turning points in children's literature
- Orbis PictusOrbis PictusOrbis Pictus, or Orbis Sensualium Pictus is a textbook for children written by Czech educator Comenius and published in 1658...
(1658) by John Amos Comenius: Earliest picturebook specifically for children.
- Fairy taleFairy taleA fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...
collections are one of the earliest forms of published fiction that have never lost their charm for children, though several of the classic tales are gruesome and were not originally collected for children. Famous collectors and retellers of Fairy Tales include Charles PerraultCharles PerraultCharles Perrault was a French author who laid the foundations for a new literary genre, the fairy tale, with his works derived from pre-existing folk tales. The best known include Le Petit Chaperon rouge , Cendrillon , Le Chat Botté and La Barbe bleue...
, the brothers GrimmBrothers GrimmThe Brothers Grimm , Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm , were German academics, linguists, cultural researchers, and authors who collected folklore and published several collections of it as Grimm's Fairy Tales, which became very popular...
, Hans Christian AndersenHans Christian AndersenHans Christian Andersen was a Danish author, fairy tale writer, and poet noted for his children's stories. These include "The Steadfast Tin Soldier," "The Snow Queen," "The Little Mermaid," "Thumbelina," "The Little Match Girl," and "The Ugly Duckling."...
and Andrew LangAndrew LangAndrew Lang was a Scots poet, novelist, literary critic, and contributor to the field of anthropology. He is best known as a collector of folk and fairy tales. The Andrew Lang lectures at the University of St Andrews are named after him.- Biography :Lang was born in Selkirk...
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- The Pilgrim's ProgressThe Pilgrim's ProgressThe Pilgrim's Progress from This World to That Which Is to Come is a Christian allegory written by John Bunyan and published in February, 1678. It is regarded as one of the most significant works of religious English literature, has been translated into more than 200 languages, and has never been...
from This World to That Which Is to Come by John BunyanJohn BunyanJohn Bunyan was an English Christian writer and preacher, famous for writing The Pilgrim's Progress. Though he was a Reformed Baptist, in the Church of England he is remembered with a Lesser Festival on 30 August, and on the liturgical calendar of the Episcopal Church on 29 August.-Life:In 1628,...
(1678): many later children's fantasies were modeled on this Christian allegory.
- A Token for Children. Being An Exact Account of the Conversion, Holy and Exemplary Lives, and Joyful Deaths of several Young Children (1672) by James JanewayJames JanewayJames Janeway was a Puritan minister and author who, after John Bunyan, had the widest and longest popularity as the author of works read by English-speaking children.-Life:...
: One of the first books specifically written for children which shaped much eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century writing for children.
- A Little Pretty Pocket-BookA Little Pretty Pocket-BookA Little Pretty Pocket-Book, intended for the Amusement of Little Master Tommy and Pretty Miss Polly with Two Letters from Jack the Giant Killer is the title of a 1744 children's book by British publisher John Newbery. It is generally considered the first children's book, and consists of simple...
(1744) by John NewberyJohn NewberyJohn Newbery was an English publisher of books who first made children's literature a sustainable and profitable part of the literary market. He also supported and published the works of Christopher Smart, Oliver Goldsmith and Samuel Johnson...
: Earliest marketing tie-in and storybook marketed as pleasure reading in English - The Governess, or The Little Female AcademyThe Governess, or The Little Female AcademyThe Governess, or The Little Female Academy by Sarah Fielding is the first full-length novel written for children, and a significant work of children's literature of the 18th century.In her preface, the author says:-Bibliography:...
(1749) by Sarah FieldingSarah FieldingSarah Fielding was a British author and sister of the novelist Henry Fielding. She was the author of The Governess, or The Little Female Academy , which was the first novel in English written especially for children , and had earlier achieved success with her novel The Adventures of David Simple...
: Often described as the first novel for children.
- Lessons for ChildrenLessons for ChildrenLessons for Children is a series of four age-adapted reading primers written by the prominent 18th-century British poet and essayist Anna Laetitia Barbauld. Published in 1778 and 1779, the books initiated a revolution in children's literature in the Anglo-American world...
(1778-9) by Anna Laetitia BarbauldAnna Laetitia BarbauldAnna Laetitia Barbauld was a prominent English poet, essayist, literary critic, editor, and children's author.A "woman of letters" who published in multiple genres, Barbauld had a successful writing career at a time when female professional writers were rare...
: The first series of age-adapted reading primers for children printed with large text and wide margins; in print for over a century.
- StruwwelpeterStruwwelpeterDer Struwwelpeter is a popular German children's book by Heinrich Hoffmann. It comprises ten illustrated and rhymed stories, mostly about children. Each has a clear moral that demonstrates the disastrous consequences of misbehavior in an exaggerated way. The title of the first story provides the...
(1845) by Heinrich HoffmannHeinrich Hoffmann (author)Heinrich Hoffmann was a German psychiatrist, who also wrote some short works including Der Struwwelpeter, an illustrated book portraying children misbehaving.- Early life and education:...
(published in English as Slovenly Peter): One of the earliest examples of grotesque humor as well as of modern picturebook design.
- Little Eva: The Flower of the SouthLittle Eva: The Flower of the SouthLittle Eva: The Flower of the South is an 1853 children's novel written by Philip J. Cozans.- Background :Little Eva is unique in being one of few known examples of children's literature that also contains elements of plantation literature, a pro-slavery literary genre that emerged in the Southern...
by Philip J. Cozans (1853): First known children's novel to feature racial (i.e. pro-slavery) bias.
- Tom Brown's SchooldaysTom Brown's SchooldaysTom Brown's Schooldays is a novel by Thomas Hughes. The story is set at Rugby School, a public school for boys, in the 1830s; Hughes attended Rugby School from 1834 to 1842...
(1857) by Thomas HughesThomas HughesThomas Hughes was an English lawyer and author. He is most famous for his novel Tom Brown's Schooldays , a semi-autobiographical work set at Rugby School, which Hughes had attended. It had a lesser-known sequel, Tom Brown at Oxford .- Biography :Hughes was the second son of John Hughes, editor of...
, the first true school storySchool storyThe school story is a fiction genre centering on older pre-adolescent and adolescent school life, at its most popular in the first half of the twentieth century. While examples do exist in other countries, it is most commonly set in English boarding schools and mostly written in girls and boys sub...
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- Alice's Adventures in WonderlandAlice's Adventures in WonderlandAlice's Adventures in Wonderland is an 1865 novel written by English author Charles Lutwidge Dodgson under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll. It tells of a girl named Alice who falls down a rabbit hole into a fantasy world populated by peculiar, anthropomorphic creatures...
(1865) by Lewis CarrollLewis CarrollCharles Lutwidge Dodgson , better known by the pseudonym Lewis Carroll , was an English author, mathematician, logician, Anglican deacon and photographer. His most famous writings are Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass, as well as the poems "The Hunting of the...
: Early surrealismSurrealismSurrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
and extensive criticism of didacticism.
- The Jungle BookThe Jungle BookThe Jungle Book is a collection of stories by British Nobel laureate Rudyard Kipling. The stories were first published in magazines in 1893–4. The original publications contain illustrations, some by Rudyard's father, John Lockwood Kipling. Kipling was born in India and spent the first six...
(1894) by Rudyard KiplingRudyard KiplingJoseph Rudyard Kipling was an English poet, short-story writer, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature...
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- Swallows and AmazonsSwallows and AmazonsSwallows and Amazons is the first book in the Swallows and Amazons series by Arthur Ransome; it was first published in 1930, with the action taking place in the summer of 1929 in the Lake District...
(1930) by Arthur RansomeArthur RansomeArthur Michell Ransome was an English author and journalist, best known for writing the Swallows and Amazons series of children's books. These tell of school-holiday adventures of children, mostly in the Lake District and the Norfolk Broads. Many of the books involve sailing; other common subjects...
, started trend of outdoor holiday adventures.
- Five on a Treasure IslandFive on a Treasure IslandFive on a Treasure Island is a popular children's book by Enid Blyton. It is the first book in The Famous Five series. The first edition of the book was illustrated by Eileen Soper.-Plot:...
is published in 1942 by Enid BlytonEnid BlytonEnid Blyton was an English children's writer also known as Mary Pollock.Noted for numerous series of books based on recurring characters and designed for different age groups,her books have enjoyed huge success in many parts of the world, and have sold over 600 million copies.One of Blyton's most...
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- The Lion, the Witch and the WardrobeThe Lion, the Witch and the WardrobeThe Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a fantasy novel for children by C. S. Lewis. Published in 1950 and set circa 1940, it is the first-published book of The Chronicles of Narnia and is the best known book of the series. Although it was written and published first, it is second in the series'...
(1950) by C. S. LewisC. S. LewisClive Staples Lewis , commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis and known to his friends and family as "Jack", was a novelist, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian and Christian apologist from Belfast, Ireland...
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- The Lord of the RingsThe Lord of the RingsThe Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
(1954–1955) by J.R.R. Tolkien.
- The Cat in the HatThe Cat in the HatThe Cat in the Hat is a children's book by Dr. Seuss and perhaps the most famous, featuring a tall, anthropomorphic, mischievous cat, wearing a tall, red and white-striped hat and a red bow tie. He also carries a pale blue umbrella...
(1957) by Dr. SeussDr. SeussTheodor Seuss Geisel was an American writer, poet, and cartoonist most widely known for his children's books written under the pen names Dr. Seuss, Theo LeSieg and, in one case, Rosetta Stone....
: First high quality limited-vocabulary book, written for early readers.
- To Kill a MockingbirdTo Kill a MockingbirdTo Kill a Mockingbird is a novel by Harper Lee published in 1960. It was instantly successful, winning the Pulitzer Prize, and has become a classic of modern American literature...
(1962) by Harper LeeHarper LeeNelle Harper Lee is an American author known for her 1960 Pulitzer-Prize-winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird, which deals with the issues of racism that were observed by the author as a child in her hometown of Monroeville, Alabama...
: Pulitzer for book market to children; also seminal work on race.
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's StoneHarry Potter and the Philosopher's StoneHarry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is the first novel in the Harry Potter series written by J. K. Rowling and featuring Harry Potter, a young wizard...
(1997) by J. K. RowlingJ. K. RowlingJoanne "Jo" Rowling, OBE , better known as J. K. Rowling, is the British author of the Harry Potter fantasy series...
, and sequels; worldwide publishing phenomenon, one of the bestselling books of all time and one of the most widely translated works of literature. Worldwide popularity caused resurgence of interest in children's literature.
- Maggie Goes on a DietMaggie Goes on a DietMaggie Goes on a Diet is a children's book by Paul Kramer about weight management in childhood aimed towards children aged 6-12.-Plot summary:...
(2011) by Paul KramerPaul KramerPaul Kramer is an American Republican Party politician. He served four terms in the New Jersey General Assembly, where he represented the 14th Legislative District from 1992 to 2000.-Early career:...
: Insperational book for children who are over weight, and stiring controversy before being released.
See also
- Children's literatureChildren's literatureChildren's literature is for readers and listeners up to about age twelve; it is often defined in four different ways: books written by children, books written for children, books chosen by children, or books chosen for children. It is often illustrated. The term is used in senses which sometimes...
- Children's literature canonChildren's literature canonAs with adult literature, the validity of defining a canon of worthy or renowned works in children's literature is hotly debated. Nevertheless, many books have had enormous impact on publishing history and are still in print today...