HISTORY OF CHILDRENS LITERATURE

GREEK AND ROMAN ERA 50 B.C . A.D. 500

The ancient art of STORYTELLING

Entertainment, comfort, to instruct, to pass religious &

cultural heritage Didnt distinguish between adult and childrens literature Children were not seen as a recognized audience

GREECE
- birthplace of western culture

- promoted democracy and individualism

- children grew up with stories of the Trojan War

(Homers Iliad) and the travels of Odysseus

(Homers Odyssey)

ROME/ ROMAN EMPIRE

- admired the greeks

- knew Virgils Aeneid/ Aeneos, the TROJAN

HERO who was credited in founding the Roman

race
-power of ancient stories/myths for inspiration & retelling

MIDDLE AGES:500 -1500

P E R I O D B E T W E E N T H E FA L L O F R O M E A N D THE RISE OF THE RENAISSANCE Roman catholic church dominated the social & political scene Education was a luxury, few people could read or write Books were extremely rare & expensive Oral tradition was the principal entertainment Recited: 1)Biblical stories (Old & New Testament) and lives of Saints 2) Non Religious secular stories

MIDDLE AGES:500 -1500

P E R I O D B E T W E E N T H E FA L L O F R O M E AND THE RISE OF THE RENAISSANCE
BIBLICAL Stories of Saints Adam & Eve Cain & Abel Noah and the Great Flood Jonah & the Whale Tower of Babel

MIDDLE AGES:500 -1500

P E R I O D B E T W E E N T H E FA L L O F R O M E AND THE RISE OF THE RENAISSANCE
Non-Religious Secular Stories King Arthur & The Knights of the Round Table Roland (France) El Cid (Spain) Beowulf (Norse)

MIDDLE AGES:500 -1500

P E R I O D B E T W E E N T H E FA L L O F R O M E AND THE RISE OF THE RENAISSANCE
St. Anselm-1033-1109
This Archbishop of Canterbury wrote instructions

about how children should behave, along with concepts about natural science and religion.
In print, he was a first to feel children needed spiritual

guidance.
Manuscript Book production means a book was

created entirely by hand, usually as an example of the writers religious worship

The Book of Kellsis a copy of the four Gospels

along with illuminated image

MIDDLE AGES:500 -1500

P E R I O D B E T W E E N T H E FA L L O F R O M E AND THE RISE OF THE RENAISSANCE
Secular Book Production by Manuscript (1300- 1400s) The Canterbury Tales - written by Geoffrey Chaucer - not a childrens story

- adventure stories - ROBIN HOOD

RENAISSANCE: 1500 - 1650

REBIRTH OF THE IDEALS OF ANCIENT ROME AND GREECE
Paved way for genuine literature Crusades of the 11th & 12th centuries opened trade routes & introduced new text to Europe Development of the New World Children became more literate Books or moral manners : Book of Martyrs (anti-catholic work with bloody scenes of violent death)

RENAISSANCE: 1500 - 1650

REBIRTH OF THE IDEALS OF ANCIENT ROME AND GREECE

Book of Martyrs:
(anti-catholic work with bloody scenes of violent death)

RENAISSANCE: 1500 - 1650

REBIRTH OF THE IDEALS OF ANCIENT ROME AND GREECE

RENAISSANCE: 1500 - 1650

REBIRTH OF THE IDEALS OF ANCIENT ROME AND GREECE

RENAISSANCE: 1500 - 1650

REBIRTH OF THE IDEALS OF ANCIENT ROME AND GREECE

First childrens picture book Intended as textbook for the teachings of Latin through pictures

RENAISSANCE: 1500 - 1650

REBIRTH OF THE IDEALS OF ANCIENT ROME AND GREECE

RENAISSANCE: 1500 - 1650

REBIRTH OF THE IDEALS OF ANCIENT ROME AND GREECE

PURITANS

- very strict religious sect

-placed a high value in reading - credited with encouraging literacy among the middle classes

RENAISSANCE: 1500 - 1650

REBIRTH OF THE IDEALS OF ANCIENT ROME AND GREECE

PURITANISM

- emphasized individuals own

salvation - children were seen as young souls to be saved -literature were directed to save

children from
hell

death and

RENAISSANCE: 1500 - 1650

REBIRTH OF THE IDEALS OF ANCIENT ROME AND GREECE

THE HORNBOOKS

RENAISSANCE: 1500 - 1650

REBIRTH OF THE IDEALS OF ANCIENT ROME AND GREECE

BATTELDORES - Cheap books made of folded cardboard - Contains educational material

RENAISSANCE: 1500 - 1650

REBIRTH OF THE IDEALS OF ANCIENT ROME AND GREECE

RENAISSANCE: 1500 - 1650

REBIRTH OF THE IDEALS OF ANCIENT ROME AND GREECE

LATE 1700S
Beginning of Childrens Literature 1740s regarded as the decade when English novels & childrens book were born Novels began to replace unsophisticated fantastic tales

LATE 1700S

LATE 1700S

LATE 1800S T H E V I C TO R I A N E R A THE GOLDEN AGE OF C H I L D R E N S L I T E R AT U R E

Childrens books became more respectful towards the child & imagination & less directly didactic

Writing for children was emphatic rather than directive

LATE 1800S THE VICTORIAN ERA T H E G O L D E N A G E O F C H I L D R E N S L I T E R AT U R E

LATE 1800S THE VICTORIAN ERA T H E G O L D E N A G E O F C H I L D R E N S L I T E R AT U R E

Attributes to several developments:

Strengthening of the family unit Rapid development of technology Rise of the status of women Widespread educational opportunity Growth of the middle class

The Birth of the Classics

The Birth of the Classics The Fantastics

Charles Kingsley The Water-Babies-1863 Charles Dickens The Magic Fishboneand A Christmas Carol1843 Charles Dodgson Alices Adventures in Wonderland& Through the Looking Glass1965 Jules Verne -Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea1869 George McDonald The Light Princess1867 At the Back of the North Wind1871 Joel Chandler Harris Nights with Uncle Remus1883 Rudyard Kipling The Jungle Books1894 Just So Stories1902 C. CollodiPinocchio1892 Edith Nesbit The Story of the Treasure Seekers1899 L. Frank Baum The Wizard of OZ-1900Kenneth Graham The Wind in the Willows1902 James Barrie Peter Pan 1904 -At first a play and 1912 a book called Peter and Wendy

The Birth of the Classics

The Early Illustrators

1900S TO TODAY
EXPLOSION OF MULTIMEDIA & I N T E R T E X T UA L I TY
Diversity in childrens books, picture books to flap books to online multimedia text Fear was transposed to fantasy

1900S TO TODAY
EXPLOSION OF MULTIMEDIA & I N T E R T E X T UA L I TY
From World War to Present: Youth Culture - empowerment of children in the classroom - advocacy of childrens rights in the legal system

C. S. Lewis: Narnia Chronicles (1950)

E. B. White: Charlottes Web

1 9 0 0 S TO TO DAY E X P L O S I O N O F M U L T I M E D I A & I N T E R T E X T UA L I T Y

1 9 0 0 S TO TO DAY E X P L O S I O N O F M U L T I M E D I A & I N T E R T E X T UA L I T Y

SYNTHESIS
Childrens literature refers mainly to stories, poetry, rhymes, folk tales,
drama, exclusively created for children Simplicity of theme is the over-riding criterion that determines and

defines literature as Childrens literature

Literature could mean a subject of study, a form of work or training. The raw material of literature is language hence literature is

language.

REFERENCES
www.questia.com

www.history.com
www. angelfire.com www.ericdigests.com

www.readwritethink.org
Understanding Childrens Literature(1999). New York, Routledge An introduction to Childrens Literature, Peter (1994)

GROUP 3 Childrens Lit Engl 19 10:30-12:00