Literature for Children

literature includes stories, fairy tales, fables, poems, and novels. It

also includes nonfiction (factual) works on history, science, and other subjects.

or chapter books. Picture books usually have a smaller amount

of text, or words, and pictures on every page. They are written for younger readers.

text, which is divided into sections called chapters. Chapter books

are written for older children

and prizes. In the United States the two most important

prizes for children's literature are the Newbery Medal and the Caldecott Medal.

Another important international award is the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award.

for children at all. The first literature especially for children

was published in Europe in the 1600s.

children. Its purpose was to teach children lessons.

were books written for adults. These were adventurous stories with

interesting characters. For example, Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe (1719) tells the story of a man who is shipwrecked on a deserted island. Another such book was Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels (1726). It is about the adventures of a traveler in strange lands.

the well-known Mother Goose rhymes in the 1760s. A version

of Newbery's book was first published in the United States in about 1785. Since then, generations of children have learned the traditional rhymes, such as Little Miss Muffett.

of literature. Authors began making their stories more interesting and

imaginative.

tales and folktales. These stories of magical creatures, animals that

talk, and imaginary places have always fascinated children.

today. Many children still enjoy Lewis Carroll’s Alice's Adventures in

Wonderland, which was published in England in 1865.

old German fairy tales in 1812. The collection is commonly

called Grimm's Fairy Tales. It features stories about such characters as Snow White and Cinderella.

Fairy Tales, a collection of old stories. In 1896 K.

Langloh Parker retold the folktales of the Aborigines (the native people of Australia) in Australian Legendary Tales. A collection of Latin American folktales appeared at about the same time in Brazil. It was called Contos da Carochinha.
 

of children's books being published.
 
 

so that the stories could be shared with children in

other parts of the world.

of this time focused on interesting characters in fantastic worlds.

Winnie-the-Pooh (1926) by A.A. Milne, and Charlotte's Web (1952) by

E.B. White are good examples.

many books by Dr. Seuss also fit in this category.

He published The Cat in the Hat in 1957.

the difficulties of growing up. Lucy Maud Montgomery's Anne of

Green Gables (1908), Katherine Paterson's Bridge to Terabithia (1977), and the novels of Judy Blume are examples.

and early 2000s have a magical setting. However, they also

realistically show the emotions of young people.