Introduction to Childrens Literature

THE CLASSICAL WORLD

All literature began with the ancient art of Storytelling

Our ancestors told stories to entertain each other, to confort each
other and to pass on their cultural heritage
Storytelling was also used to instruct the young in the lesson of living.
Storytelling is part of every world culture
In early times, children enjoyed the same stories as their parents.
Children in Western countries were told The Illiad and The Odyssey by
Homer and Greek myths

Classical World
Western civilization has its roots in Greece and Rome, which
flourished between 500 BCE and 400 BCE, now known as the Classical
period.
Democracy and individualism
What children used to read in the Classical period?
Homers Iliad and Odyssey
Aesops Fables
Virgils Aeneid

THE MIDDLE AGES

The Classical World was lost, European civilization entered a period of
decline, the Dark Ages.
Throughout the Middle Ages poverty was spread
What stories did people recite?
Biblical stories (the lives of Saints)
The tales of the legendary King Arthur and the Knights of the Round
Table
The tales of heroes like Roland in France, the Cid in Spain and
Beowulf from the Norse
Chaucers The Canterbury Tales

RENAISSANCE AND PURITANISM

Around 1400 a new era began in Europe:
The Rennaissance (rebirth):
A rebirth of ideals from Ancient Rome and Greece
Their art, literature and respect for learning
Gutenger invented the printing press (1450)
The printing press made possible to make copies of books, spread
information quickly and this opened the door to mass education.
Most books for children were textsbooks or educational books.

JOHN LOCKE AND EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY

The philosophy of John Locke (1632-1704): a great influence for
children
Thoughts Concerning Education
Tabula rasa idea (minds of children like black slates)

ROUSSEAU AND THE MORAL TALE

Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) added another point of view to
the concept of childrens reading.
Emile (1762) The importance of moral development
How to be good

THE RISE OF THE FOLKTALES

Alongside the moralistic tales came the revival of the old folktales
from the oral tradition.
Folktales were printed in England in 1729, when Tales of Mother
Goose, originally retold by Charles Perrault, was first translated and
published in English
Retelling of old oral stories: Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood and
Sleeping Beauty in the Wood were in English nurseries.
Publications of Folktales

 Elizabeth Newbery, Tales from the Arabian Nights

Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm (1786-1859) collected a great number of
folktales and published them.
Hans Christian Andersen. Collections of tales.

THE VICTORIANS: THE GOLDEN AGE- 18TH AND 19TH CENTURIES

These books tended to offer up what adults believed was good for
children, not necessarily what children enjoyed themselves.
Books which were originally for adults were read by children:
Daniel Defoes Robinson Crusoe (1719)
Jonathan Swifts Gullivers Travels (1726)
It was not until the 19th century that talented writers wrote to
entertain children. This phenomenon was attributed to:
The strengthening of the family unit (lowered infant mortality)
Developing technology (cheap books)
The growth of widespread educational opportunities (mandatory
education)
The slow, but inexorable, rise of the status of women

THE VICTORIANS: THE GOLDEN AGE

Adventure of boys stories and fantasy stories in the 19th cent.
Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island (1883)
Fantasy Stories
Lewis Carrolls Alice in Wonderland (1865)
J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan (1904)
Rudyard Kipling, The Jungle Book (1894)
Realistic stories in the USA
Mark Twains The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876)
Frank Baums The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900)
Domestic of Girls Stories

 Virtuous heroines achieve good fortunes in the arms of a handsome

young man.
Louisa May Alcott, Little Women (1868)
Alcotts life, domestic story, lack of didacticism or sentimentality
BETWEEN THE WARS: 1920-1940
Some of the most notable fantasy figures, they reflect the need for
escape felt by the adult writers in the wake of the devastation of
the first World War.
Travers Mary Poppins (1934)
Milnes Winnie-the-Pooh (1926)
J.R.R. Tolkiens The Hobbit (1937), The Lord of the Rings Trilogy

FROM WORLD WAR II TO THE PRESENT

After the war education was seen as the means of overcoming
ignorance and prejudice.
Studies in child psychology like those of Jean Piaget and advances in
early education like those by Maria Montessori helped to focus
concerns on the development of child as an individual.
Childrens literature in this period is focused on: their likes, dislikes,
triumphs and tragedies.
C.S. Lewis Narnia Chronicles (The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,
1950 and its sequels)
J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye (1951) for adolescents
J. K. Rowlings Harry Potter series

CHILDRENS LITERATURE FROM AROUND THE WORLD

Carlo Collodis The Adventures of Pinocchio (1883)
Felix Saltens Bambi (1923)
Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables, 1908
Astrid Lindgrens Pippi Longstocking (1945)
Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables (1908)