Early Books for Children
As far back as the Middle Ages, books intended for youngsters existed in limited numbers in the form of handwritten texts for the extremely wealthy. However, because literature aimed at young readers always will reflect society's attitudes about children, these early books were meant to indoctrinate. The stories worth reading were available not in books but from the storytellers – fairy tales, myths, ballads, epics, and other stories from our oral tradition. Of course, these stories were not meant for children, although they were allowed to listen. Over time, these magical tales have become the property of childhood.
By the same token, books that were printed in the early days of the printing press, books meant for adults, were also enjoyed and adopted by children. William Caxton, an English businessman and printer, produced several such books, including Aesop's Fables (1484), which was decorated with woodcut illustrations. From that time forward, children have claimed many books meant for adult audiences, including such well-known titles as Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe (1719); Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels (1726); Walter Scott's Ivanhoe (1820); and J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit (1937).
Literature intended specifically for children and published from the 15th through the 17th centuries still was designed to indoctrinate. The so-called horn-books, or lesson paddles, existed as reading material for children for more than two centuries, beginning in the 1440s. Generally made of wood, these small paddles (about 3 by 5 inches) had pasted to them pieces of parchment on which were printed the alphabet, verses from the Bible, or the like. The term hornbook comes from the thin, transparent sheet of horn that covered and protected the parchment. Hornbooks were particularly popular among the Puritans in Colonial America, who believed children to be basically wicked, like adults, and therefore in need of saving. This pious attitude is clearly evident in the first book published for American children, John Cotton's catechism called Spiritual Milk for Boston Babes in Either England, Drawn from the Breasts of Both Testaments for Their Souls' Nourishment. First published in England in 1646, it was revised and published in America in 1656.
Despite the preachy, often unpleasant nature of children's literature in the early days of printing, one especially bright spot appeared in 1657. Johann Amos Comenius, a Moravian teacher and bishop, wrote Orbis Pictus ("The World in Pictures"), which is often called the first children's picture book. Orbis Pictus is filled with woodcut illustrations that work in harmony with the simple text to describe the wonders of the natural world.
In 1697 Charles Perrault, who had set about collecting the French fairy tales, published his enduring collection, Tales of Mother Goose, which included such old favourites as "The Sleeping Beauty" and "Cinderella." Here we find the first mention of Mother Goose, a figure popularized in many subsequent books and stories. Although Perrault’s stories were popular with adults in the court of King Louis XIV his fairy tale collection contains a frontispiece showing an old woman (presumably Mother Goose) spinning while telling stories to a group of children.
Even as early as the 16th century, a form of "underground" reading became popular. Called chapbooks, these crudely printed booklets were often sold by peddlers for pennies. Chapbooks became extremely popular in the 17th and 18th centuries and were the first real break from the oppressive, didactic, you-are-a-sinner books for children. Of course, the Puritans decried these tales of Robin Hood, King Arthur, and even an early rendition of "Froggie Went A-Courting." Yet, children and adults reveled in them, though often on the sly.
Chapbooks may have been indirectly responsible for what is perhaps the most important development in the history of children's literature – John Newbery's children's publishing house. Certainly Newbery was influenced by John Locke, who dared suggest that youngsters should enjoy reading, so it seems likely that he observed the popularity of chapbooks among children and decided that there was a market for true children's books. In any case, Newbery ushered in the age of children's books by beginning to publish exclusively for young readers. He released his first children's book in 1744. A Pretty Little Pocket-Book taught the alphabet not with catechism but with entertaining games, rhymes, and fables. Newbery published hundreds of titles (some of which he may have written himself), the most famous and enduring of which is The History of Little Goody Two Shoes (1765). So great was Newbery's contribution to children's publishing that the oldest of the world's children's book prizes bears his name, America's John Newbery Medal. Still, the moralistic tale continued to dominate much of children's literature. Didacticism ruled well into the 19th century.