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117-632: Vicke Viking is a series of children's books by Swedish author Runer Jonsson , first published in 1963. The series, set in the Viking Age , was inspired by the Icelandic sagas and the Swedish novel The Long Ships . They were originally illustrated by Ewert Karlsson . The books have been widely translated, with the German version being particularly successful. Two animated television series, and

234-404: A Peter Rabbit doll, making Peter the first licensed character . Michael O. Tunnell and James S. Jacobs, professors of children's literature at Brigham Young University, write, "Potter was the first to use pictures as well as words to tell the story, incorporating coloured illustration with text, page for page." Rudyard Kipling published The Jungle Book in 1894. A major theme in the book

351-716: A courtesy book by the Dutch priest Erasmus . A Pretty and Splendid Maiden's Mirror , an adaptation of a German book for young women, became the first Swedish children's book upon its 1591 publication. Sweden published fables and a children's magazine by 1766. In Italy , Giovanni Francesco Straparola released The Facetious Nights of Straparola in the 1550s. Called the first European storybook to contain fairy-tales, it eventually had 75 separate stories and written for an adult audience. Giulio Cesare Croce also borrowed from some stories children enjoyed for his books. Russia 's earliest children's books, primers , appeared in

468-487: A rite of passage , which may or may not correspond to the time of puberty. Children generally have fewer rights than adults and are classed as unable to make serious decisions, and legally must always be under the care of a responsible adult or child custody , whether their parents divorce or not. Early childhood follows the infancy stage and begins with toddlerhood when the child begins speaking or taking steps independently. While toddlerhood ends around age 3 when

585-529: A Land Baby , by Rev. Charles Kingsley (1862), which became extremely popular and remains a classic of British children's literature. In 1883, Carlo Collodi wrote the first Italian fantasy novel, The Adventures of Pinocchio , which was translated many times. In that same year, Emilio Salgari , the man who would become "the adventure writer par excellence for the young in Italy" first published his legendary character Sandokan . In Britain, The Princess and

702-426: A UN report, warfare is preventing 28 million children worldwide from receiving an education, due to the risk of sexual violence and attacks in schools. Other factors that keep children out of school include poverty, child labor, social attitudes, and long distances to school. Social attitudes toward children differ around the world in various cultures and change over time. A 1988 study on European attitudes toward

819-567: A brightly colored cover that appealed to children—something new in the publishing industry. Known as gift books, these early books became the precursors to the toy books popular in the nineteenth century. Newbery was also adept at marketing this new genre. According to the journal The Lion and the Unicorn , "Newbery's genius was in developing the fairly new product category, children's books, through his frequent advertisements... and his clever ploy of introducing additional titles and products into

936-526: A genre, Robinsonade ), adventure stories written specifically for children began in the nineteenth century. Early examples from British authors include Frederick Marryat 's The Children of the New Forest (1847) and Harriet Martineau 's The Peasant and the Prince (1856). The Victorian era saw the development of the genre, with W. H. G. Kingston , R. M. Ballantyne and G. A. Henty specializing in

1053-488: A hurried and pressured style may limit the protective benefits they would gain from child-driven play. The initiation of play in a classroom setting allows teachers and students to interact through playfulness associated with a learning experience. Therefore, playfulness aids the interactions between adults and children in a learning environment. “Playful Structure” means to combine informal learning with formal learning to produce an effective learning experience for children at

1170-467: A knowledge of the letters; be taught to read, without perceiving it to be anything but a sport, and play themselves into that which others are whipp'd for." He also suggested that picture books be created for children. In the nineteenth century, a few children's titles became famous as classroom reading texts. Among these were the fables of Aesop and Jean de la Fontaine and Charles Perraults's 1697 Tales of Mother Goose . The popularity of these texts led to

1287-486: A longer history than generally recognized, with its roots traceable to similarly imaginative constructions of childhood circulating, for example, in the neo-platonic poetry of seventeenth-century metaphysical poet Henry Vaughan (e.g., "The Retreate", 1650; "Childe-hood", 1655). Such views contrasted with the stridently didactic, Calvinist views of infant depravity. With the onset of industrialisation in England in 1760,

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1404-489: A moral or religious message. Children's literature has been shaped by religious sources, like Puritan traditions, or by more philosophical and scientific standpoints with the influences of Charles Darwin and John Locke. The late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries are known as the "Golden Age of Children's Literature" because many classic children's books were published then. There is no single or widely used definition of children's literature. It can be broadly defined as

1521-671: A movement concerned with reforming both education and literature for children. Its founder, Johann Bernhard Basedow , authored Elementarwerk as a popular textbook for children that included many illustrations by Daniel Chodowiecki . Another follower, Joachim Heinrich Campe , created an adaptation of Robinson Crusoe that went into over 100 printings. He became Germany's "outstanding and most modern" writer for children. According to Hans-Heino Ewers in The International Companion Encyclopedia of Children's Literature , "It can be argued that from this time,

1638-539: A new family ideology centred around the upbringing of children. Puritanism stressed the importance of individual salvation and concern for the spiritual welfare of children. The modern notion of childhood with its own autonomy and goals began to emerge during the 18th-century Enlightenment and the Romantic period that followed it. Jean Jacques Rousseau formulated the romantic attitude towards children in his famous 1762 novel Emile: or, On Education . Building on

1755-543: A new sophistication to the historical adventure novel. Philip Pullman in the Sally Lockhart novels and Julia Golding in the Cat Royal series have continued the tradition of the historical adventure. An important aspect of British children's literature has been comic books and magazines . Amongst the most popular and longest running comics have been The Beano and The Dandy , both first published in

1872-427: A person younger than the local age of majority (there are exceptions like, for example, the consume and purchase of alcoholic beverage even after said age of majority ), regardless of their physical, mental and sexual development as biological adults . Children generally have fewer rights and responsibilities than adults. They are generally classed as unable to make serious decisions. Child may also describe

1989-487: A relationship with a parent (such as sons and daughters of any age) or, metaphorically , an authority figure , or signify group membership in a clan, tribe, or religion; it can also signify being strongly affected by a specific time, place, or circumstance, as in "a child of nature" or "a child of the Sixties." In the biological sciences, a child is usually defined as a person between birth and puberty, or between

2106-897: A separate category of literature especially in the Victorian era , with some works becoming internationally known, such as Lewis Carroll 's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass . Another classic of the period is Anna Sewell 's animal novel Black Beauty (1877). At the end of the Victorian era and leading into the Edwardian era, author and illustrator Beatrix Potter published The Tale of Peter Rabbit in 1902. Potter went on to produce 23 children's books and become very wealthy. A pioneer of character merchandising, in 1903 she patented

2223-482: A series of twelve books . The Golden Age of Children's Literature ended with World War I . The period before World War II was much slower in children's publishing. The main exceptions in England were the publications of Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne in 1926, the first Mary Poppins book by P. L. Travers in 1934, The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien in 1937, and the Arthurian The Sword in

2340-725: A series of films, have been based on the books. The books' main character is Vicke ( Vicky in English, Wickie in Dutch and German), son of Halvar, chief of the Viking village of Flake. Unlike his village fellows – including most of the other boys of his age – Vicke is blessed with a sharp and imaginative mind which helps him and his fellow Vikings out of many tight situations. Children%E2%80%99s books Children's literature can be traced to traditional stories like fairy tales , which have only been identified as children's literature since

2457-716: A stage where they make new friends and gain new skills, which will enable them to become more independent and enhance their individuality. During middle childhood, children enter the school years, where they are presented with a different setting than they are used to. This new setting creates new challenges and faces for children. Upon the entrance of school, mental disorders that would normally not be noticed come to light. Many of these disorders include: autism , dyslexia , dyscalculia , and ADHD . Special education , least restrictive environment , response to intervention and individualized education plans are all specialized plans to help children with disabilities. Middle childhood

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2574-536: A week with electronic media”. Research in 2007 has drawn a correlation between the declining number of National Park visits in the U.S. and increasing consumption of electronic media by children. The media has accelerated the trend for children's nature disconnection by deemphasizing views of nature, as in Disney films. The age at which children are considered responsible for their society-bound actions (e. g. marriage, voting, etc.) has also changed over time, and this

2691-519: A wide range of topics including education, natural history, fantasy, mystery, and biblical narratives and is best remembered today for her Noddy , The Famous Five , The Secret Seven , and The Adventure Series . The first of these children's stories, Five on a Treasure Island , was published in 1942. In the 1950s, the book market in Europe began to recover from the effects of the two world wars. An informal literary discussion group associated with

2808-496: A young age. Even though play is considered to be the most important to optimal child development, the environment affects their play and therefore their development. Poor children confront widespread environmental inequities as they experience less social support, and their parents are less responsive and more authoritarian. Children from low income families are less likely to have access to books and computers which would enhance their development. Children's street culture refers to

2925-646: Is abandonment followed by fostering, as in the life of Mowgli , echoing Kipling's own childhood. In the latter years of the 19th century, precursors of the modern picture book were illustrated books of poems and short stories produced by English illustrators Randolph Caldecott , Walter Crane , and Kate Greenaway . These had a larger proportion of pictures to words than earlier books, and many of their pictures were in colour. Some British artists made their living illustrating novels and children's books, among them Arthur Rackham , Cicely Mary Barker , W. Heath Robinson , Henry J. Ford , John Leech , and George Cruikshank . In

3042-421: Is added and rules for processing are formed solely by one's sensory experiences. A corollary of this doctrine was that the mind of the child was born blank and that it was the duty of the parents to imbue the child with correct notions. Locke himself emphasized the importance of providing children with "easy pleasant books" to develop their minds rather than using force to compel them: "Children may be cozen'd into

3159-597: Is an adaptation of the myth of Blodeuwedd from the Mabinogion , set in modern Wales – it won Garner the annual Carnegie Medal from the Library Association , recognising the year's best children's book by a British author. Mary Norton wrote The Borrowers (1952), featuring tiny people who borrow from humans. Dodie Smith 's The Hundred and One Dalmatians was published in 1956. Philippa Pearce 's Tom's Midnight Garden (1958) has Tom opening

3276-474: Is an epic trilogy of fantasy novels consisting of Northern Lights (1995, published as The Golden Compass in North America), The Subtle Knife (1997), and The Amber Spyglass (2000). It follows the coming of age of two children, Lyra Belacqua and Will Parry, as they wander through a series of parallel universes. The three novels have won a number of awards, most notably the 2001 Whitbread Book of

3393-402: Is commonly defined as ages 9–12, ending with the major onset of puberty, with markers such as menarche , spermarche , and the peak of height velocity occurring. These changes usually occur between ages 11 and 14. It may also be defined as the 2-year period before the major onset of puberty. Preadolescence can bring its own challenges and anxieties. Preadolescent children have a different view of

3510-489: Is controlled by adults, children acquiesce to adult rules and concerns and lose some of the benefits play offers them. This is especially true in developing creativity, leadership, and group skills. Play is considered to be very important to optimal child development that it has been recognized by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights as a right of every child. Children who are being raised in

3627-590: Is natural, the rate of PTSD occurs in anywhere from 3 to 87 percent of affected children. However, rates of PTSD for children living in chronic conflict conditions varies from 15 to 50 percent. Child protection (also called child welfare) is the safeguarding of children from violence, exploitation, abuse, and neglect. It involves identifying signs of potential harm. This includes responding to allegations or suspicions of abuse, providing support and services to protect children, and holding those who have harmed them accountable. The primary goal of child protection

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3744-455: Is often seen as an integral part of coming of age . It is usually thought of as an experience or period in a child's life that widens their awareness of evil, pain or the world around them. This theme is demonstrated in the novels To Kill a Mockingbird and Lord of the Flies . The fictional character Peter Pan was the embodiment of a childhood that never ends. Children's health includes

3861-548: Is reflected in the way they are treated in courts of law. In Roman times, children were regarded as not culpable for crimes, a position later adopted by the Church. In the 19th century, children younger than seven years old were believed incapable of crime. Children from the age of seven forward were considered responsible for their actions. Therefore, they could face criminal charges, be sent to adult prison, and be punished like adults by whipping, branding or hanging. However, courts at

3978-428: Is the time when children begin to understand responsibility and are beginning to be shaped by their peers and parents. Chores and more responsible decisions come at this time, as do social comparison and social play. During social play, children learn from and teach each other, often through observation. Preadolescence is a stage of human development following early childhood and preceding adolescence . Preadolescence

4095-447: Is through play that children at a very early age engage and interact in the world around them. Play allows children to create and explore a world they can master, conquering their fears while practicing adult roles, sometimes in conjunction with other children or adult caregivers. Undirected play allows children to learn how to work in groups, to share, to negotiate, to resolve conflicts, and to learn self-advocacy skills. However, when play

4212-471: Is to ensure that all children are safe and free from harm or danger. Child protection also works to prevent future harm by creating policies and systems that identify and respond to risks before they lead to harm. In order to achieve these goals, research suggests that child protection services should be provided in a holistic way. This means taking into account the social, economic, cultural, psychological, and environmental factors that can contribute to

4329-557: The Jennings series by Anthony Buckeridge . Ruth Manning-Sanders 's first collection, A Book of Giants , retells a number of giant stories from around the world. Susan Cooper 's The Dark Is Rising is a five-volume fantasy saga set in England and Wales. Raymond Briggs ' children's picture book The Snowman (1978) has been adapted as an animation, shown every Christmas on British television. The Reverend. W. Awdry and son Christopher 's The Railway Series features Thomas

4446-531: The tabula rasa , which considered the mind at birth to be a "blank slate". A corollary of this doctrine was that the mind of the child was born blank, and that it was the duty of the parents to imbue the child with correct notions. During the early period of capitalism , the rise of a large, commercial middle class, mainly in the Protestant countries of the Dutch Republic and England , brought about

4563-501: The 1600s, the concept of childhood began to emerge in Europe, however other historians like Nicholas Orme have challenged this view and argued that childhood has been seen as a separate stage since at least the medieval period. Adults saw children as separate beings, innocent and in need of protection and training by the adults around them. The English philosopher John Locke was particularly influential in defining this new attitude towards children, especially with regard to his theory of

4680-446: The 1740s, a cluster of London publishers began to produce new books designed to instruct and delight young readers. Thomas Boreman was one. Another was Mary Cooper , whose two-volume Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book (1744) is the first known nursery rhyme collection. But the most celebrated of these pioneers is John Newbery , whose first book for the entertainment of children was A Little Pretty Pocket-Book ." Widely considered

4797-731: The 1890s, some of the best known fairy tales from England were compiled in Joseph Jacobs ' English Fairy Tales , including Jack and the Beanstalk , Goldilocks and the Three Bears , The Three Little Pigs , Jack the Giant Killer and Tom Thumb . The Kailyard School of Scottish writers, notably J. M. Barrie , creator of Peter Pan (1904), presented an idealised version of society and brought fantasy and folklore back into fashion. In 1908, Kenneth Grahame wrote

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4914-637: The 1930s he began publishing his Swallows and Amazons series of children's books about the school-holiday adventures of children, mostly in the English Lake District and the Norfolk Broads . Many of them involve sailing; fishing and camping are other common subjects. Biggles was a popular series of adventure books for young boys, about James Bigglesworth, a fictional pilot and adventurer , by W. E. Johns . Between 1941 and 1961 there were 60 issues with stories about Biggles, and in

5031-516: The 1930s. British comics in the 20th century evolved from illustrated penny dreadfuls of the Victorian era (featuring Sweeney Todd , Dick Turpin and Varney the Vampire ). First published in the 1830s, according to The Guardian , penny dreadfuls were "Britain's first taste of mass-produced popular culture for the young." Robin Hood featured in a series of penny dreadfuls in 1838 which sparked

5148-481: The 1960s occasional contributors included the BBC astronomer Patrick Moore . Between 1940 and 1947, W. E. Johns contributed sixty stories featuring the female pilot Worrals . Evoking epic themes, Richard Adams 's 1972 survival and adventure novel Watership Down follows a small group of rabbits who escape the destruction of their warren and seek to establish a new home. Geoffrey Trease and Rosemary Sutcliff brought

5265-499: The 20th century, Philippe Ariès , a French historian specializing in medieval history , suggested that childhood was not a natural phenomenon, but a creation of society in his 1960 book Centuries of Childhood . In 1961 he published a study of paintings, gravestones, furniture, and school records, finding that before the 17th century, children were represented as mini-adults. In 1966, the American philosopher George Boas published

5382-478: The Central African Republic having the highest average rate at 27.9%. Before contraception became widely available in the 20th century, women had little choice other than abstinence or having often many children. In fact, current population growth concerns have only become possible with drastically reduced child mortality and sustained fertility. In 2017 the global total fertility rate

5499-596: The English faculty at the University of Oxford, were the "Inklings", with the major fantasy novelists C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien as its main members. C. S. Lewis published the first installment of The Chronicles of Narnia series in 1950, while Tolkien is best known, in addition to The Hobbit , as the author of The Lord of the Rings (1954). Another writer of fantasy stories is Alan Garner author of Elidor (1965), and The Owl Service (1967). The latter

5616-519: The French literary society, who saw them as only fit for old people and children. In 1658, John Amos Comenius in Bohemia published the informative illustrated Orbis Pictus , for children under six learning to read. It is considered to be the first picture book produced specifically for children. The first Danish children's book was The Child's Mirror by Niels Bredal in 1568, an adaptation of

5733-497: The Goblin and its sequel The Princess and Curdie , by George MacDonald , appeared in 1872 and 1883, and the adventure stories Treasure Island and Kidnapped , both by Robert Louis Stevenson , were extremely popular in the 1880s. Rudyard Kipling 's The Jungle Book was first published in 1894, and J. M. Barrie told the story of Peter Pan in the novel Peter and Wendy in 1911. Johanna Spyri 's two-part novel Heidi

5850-597: The Great wrote allegories for children, and during her reign, Nikolai Novikov started the first juvenile magazine in Russia. The modern children's book emerged in mid-18th-century England. A growing polite middle-class and the influence of Lockean theories of childhood innocence combined to create the beginnings of childhood as a concept. In an article for the British Library , professor MO Grenby writes, "in

5967-672: The Grimm brothers also contributed to children's literature through their academic pursuits. As professors, they had a scholarly interest in the stories, striving to preserve them and their variations accurately, recording their sources. A similar project was carried out by the Norwegian scholars Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe , who collected Norwegian fairy tales and published them as Norwegian Folktales , often referred to as Asbjørnsen and Moe . By compiling these stories, they preserved Norway's literary heritage and helped create

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6084-512: The Norwegian written language. Danish author and poet Hans Christian Andersen traveled through Europe and gathered many well-known fairy tales and created new stories in the fairy tale genre. In Switzerland , Johann David Wyss published The Swiss Family Robinson in 1812, with the aim of teaching children about family values, good husbandry, the uses of the natural world and self-reliance. The book became popular across Europe after it

6201-929: The Rights of the Child protects the fundamental rights of children. Play is essential to the cognitive, physical, social, and emotional well-being of children. It offers children opportunities for physical (running, jumping, climbing, etc.), intellectual (social skills, community norms, ethics and general knowledge) and emotional development (empathy, compassion, and friendships). Unstructured play encourages creativity and imagination. Playing and interacting with other children, as well as some adults, provides opportunities for friendships, social interactions, conflicts and resolutions. However, adults tend to (often mistakenly) assume that virtually all children's social activities can be understood as "play" and, furthermore, that children's play activities do not involve much skill or effort. It

6318-573: The Stone by T. H. White in 1938. Children's mass paperback books were first released in England in 1940 under the Puffin Books imprint, and their lower prices helped make book buying possible for children during World War II. Enid Blyton 's books have been among the world's bestsellers since the 1930s, selling more than 600 million copies. Blyton's books are still enormously popular and have been translated into almost 90 languages. She wrote on

6435-607: The Tank Engine . Margery Sharp 's series The Rescuers is based on a heroic mouse organisation. The third Children's Laureate Michael Morpurgo published War Horse in 1982. Dick King-Smith 's novels include The Sheep-Pig (1984). Diana Wynne Jones wrote the young adult fantasy novel Howl's Moving Castle in 1986. Anne Fine 's Madame Doubtfire (1987) is based around a family with divorced parents. Anthony Horowitz 's Alex Rider series begins with Stormbreaker (2000). Philip Pullman 's His Dark Materials

6552-687: The United States. Mark Twain released Tom Sawyer in 1876. In 1880 another bestseller, Uncle Remus: His Songs and His Sayings , a collection of African American folk tales adapted and compiled by Joel Chandler Harris , appeared. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a plethora of children's novels began featuring realistic, non-magical plotlines. Certain titles received international success such as Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island (1883), L. M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables (1908), and Louisa May Alcott's Little Women (1869). Literature for children had developed as

6669-799: The Year prize, won by The Amber Spyglass . Northern Lights won the Carnegie Medal for children's fiction in 1995. Neil Gaiman wrote the dark fantasy novella Coraline (2002). His 2008 fantasy, The Graveyard Book , traces the story of a boy who is raised by the supernatural occupants of a graveyard. In 2001, Terry Pratchett received the Carnegie Medal (his first major award) for The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents . Cressida Cowell 's How to Train Your Dragon series were published between 2003 and 2015. J. K. Rowling 's Harry Potter fantasy sequence of seven novels chronicles

6786-616: The adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter . The series began with Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in 1997 and ended with the seventh and final book Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in 2007; becoming the best selling book-series in history . The series has been translated into 67 languages, so placing Rowling among the most translated authors in history. While Daniel Defoe wrote Robinson Crusoe in 1719 (spawning so many imitations it defined

6903-666: The age of 18 in sub-Saharan Africa, followed by South Asia at 30%. Lower levels were found in Latin America and Caribbean (25%), the Middle East and North Africa (18%), and Eastern Europe and Central Asia (11%), while rates in Western Europe and North America were minimal. Child marriage is more prevalent with girls, but also involves boys. A 2018 study in the journal Vulnerable Children and Youth Studies found that, worldwide, 4.5% of males are married before age 18, with

7020-435: The age of majority. In Singapore , for example, a child is legally defined as someone under the age of 14 under the "Children and Young Persons Act" whereas the age of majority is 21. In U.S. Immigration Law, a child refers to anyone who is under the age of 21. Some English definitions of the word child include the fetus (sometimes termed the unborn ). In many cultures, a child is considered an adult after undergoing

7137-675: The alphabet, vowels, consonants, double letters, and syllables before providing a religious rhyme of the alphabet, beginning "In Adam's fall We sinned all...", and continues through the alphabet. It also contained religious maxims, acronyms , spelling help and other educational items, all decorated by woodcuts . In 1634, the Pentamerone from Italy became the first major published collection of European folk tales. Charles Perrault began recording fairy tales in France, publishing his first collection in 1697. They were not well received among

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7254-547: The beginning of adulthood varies by country and by function, and even within a single nation-state or culture there may be different ages at which an individual is considered to be mature enough to be entrusted by society with certain tasks. During the European Renaissance , artistic depictions of children increased dramatically, which did not have much effect on the social attitude toward children, however. The French historian Philippe Ariès argued that during

7371-409: The beginning of the mass circulation of Robin stories. Childhood A child ( pl.   children ) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty , or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking countries, the legal definition of child generally refers to a minor , in this case as

7488-504: The body of his children's books." Professor Grenby writes, "Newbery has become known as the 'father of children's literature' chiefly because he was able to show that publishing children's books could be a commercial success." The improvement in the quality of books for children and the diversity of topics he published helped make Newbery the leading producer of children's books in his time. He published his own books as well as those by authors such as Samuel Johnson and Oliver Goldsmith ;

7605-1000: The body of written works and accompanying illustrations produced in order to entertain or instruct young people. The genre encompasses a wide range of works, including acknowledged classics of world literature , picture books and easy-to-read stories written exclusively for children, and fairy tales , lullabies , fables , folk songs , and other primarily orally transmitted materials or more specifically defined as fiction , non-fiction , poetry , or drama intended for and used by children and young people. One writer on children's literature defines it as "all books written for children, excluding works such as comic books , joke books, cartoon books , and non-fiction works that are not intended to be read from front to back, such as dictionaries, encyclopedias, and other reference materials". However, others would argue that children's comics should also be included: "Children's Literature studies has traditionally treated comics fitfully and superficially despite

7722-539: The book The Cult of Childhood . Since then, historians have increasingly researched childhood in past times. In 2006, Hugh Cunningham published the book Invention of Childhood , looking at British childhood from the year 1000, the Middle Ages , to what he refers to as the Post War Period of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Childhood evolves and changes as lifestyles change and adult expectations alter. In

7839-568: The booklets as well. Johanna Bradley says, in From Chapbooks to Plum Cake , that chapbooks kept imaginative stories from being lost to readers under the strict Puritan influence of the time. Hornbooks also appeared in England during this time, teaching children basic information such as the alphabet and the Lord's Prayer . These were brought from England to the American colonies in

7956-697: The centrality of children found that Italy was more child-centric and the Netherlands less child-centric, with other countries, such as Austria, Great Britain, Ireland and West Germany falling in between. In 2013, child marriage rates of female children under the age of 18 reached 75% in Niger, 68% in Central African Republic and Chad, 66% in Bangladesh, and 47% in India . According to a 2019 UNICEF report on child marriage, 37% of females were married before

8073-546: The child becomes less dependent on parental assistance for basic needs, early childhood continues approximately until the age of 5 or 6. However, according to the National Association for the Education of Young Children , early childhood also includes infancy. At this stage children are learning through observing, experimenting and communicating with others. Adults supervise and support the development process of

8190-440: The child's imagination. Lewis Carroll 's fantasy Alice's Adventures in Wonderland , published in 1865 in England, was a landmark in the genre; regarded as the first "English masterpiece written for children", its publication opened the "First Golden Age" of children's literature. The latter half of the 19th century saw the introduction of compulsory state schooling of children across Europe, which decisively removed children from

8307-467: The child, which then will lead to the child's autonomy. Also during this stage, a strong emotional bond is created between the child and the care providers. The children also start preschool and kindergarten at this age: and hence their social lives. Middle childhood begins at around age 7, and ends at around age 9 or 10. Together, early and middle childhood are called formative years. In this middle period, children develop socially and mentally. They are at

8424-769: The children's classic The Wind in the Willows and the Scouts founder Robert Baden-Powell 's first book, Scouting for Boys , was published. Inspiration for Frances Hodgson Burnett 's novel The Secret Garden (1910) was the Great Maytham Hall Garden in Kent. While fighting in the trenches for the British Army in World War I, Hugh Lofting created the character of Doctor Dolittle , who appears in

8541-490: The concept of childhood , that a separate genre of children's literature began to emerge, with its own divisions, expectations, and canon . The earliest of these books were educational books, books on conduct, and simple ABCs—often decorated with animals, plants, and anthropomorphic letters. In 1962, French historian Philippe Ariès argues in his book Centuries of Childhood that the modern concept of childhood only emerged in recent times. He explains that children were in

8658-457: The concept of childhood began to emerge in Europe. Adults saw children as separate beings, innocent and in need of protection and training by the adults around them. The English philosopher John Locke developed his theory of the tabula rasa in his 1690 An Essay Concerning Human Understanding . In Locke's philosophy, tabula rasa was the theory that the (human) mind is at birth a "blank slate" without rules for processing data, and that data

8775-527: The content (the weird adventures of a young girl in a fantasy land), but also the origin of the tales as both are dedicated and given to a daughter of the author's friends. The shift to a modern genre of children's literature occurred in the mid-19th century; didacticism of a previous age began to make way for more humorous, child-oriented books, more attuned to the child's imagination. The availability of children's literature greatly increased as well, as paper and printing became widely available and affordable,

8892-437: The creation of a number of nineteenth-century fantasy and fairy tales for children which featured magic objects and talking animals. Another influence on this shift in attitudes came from Puritanism , which stressed the importance of individual salvation. Puritans were concerned with the spiritual welfare of their children, and there was a large growth in the publication of "good godly books" aimed squarely at children. Some of

9009-690: The cumulative culture created by young children and is sometimes referred to as their secret world . It is most common in children between the ages of seven and twelve. It is strongest in urban working class industrial districts where children are traditionally free to play out in the streets for long periods without supervision. It is invented and largely sustained by children themselves with little adult interference. Young children's street culture usually takes place on quiet backstreets and pavements, and along routes that venture out into local parks , playgrounds , scrub and wasteland, and to local shops. It often imposes imaginative status on certain sections of

9126-499: The developmental period of infancy and puberty. Legally, the term child may refer to anyone below the age of majority or some other age limit. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child defines child as, "A human being below the age of 18 years unless under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier." This is ratified by 192 of 194 member countries. The term child may also refer to someone below another legally defined age limit unconnected to

9243-415: The divergence between high-minded romantic ideals of childhood and the reality of the growing magnitude of child exploitation in the workplace, became increasingly apparent. By the late 18th century, British children were specially employed in factories and mines and as chimney sweeps , often working long hours in dangerous jobs for low pay. As the century wore on, the contradiction between the conditions on

9360-449: The educational level of women, ranging from 5–8 children in women without education to less than 2 in women with 12 or more years of education. Emergencies and conflicts pose detrimental risks to the health , safety, and well-being of children. There are many different kinds of conflicts and emergencies, e.g. wars and natural disasters . As of 2010 approximately 13 million children are displaced by armed conflicts and violence around

9477-474: The eighteenth century, and songs, part of a wider oral tradition , which adults shared with children before publishing existed. The development of early children's literature, before printing was invented, is difficult to trace. Even after printing became widespread, many classic "children's" tales were originally created for adults and later adapted for a younger audience. Since the fifteenth century much literature has been aimed specifically at children, often with

9594-461: The exploitation of children at the workplace The modern attitude to children emerged by the late 19th century; the Victorian middle and upper classes emphasized the role of the family and the sanctity of the child – an attitude that has remained dominant in Western societies ever since. The genre of children's literature took off, with a proliferation of humorous, child-oriented books attuned to

9711-460: The first "English masterpiece written for children" and as a founding book in the development of fantasy literature, its publication opened the "First Golden Age" of children's literature in Britain and Europe that continued until the early 1900s. The fairy-tale absurdity of Wonderland has solid historical ground as a satire of the serious problems of the Victorian era. Lewis Carroll is ironic about

9828-405: The first modern children's book, A Little Pretty Pocket-Book was the first children's publication aimed at giving enjoyment to children, containing a mixture of rhymes, picture stories and games for pleasure. Newbery believed that play was a better enticement to children's good behavior than physical discipline, and the child was to record his or her behaviour daily. The book was child–sized with

9945-418: The flawed, human side of authority figures). Alongside that, they may begin to develop a sense of self - identity , and to have increased feelings of independence : 'may feel an individual, no longer "just one of the family."' Adolescence is usually determined to be between the onset of puberty and legal adulthood: mostly corresponding to the teenage years (13–19). However, puberty usually begins before

10062-415: The garden door at night and entering into a different age. William Golding 's 1954 novel Lord of the Flies focuses on a group of British boys stranded on an uninhabited island and their disastrous attempt to govern themselves. Roald Dahl wrote children's fantasy novels which were often inspired from experiences from his childhood, with often unexpected endings, and unsentimental, dark humour. Dahl

10179-838: The global level, Article 13 of the United Nations ' 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) recognizes the right of everyone to an education. Education is compulsory in most places up to a certain age, but attendance at school may not be, with alternative options such as home-schooling or e-learning being recognized as valid forms of education in certain jurisdictions. Children in some countries (especially in parts of Africa and Asia) are often kept out of school, or attend only for short periods. Data from UNICEF indicate that in 2011, 57 million children were out of school; and more than 20% of African children have never attended primary school or have left without completing primary education. According to

10296-464: The ground for poor children and the middle-class notion of childhood as a time of simplicity and innocence led to the first campaigns for the imposition of legal protection for children. British reformers attacked child labor from the 1830s onward, bolstered by the horrific descriptions of London street life by Charles Dickens . The campaign eventually led to the Factory Acts , which mitigated

10413-546: The history of European children's literature was largely written in Germany." The Brothers Grimm preserved and published the traditional tales told in Germany . They were so popular in their home country that modern, realistic children's literature began to be looked down on there. This dislike of non-traditional stories continued there until the beginning of the next century. In addition to their collection of stories,

10530-403: The ideas of John Locke and other 17th-century thinkers, Jean-Jaques Rousseau described childhood as a brief period of sanctuary before people encounter the perils and hardships of adulthood. Sir Joshua Reynolds ' extensive children portraiture demonstrated the new enlightened attitudes toward young children. His 1788 painting The Age of Innocence emphasizes the innocence and natural grace of

10647-417: The importance of comics as a global phenomenon associated with children". The International Companion Encyclopedia of Children's Literature notes that "the boundaries of genre... are not fixed but blurred". Sometimes, no agreement can be reached about whether a given work is best categorized as literature for adults or children. Some works defy easy categorization. J. K. Rowling 's Harry Potter series

10764-413: The late sixteenth century. An early example is ABC-Book , an alphabet book published by Ivan Fyodorov in 1571. The first picture book published in Russia, Karion Istomin 's The Illustrated Primer , appeared in 1694. Peter the Great 's interest in modernizing his country through Westernization helped Western children's literature dominate the field through the eighteenth century. Catherine

10881-755: The latter may have written The History of Little Goody Two-Shoes , Newbery's most popular book. Another philosopher who influenced the development of children's literature was Jean-Jacques Rousseau , who argued that children should be allowed to develop naturally and joyously. His idea of appealing to a children's natural interests took hold among writers for children. Popular examples included Thomas Day 's The History of Sandford and Merton , four volumes that embody Rousseau's theories. Furthermore, Maria and Richard Lovell Edgeworth 's Practical Education : The History of Harry and Lucy (1780) urged children to teach themselves. Rousseau's ideas also had great influence in Germany, especially on German Philanthropism ,

10998-522: The mid-seventeenth century. The first such book was a catechism for children, written in verse by the Puritan John Cotton . Known as Spiritual Milk for Boston Babes , it was published in 1646, appearing both in England and Boston . Another early book, The New England Primer , was in print by 1691 and used in schools for 100 years. The primer begins with "The young Infant's or Child's morning Prayer" and evening prayer. It then shows

11115-407: The modern era, many adults believe that children should not have any worries or work, as life should be happy and trouble-free. Childhood is seen as a mixture of simplicity, innocence, happiness, fun, imagination, and wonder. It is thought of as a time of playing, learning, socializing, exploring, and worrying in a world without much adult interference. A "loss of innocence" is a common concept, and

11232-535: The most popular works were by James Janeway , but the most enduring book from this movement, still read today, especially in modernised versions, is The Pilgrim's Progress (1678) by John Bunyan . Chapbooks , pocket-sized pamphlets that were often folded instead of being stitched, were published in Britain; illustrated by woodblock printing , these inexpensive booklets reprinted popular ballads , historical re-tellings, and folk tales. Though not specifically published for children at this time, young people enjoyed

11349-410: The opening of Children's Literature: A Reader's History from Aesop to Harry Potter , says, "This book presents a history of what children have heard and read.... The history I write of is a history of reception ." Early children's literature consisted of spoken stories, songs, and poems, used to educate, instruct, and entertain children. It was only in the eighteenth century, with the development of

11466-521: The past not considered as greatly different from adults and were not given significantly different treatment. As evidence for this position, he notes that, apart from instructional and didactic texts for children written by clerics like the Venerable Bede and Ælfric of Eynsham , there was a lack of any genuine literature aimed specifically at children before the 18th century. Other scholars have qualified this viewpoint by noting that there

11583-687: The physical, mental and social well-being of children. Maintaining children's health implies offering them healthy foods, insuring they get enough sleep and exercise, and protecting their safety. Children in certain parts of the world often suffer from malnutrition , which is often associated with other conditions, such diarrhea, pneumonia and malaria. Child protection, according to UNICEF, refers to "preventing and responding to violence, exploitation and abuse against children – including commercial sexual exploitation , trafficking , child labour and harmful traditional practices, such as female genital mutilation /cutting and child marriage ". The Convention on

11700-538: The places and spaces in which children live. Nature Deficit Disorder, a term coined by Richard Louv in his 2005 book Last Child in the Woods , refers to the trend in the United States and Canada towards less time for outdoor play, resulting in a wide range of behavioral problems. With increasing use of cellphones, computers, video games and television, children have more reasons to stay inside rather than outdoors exploring. “The average American child spends 44 hours

11817-410: The population grew and literacy rates improved. Tom Brown's School Days by Thomas Hughes appeared in 1857, and is considered to be the founding book in the school story tradition. However, it was Lewis Carroll 's fantasy, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland , published in 1865 in England, that signaled the change in writing style for children to an imaginative and empathetic one. Regarded as

11934-637: The posing child and soon became a public favourite. The idea of childhood as a locus of divinity, purity, and innocence is further expounded upon in William Wordsworth 's "Ode: Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood", the imagery of which he "fashioned from a complex mix of pastoral aesthetics, pantheistic views of divinity, and an idea of spiritual purity based on an Edenic notion of pastoral innocence infused with Neoplatonic notions of reincarnation". This Romantic conception of childhood, historian Margaret Reeves suggests, has

12051-435: The prim and all-out regulated life of the "golden" Victorian century. One other noteworthy publication was Mark Twain 's book Tom Sawyer (1876), which was one of the first "boy books", intended for children but enjoyed by both children and adults alike. These were classified as such for the themes they contained, consisting of fighting and work. Another important book of that decade was The Water-Babies, A Fairy Tale for

12168-474: The production of adventure fiction for boys. This inspired writers who normally catered to adult audiences to write for children, a notable example being Robert Louis Stevenson 's classic pirate story Treasure Island (1883). In the years after the First World War, writers such as Arthur Ransome developed the adventure genre by setting the adventure in Britain rather than distant countries. In

12285-406: The teenage years. Although biologically a child is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty , adolescents are legally considered children, as they tend to lack adult rights and are still required to attend compulsory schooling in many cultures, though this varies. The onset of adolescence brings about various physical, psychological and behavioral changes. The end of adolescence and

12402-559: The time would consider the offender's age when deliberating sentencing. Minimum employment age and marriage age also vary. The age limit of voluntary/involuntary military service is also disputed at the international level. Education, in the general sense, refers to the act or process of imparting or acquiring general knowledge, developing the powers of reasoning and judgment, and preparing intellectually for mature life. Formal education most often takes place through schooling . A right to education has been recognized by some governments. At

12519-404: The urban realm (local buildings, kerbs, street objects, etc.). Children designate specific areas that serve as informal meeting and relaxation places (see: Sobel, 2001). An urban area that looks faceless or neglected to an adult may have deep ' spirit of place ' meanings in to children. Since the advent of indoor distractions such as video games , and television , concerns have been expressed about

12636-405: The vitality – or even the survival – of children's street culture. The geographies of childhood involves how (adult) society perceives the idea of childhood, the many ways adult attitudes and behaviors affect children's lives, including the environment which surrounds children and its implications. The geographies of childhood is similar in some respects to children's geographies which examines

12753-468: The workplace into schools. The market economy of the 19th century enabled the concept of childhood as a time of fun, happiness, and imagination. Factory-made dolls and doll houses delighted the girls and organized sports and activities were played by the boys. The Boy Scouts was founded by Sir Robert Baden-Powell in 1908, which provided young boys with outdoor activities aiming at developing character, citizenship, and personal fitness qualities. In

12870-426: The world from younger children in many significant ways. Typically, theirs is a more realistic view of life than the intense, fantasy-oriented world of earliest childhood. Preadolescents have more mature, sensible, realistic thoughts and actions: 'the most "sensible" stage of development...the child is a much less emotional being now.' Preadolescents may well view human relationships differently (e.g. they may notice

12987-408: The world. Where violent conflicts are the norm, the lives of young children are significantly disrupted and their families have great difficulty in offering the sensitive and consistent care that young children need for their healthy development. Studies on the effect of emergencies and conflict on the physical and mental health of children between birth and 8 years old show that where the disaster

13104-452: Was a literature designed to convey the values, attitudes, and information necessary for children within their cultures, such as the Play of Daniel from the twelfth century. Pre-modern children's literature, therefore, tended to be of a didactic and moralistic nature, with the purpose of conveying conduct -related, educational and religious lessons. During the seventeenth century,

13221-469: Was estimated to be 2.37 children per woman, adding about 80 million people to the world population per year. In order to measure the total number of children, scientists often prefer the completed cohort fertility at age 50 years (CCF50). Although the number of children is also influenced by cultural norms , religion , peer pressure and other social factors, the CCF50 appears to be most heavily dependent on

13338-1015: Was inspired to write Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964), featuring the eccentric chocolatier Willy Wonka , having grown up near two chocolate makers in England who often tried to steal trade secrets by sending spies into the other's factory. His other works include James and the Giant Peach (1961), Fantastic Mr. Fox (1970), The BFG (1982), The Witches (1983), and Matilda (1988). Starting in 1958, Michael Bond published more than twenty humorous stories about Paddington Bear . Boarding schools in literature are centred on older pre-adolescent and adolescent school life, and are most commonly set in English boarding schools . Popular school stories from this period include Ronald Searle 's comic St Trinian's (1949–1953) and his illustrations for Geoffrey Willans 's Molesworth series, Jill Murphy 's The Worst Witch , and

13455-584: Was published in Switzerland in 1880 and 1881. In the US, children's publishing entered a period of growth after the American Civil War in 1865. Boys' book writer Oliver Optic published over 100 books. In 1868, the "epoch-making" Little Women , the fictionalized autobiography of Louisa May Alcott , was published. This " coming of age " story established the genre of realistic family books in

13572-503: Was translated into French by Isabelle de Montolieu . E. T. A. Hoffmann 's tale " The Nutcracker and the Mouse King " was published in 1816 in a German collection of stories for children, Kinder-Märchen . It is the first modern short story to introduce bizarre, odd and grotesque elements in children's literature and thereby anticipates Lewis Carroll's tale, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland . There are not only parallels concerning

13689-410: Was written and marketed for children, but it is also popular among adults. The series' extreme popularity led The New York Times to create a separate bestseller list for children's books. Despite the widespread association of children's literature with picture books, spoken narratives existed before printing , and the root of many children's tales go back to ancient storytellers. Seth Lerer , in

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