Children’s Literature

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Developments of children’s literature

Classical Period

This was the period between 500 BCE and 400 CE. It was during this period that civilization began in Greece and Rome. Because of democracy and individualism, children received stories of Odysseus, Trojan War, adventures of Hercules and Jason, and the Golden Fleece. Even with the fall of Greek civilization, the Romans still admired the Greeks. The children of Rome were familiar with the great stories and tales of the Greeks. Most references used today about the planets and stars belong to the gods and goddesses of the ancient Greeks (Russel, 2009).

The middle Ages

This was the period after the fall of the Roman Empire. The Roman Catholic Church determined political, education and social issues. Education was expensive because books found their only on the costly parchments. This resulted in books anchoring on the desks in the libraries to prevent theft. Storytelling was still the main form of entertainment with most of the stories based on the bible. Secular stories such as those of King Arthur and Beowulf were favorites among children and adults (Russel, 2009).

Renaissance

The renaissance (rebirth) period began around 1400. The period assumed the name “rebirth” because it had several occasions of renewal of major ideals in ancient Greece and Rome. New trading routes to the Far East opened avenues for sharing knowledge. Wealth and most importantly skills exchanged hands more easily. New empires establishment occurred at the expense of the natives. The reward, however, was the development. One of the most notable breakthroughs of this period (and agreeably of the last thousand years) was the invention of the movable-type printing press, by a German named Johannes Gutenberg. This technology allowed quick production of multiple copies of books. Children’s books from this period were mainly educational, and mass education became a reality. Such books include Roger Ascham’s The Scholemaster (1570) and Sir Thomas Elyot’s The Book named the Governor (1531), which were books teaching young men on courtesy (Russel, 2009).

The Seventeenth Century

Democratic institutions, modern science and individualism characterized this period. The major influences during this period on children’s literature were the rise of Puritanism and Philosophy of John Locke. Puritanism was a religious sect that believed each person was responsible for his or her own salvation and success in life was God’s favor. Besides this, they considered education important to everyone. One of their major achievements was to encourage literacy among the middle class.

According to John Locke’s philosophy, all children had equal abilities to learn, and it was the responsibility of adults to educate them properly. He also believed that heredity did not play a big part in a child’s education although this finds challenge in today’s human studies on genetics (Russel, 2009).

The Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Centuries

It took long before books dedicated for children’s education came into existence. For many years, they had to be content reading books written for grown-ups. John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress (1768) and Daniel Dafoe’s Robinson Crusoe (1719) are such books. However, in the mid-eighteenth century, John Newberry (1713-1778) came up with the idea of children’s books. The first among his publications was A Little Pretty Pocket Book (1744) a landmark in book publishing dedicated fully for entertaining children; not just preaching to them.

Another major contributor is Jean Jacques Rousseau, the French philosopher who argued that children’s education and books should have moral backing. In his book called Emile (1762), he stressed the importance of moral development. Most of his books and those written by writers who tried to match him had moralistic stories to teach children how to have good characters (Russel, 2009).

Victorians Age

This was the period of the reign of Queen Victoria. During this period, new technologies ensured that the production of books was at a cheaper cost. Some of the reasons that played a big role in children’s literature included the rise in the status of women, increased educational opportunities, growth of the middle class and the Romantic Movement that laid foundations for most of children’s stories.

Relation of Developments to Folk Literature

In the beginning, there were no stories dedicated to children. Most of the stories telling occurred through sharing between the children’s and grown-ups. Narration of epics, myths and legends, promoted cultures and heritages, while fables promoted moral teachings. Such stories include Homer’s Iliad and The Odyssey. Because of the Roman Catholic Church dominance in the middle Ages, most of the stories told had religious inclinations. Books were rare and expensive in this period hampering the accessibility of literature to some populations. However, the developments of the Renaissance period saw the invention of the movable type printing press, which made mass education a reality.

In the seventeenth century, the “Puritanism” idea arose, which stressed the importance of education in a child’s upbringing. This brought about many schoolbooks for children such as The New England Primer. John Locke’s philosophies also argued that it was the responsibility of all parents to provide an education for their children and that all children were equal. This brought about the developments of the eighteenth century in publishing of children’s books most of which were moralistic and taught on courtesy. This saw a rise in the number of folktale associated with this period. These include the children’s book Newberry’s A Little Pretty Pocket Book (1744), which opened the market for writers of these books (Russel, 2009).

In the Victorian Age, new technologies caused an increase in accessibility of knowledge and the rise of the woman’s status in society. This allowed the rise in literacy levels among the children as the women had a more dominant role in a child’s life.

Role of historical children’s literature and folk literature in a pluralistic society

Children’s literature and folk literature help to improve understanding of certain morals in the society and ensure children understand that most of these stories have a lesson to learn. In addition, it helps them understand different cultures in the world and appreciate their history and other people’s history. Moreover, the children developed their cognitive strength, appreciated their society, as well as their religion (Hunt, 1999).

References

Hunt, P. (1999). Understanding Children’s Literature. Routledge. Library of Congress

Cataloging.

Rusell, D. (2009). Literature For Children: A Short Introduction, 6th Edition. Allyn & Bacon.