Children’s Literature

D

The Period After World War I

Notable postwar (after 1918) English children's books include those by writer and illustrator Hugh Lofting, whose Doctor Dolittle series, begun in 1920, has for its hero a doctor who prefers to treat animals rather than humans. The books of poems When We Were Very Young (1924) and Now We Are Six (1927) and the tales of whimsy in Winnie-the-Pooh (1926) and The House at Pooh Corner (1928) by poet and playwright A. A. Milne became classics. The Mary Poppins stories (1934-1963) by Australian-born Pamela L. Travers, enormously popular both as books and in a motion-picture version (1964), have a prim and proper but magical nursemaid as their heroine.

The distinction between works written expressly for children and those that children could share with adults became more precise in the postwar period, particularly in the United States. This occurred in part because the spread of compulsory education and psychological testing made it possible for authors to write books directed at children within specific age and developmental groups.

The volume and quality of reading material for children increased tremendously after World War I (1914-1918), and school and public libraries made books, magazines, and reference works available without cost to the borrower. The American Library Association was increasingly helpful to educational organizations in the selection of reading material for children. The annual observance of Children's Book Week, begun in 1919, acquainted the general public with the importance of books for the young. Annual prizes were established in honor of publisher John Newbery and illustrator Randolph Caldecott. The Newbery Medal for the best American children's book and the Caldecott Medal for the best picture book focused attention on quality in children's literature. Encyclopedias for children were issued, among them the World Book Encyclopedia (19 volumes, first published in 1917-1918 as the World Book) and Britannica Junior (12 volumes, 1934). Newspapers inaugurated regular departments in which children's books were reviewed. The Horn Book magazine, established in Boston in 1924, evaluates children's books and related subjects.

With the publication of Millions of Cats (1928) by American artist and writer Wanda Gág, the picture narrative, in which text is reduced to a minimum, became a favorite with preschool-aged children. Until 1930 most illustrated children's books were in black and white, but new printing developments made color illustration increasingly popular. Leading color illustrators who sometimes wrote their own texts include Edward Ardizzone, Ludwig Bemelmans, and Roger Duvoisin. Popular books of the period include the Babar series (beginning in 1931) by French writer Jean de Brunhoff, about an elephant who lives in Paris, and The Story About Ping (1933) by Marjorie Flack with illustrations by Kurt Wiese, about a Yangtze River duck who narrowly misses getting cooked to eat.

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E

World War II and After

The Little Prince (1942; translated 1943), written and illustrated by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, is an allegory about the rewards of sharing. Notable American children's writers of the 1940s and 1950s include James Thurber, whose fantasies Many Moons (1943) and The White Deer (1945) were illustrated with his own drawings, and E. B. White, whose books Stuart Little (1945) and Charlotte's Web (1952) won praise and popularity. The seven-volume series known as the Chronicles of Narnia (1950-1956) by British novelist C. S. Lewis is a major contribution to fantasy literature for children and has been frequently translated. Exciting as adventure stories, the books can also be read as allegories.

Other books of unusual interest include A Hole Is to Dig (1952) by Ruth Krauss, which re-creates childhood experience through subtleties of language; The Wheel on the School (1954) by Meindert DeJong; and The Cat in the Hat (1957) by Theodore Seuss Geisel, who wrote under the pen name Dr. Seuss. Geisel's book is an extravagant fantasy, conceived as a supplementary reader for schoolchildren and illustrated with comic drawings.

F

The 1960s and After

Children's books imparting information, especially on science and social studies, became predominant in the 1960s and 1970s. Outstanding collections of poetry were also published. These include A Journey of Poems (1964), an anthology of relatively lesser-known verse by Richard F. Niebling, and Reflections on a Gift of Watermelon Pickle (1967), compiled by Stephen Dunning. In 1982 the Newbery Medal was awarded for the first time to a book of poetry, A Visit to William Blake's Inn: Poems for Innocent and Experienced Travelers (1981) by Nancy Willard. The book also received a Caldecott Award for its illustrations, the first book to receive both awards.

A delightful picture story for very young children is The Snowy Day (1962) by Ezra Jack Keats, telling of a young city boy experiencing his first snowstorm. Trumpet of the Swan (1970) demonstrated the enduring skill of E. B. White. Another author, Isaac Bashevis Singer, continued to produce allegorical works for children, such as The Wicked City (1972). Julie of the Wolves (1972), an engrossing novel about the love a young girl has for the wolves of Alaska, won a Newbery Medal for the author, Jean George. One of the most provocative and talented of contemporary author-artists was Maurice Sendak. His hauntingly imaginative picture books, based on real childhood experiences, include The Sign on Rosie's Door (1960), Where the Wild Things Are (1963), In the Night Kitchen (1970), and Outside Over There (1981). Cartoonist William Steig’s humorous drawings grace picture books about animals, such as Dr. De Soto (1982), about a mouse dentist, and Dr. De Soto Goes to Africa (1994).

Other beautifully illustrated books for children include the works of Chris Van Allsburg, whose books use black-and-white pictures, and Mitsumasa Anno, whose Anno's Alphabet (1975) contains no text, only intriguing illustrations that can be enjoyed at various levels by children and adults. Van Allsburg won Caldecott Medals for his imaginative children’s fantasies Jumanji (1981) and The Polar Express (1985).

In fiction, realism became emphasized. Since the 1960s many novels for older children have dealt frankly with social issues such as the effects of death and divorce, race relations, relationships with retarded siblings, drug addiction, and sex. Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret (1970) by Judy Blume, about a 12-year-old girl's passage into adolescence, was banned by some libraries. Two popular books about farm life in Canada, A Prairie Boy's Winter (1973) and A Prairie Boy's Summer (1975), were written and illustrated by William Kuralek. Karen Hesse won a Newbery Medal for Out of the Dust (1997), a novel about a teenage girl’s experiences during the Dust Bowl years of the 1930s in Oklahoma.

Paperback books for children were firmly established by the early 1970s, and this less expensive form was widely accepted. Children's literature also became available in a wide variety of nonprinted forms, such as recordings, tape cassettes, and later, video and CD-ROM. A popular form of books for very young children has been board books, presenting short texts with easily identifiable themes, nonstereotyped characters, and attractive illustrations. Since about 1980, pop-up books (formally termed paper engineering books) have been favorites with children up to the junior high school level. Titles in this format include The Most Amazing Hide-and-Seek Alphabet Book (1978) by Robert Crowther and The Human Body (1983) by Jonathan Miller, the latter containing three-dimensional movable anatomical illustrations designed for older children.

Children's books continue to cover traditional subjects but also examine topics increasingly relevant to children's understanding of society, such as multiculturalism, homosexuality, the environment, and AIDS. In the late 1990s and early 2000s a series of books by English author J. K. Rowling about a young wizard named Harry Potter appealed to both children and adults. Although the Potter books dominated bestseller lists worldwide, some parents objected to the books on the grounds that they glorified black magic and witchcraft.

G

Modern Children's Magazines

Periodicals dedicated to young readers continue to be a vital aspect of children's literature in the United States, although Youth's Companion had ceased publication by 1941 and St. Nicholas ceased in 1943. Cricket, which began in 1974, is patterned somewhat after the latter. Popular magazines include Boys' Life (begun 1911), with a combination of stories, how-to features, and puzzles; Highlights for Children (1946); and Sesame Street (1971). In the 1990s Ladybug (1990) and Spider (1994), magazines with monthly themes, were begun. Several magazines on nature are available, including Your Big Back Yard (1980) for preschoolers and Ranger Rick (1967), both published by The National Wildlife Federation, and Owl (1976), published in Canada by The Young Naturalist Foundation and aimed at children over the age of eight. Ebony Jr., the first magazine specifically intended for black children, ran from 1974 to 1985.