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The first literature for children had an instructive aim. In the 15th century, Caxton published "Aesop's Fables", and at the end of this century, "The Horn Book Magazine" was created to teach the alphabet, numerals and religions.
The early writings in English are a challenging choice but attractive since they refer to the world of Middle Ages:
Pearl Poet "Sir Gawain and The Green Knight"
Anonymous " Beowulf" -
William Shakespeare was the most outstanding writer during the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Some of his main masterpieces are:
"A Midsummer Night's Dream"
"Twelfth Night" -
Perrault was the first important author who wrote for children. He recalled tales he used to hear in his childhood and wrote them in a fresh style, such as:
"Sleeping Beauty"
"Cinderella" -
In this century began to appear lots of books written for children, mainly focused on adventures, such as:
D. Defoe "Robinson Crusoe"
T. Boreman "Gigantic Histories" -
It was in this century when children's literature appeared as a genre, dealing either with fantasy or realism. There must be highlighted:
C. Dickens "Oliver Twist"
R.L.Stevenson "Treasure Island"
H.C Anderson "The Ugly Duckling" -
During this period, British authors contributed to children's literature with delightful books, which were created for the enjoyment of children and they embraced children's imaginative worlds, ideas and feelings.
R. Dahl "The Chocolate Factory"
C.S.Lewis "The Chronicles of Narnia" -
E-books and e-libraries are becoming increasingly popular, and help to extend the usefulness of literature. Children's literature today has widened its topics and also deals with social and psychological elements like death, discrimination or the environment.
