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John Newbery opened a
bookstore in St. Paul’s Churchyard, London, where
he published and sold books for children. -
Nathaniel Hawthorne is considered the first American author to write a book specifically for children. -
Lewis Carroll writes Alice’s Adventures in wonderland to spark children’s imagination and enjoyment. This is the first notable book made for children that was not made for educational purposes. -
Johanna Spyri’s Heidi, published in 1879–1880 in
Switzerland is being read by children in both America and Britain. Children's lit. is begining to spread! -
Carlo Collodi’s "Pinocchio" originally published in 1883 in Italy was being read by children in America and Britain. The spread of children's lit. is continuing to grow in popularity. -
Selma Lagerlöf’s "The Wonderful
Adventures of Nils" originally published in 1906–
1907 in Sweden is met with equal enthusiasm. -
The first child labor laws were passed in
1907, freeing children to go to school. This allowed the popularity of children's Lit. to further grow due to more children being taught how to read and write. -
Literature written for children became profitable. 1919, the US publishing house Macmillan
launched a department devoted entirely to children’s books. -
The John Newbery Award was established in 1922 by the American Library Association, followed by the Randolph Caldecott Award in 1938. -
In 1922 and 1923, two women,
Helen Dean Fish and May Massee, became the first
children’s books editors, each at a different company. -
In 1924, The Horn Book Magazine was published
by the Bookshop for Boys and Girls in Boston under
the guidance of Bertha Mahony and Elinor Whitney. -
In 1933, May Massee moved to open a children’s
books department at Viking. Other publishers began to open children’s books departments, and children’s literature blossomed into the twentieth century. -
Modern picturebooks began to develop during the 1920s and 1930s; from the 1940s through the 1960s, children’s and young adults’ books became an increasingly important part of libraries, schools, homes, and publishing houses.
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In 1975, disturbed by the lack of picturebooks
that reflected diversity, Harriet Rohmer established
Children’s Book Press, devoted to the publication of
bilingual picturebooks that reflected a diversity of cultural experiences. -
Just Us Books, founded in 1988, were established to address the lack of diversity in the field, and forward-thinking editors such as Phyllis Fogelman, encouraged and supported the work of several now-notable African American authors and illustrators
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The establishment of the Michael L. Printz Award in 2000; this award is administered by the American Library Association
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The Robert F. Sibert Award for outstanding informational books, administered by the American Library Association, in 2001.
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Children’s literature continues to grow in popularity and is always evolving allowing for new ranges of characters of all racial and sexual backgrounds to be represented.