A Brief History On The Evolution and Development of Children's Literature
The period earlier to the mid-eighteenth century
shows little evidence of any specific literature
for children. Whatever literature was written
for children comprised of writings on education,
religious and moral teachings, and rarely did
it target writing for children's amusement. Thus,
the only writings and books on children of the
said period comprised of religious works, grammar
books, and 'courtesy books' which emphasized on
the construction of children's character on moral
and religious grounds. It was only two centuries
ago, when the first of children's literature emerged
as a separate and independent genre. This was
the 19th century, a period when the idea of separating
childhood and adulthood was given due importance,
and it was acknowledged that children too needed
enjoyment, even though this was restricted to
emerging middle class only. The second half of
the 19th century then witnessed some of the first
set of writings to enjoy fame. These included
for example Lewis Caroll's " Alice 's Adventures
in Wonderland" written in 1865, Louisa May
Alcott's "Little Women" written in 1868-69,
Robert Louis Stevenson's " Treasure Island
, written in 1883, Mark Twain's "Adventures
of Huckleberry Finn,” written in 1884, and
Rudyard Kipling's "Jungle Book" 1894.
Practically all these are considered masterpieces
with respect to children's literature, and such
has been their fame even after the passage of
more than a century, that most have been re-written,
and made into equally famous television serial,
cartoons and real life films. The period of early
19th century was also a period, which introduced
the concept of picture books simultaneously, raising
the role of artists, who provided for yet another
dimension to the evolution and development of
children's literature. (Burlingham, 1990; Encarta,
2004)
19th century was also witness to the near-universal
literacy in developed countries including United
States as well as most of Europe, leading to simultaneous
technical advances in the production of inexpensive
and high-quality illustrated books, which too
provided an impetus in the development of children's
literature. The name of Howard Pyle who lived
during 1853 and 1911 is also noteworthy as his
contributions for the development of children's
literature in the United States is found in a
number of juvenile periodicals published in the
'Reconstruction Era' of the late 19th and early
20th century. Also to be noted are names of American
painters Maxfield Parish (1870-1966) and N. C.
Wyeth (1882-1945), both of who made their contributions
through the introduction of photographs using
four-color processing, which were printed on glossy
paper and tipped into the pages of the children's
literature books. Perhaps one of the best remembered
colored books was one developed by W. W. Denslow
who included his illustrations in L. Frank Braum
's "Wonderful Wizard of Oz". Indeed
a masterpiece of its time as well as of today,
this particular book contained some one hundred
and two color images and twenty-four full color
plates, forever making its place amongst the classic
American children's literature. Later works such
as those of Wanda Gag's creative integration found
in her work titled "Millions of Cats"
published in 1928 was also a significant contribution,
as her work gave her the title of the first American
author-illustrator. Another set of notable author-illustrators
is that of Lucille and Holing C., whose name appears
as one of the first American author-illustrators
to depict the pre-industrialized America of the
1940s. The writings of Holing family were also
famous as their work included illustrations as
well as texts on America 's natural resources,
and the interaction of the Native Americans with
the environment. (Burlingham, 1990; Encarta, 2004)
Comparisons Between Earlier and Present Day Children’s Literature
One of the best modes of comparing earlier children’s literature with those of present day is to divide the eras into different periods, or years. For example, if one were to take the different periods of the first half and the second half of the 20th century, from 1920s to 1945, from 1945 to 1970s, and from 1970s to the present day, tremendous changes were witnessed during each.
The first era, one that includes years between 1920 and 1945 shows that this was an era during which children's literature primarily addressed the core and important values and convictions for its young readers. This also included writings on devotion to religious values and principles, and patriotism as the hallmark for majority of the children's literature of the said era. In addition authors and illustrators were more concerned about the development of moral values in children, and paid little attention to enjoyment or entertainment. To accomplish this purpose, role models in adults were amply provided as real life examples to children and teenagers alike so as to nurture some of the basic instincts of respect for the family, love and caring, devotion of religious values and principles and development of moral values.
The second era, one that encompasses the years
of 1945 to the decade of the 1970s however witnessed
a change and this was brought about by the immense
publicity of the modern day media including radio
and television. Practically the entire generation
of youngsters and teenagers were found glued to
the television and children's literature witnessed
one of its first set backs, as both reading and
writings for children fell dramatically during
the said era. This was also the era, during which
entertainment was viewed as an industry. However,
there was little change on the emphasis of social
values, as they continued to enjoy an important
status, and family life somewhat continued at
a similar pace as compared to for example a quarter
of a century earlier. This era also witnessed
the introduction of science fiction and comic
strip heroes, as also the development of children's
literature, which took entirely new themes of
people from outer space and comical characters.
(Tolszcauk, 2004)
The third and last era, one that encompasses the decade of the 1970s and continues to date is perhaps characterized by the unique transformation of values in individuals from that of focusing on family life and collective values to that of individualism and self-development. This period is witness to the tremendous revival of children's literature, perhaps due to the popularity of the media, or the nature of changing themes in the writings. Not only is there a clear distinction between who should read what, but there is also a complete change of subjects. For example children's novels were suitably divided for those aged between the years 7 to 8, those aged between the years 9 and 11, and those at 12 years and older. In addition, this era was also witness to the introduction of issues that were only common in adults in earlier eras, such as those of suicide, divorce, racism, poverty, and pregnancy. These themes were duly introduced in children's literature, an aspect that had already begun with the beginning of the 1970s decade.
Thus, a simple comparison between the subject and issues chosen for writing children's literature in the early part of the 20th century in general, and the era prior to the decade of 1970s in particular would reveal that earlier writings addressed the issues of religious aspects, education, and caring/love. Hence the emphasis on the construction of the character of children keeping in view the adults as role models. The writings of the earlier era also presented issues as they were, and suitably offered solutions to that respect. This line of writing and focus however underwent a total change, and today we have authors of children's literature openly addressing the issues of suicide, divorce, racism, poverty, and pregnancy. Though, there are elements of entertainment and joy, yet they too contain some message, which includes one or more of the above said issues. (Tolszcauk, 2004)
In addition, today literature on children rarely
forces a solution to an issue, and instead presents
the views of the author depicting his moral or
other convictions. The author thus presents a
number of solutions to be selected by the reader
including the children, including choices upon
which he or she may ponder. Furthermore, the use
of role models have virtually disappeared, and
are instead replaced by a number of similar adults
having the traits or qualities which are addressed
in the subject children's writings. Another set
of subjects, such as those of gothic and horror
has been duly included in children literature
of today, as also social issues of environment
and pollution. Thus, one may observe that indeed
the addition of present day issues in children's
literature can be construed as development. The
same is also an evidence of transformation from
that of addressing collective issues and focusing
on family traditions and values to that of individual
preoccupations and fulfillment of individual needs
and choices. (Tolszcauk, 2004)
Hence once could deduce that children's literature truly witnessed some of the greatest changes since it first evolved some two centuries ago. Today, the children's literature is not equally comparable with that of the adult literature, one may note that it is perhaps more diverse in both its genre and quality. In addition, today’s books are specifically designed taking into account the infants to the young adulthood. Such has been the success story of the development of children's literature in its varied forms, designs, texts and quality that even though there are newer forms of media, such as the film and video-cable, the attraction found in children's literature has never diminished. On the contrary, the extreme heights attained in the depiction of violence and sex in adult literature has forced many an adult to read children's literature. One may also note that the children's literature continues to provide possibilities for unlimited imagination, as well as the inner messages of nurturing the basic instincts of caring, joy, instruction and morality, perhaps diminishing from its counterparts in adult literature. This is perhaps the reason why children's literature has enjoyed truly unparalleled popularity over the centuries, as aspect that continues to date.
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