Books specifically for children existed by the 17th century. Before that, books were written mainly for adults – although some later became popular with children. In Europe, Gutenberg's invention of the printing press around 1440 made possible mass production of books, though the first printed books were quite expensive and remained so for a long time. Gradually, however, improvements in printing technology lowered the costs of publishing and made books more affordable to the working classes, who were also likely to buy smaller and cheaper broadsides, chapbooks, pamphlets, tracts, and early newspapers, all of which were widely available before 1800. In the 19th century, improvements in paper production, as well as the invention of cast-iron, steam-powered printing presses, enabled book publishing on a very large scale, and made books of all kinds affordable by all.
Scholarship on children's literature includes professional organizations, dedicated publications, and university courses.
Ancient Indian inter-related collection of animal fables in verse and prose, in a frame story format. Similar stories are found in later works including Aesop's Fables and the Sindbad tales in Arabian Nights.[4]
Collection of Indian legends, fairy tales and folk tales as retold by a Saivite Brahmin named Somadeva. Generally believed to derive from Gunadhya's Brhat-katha, written in Paisachi dialect from the south of India.[citation needed]
One of the first books specifically written for children which shaped much eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century writing for children.[citation needed][13]
With its sequels, it broke ground for epic fantasy in several ways: the first book had a non-white hero, the later books explored the role of gender in fantasy and power, and the quest structure is not good vs. evil but balance. [citation needed]
^Lyons (2008). Three tales from the Arabian nights. translated by Malcolm C. Lyons, Robert Irwin, and Ursula Lyons; with an introduction by Robert Irwin. London: Penguin. ISBN978-1-84614-158-4.
^Opie, Iona; Opie, Peter (1974), The Classic Fairy Tales, Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, ISBN0-19-211559-6 See page 20. The claim for earliest fairy-tale is still debated, see for example Jan M. Ziolkowski, Fairy tales from before fairy tales: the medieval Latin past of wonderful lies, University of Michigan Press, 2007. Ziolkowski examines Egbert of Liège's Latin beast poem Fecunda Ratis (The Richly Laden Ship, c. 1022/24), the earliest known version of "Little Red Riding Hood". Further info: Little Red PentecostalArchived 2007-10-23 at the Wayback Machine, Peter J. Leithart, July 9, 2007.
^Bottigheimer, Ruth B. (2012). Fairy tales framed : early forewords, afterwords, and critical words. Albany. p. 7. ISBN978-1-4384-4221-1. OCLC733546751.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^Comenius, John Amos (1999). Orbis Pictus : [Orbis Sensualium Pictus. A world of things obvious to the scenes drawn in pictures] ([Faks.Repr.] ed.). Kessinger. ISBN978-0-7661-0825-7.
^Janeway, James (1994). A token for children : being an exact account of the conversion, holy and exemplary lives and joyful deaths of several young children in two parts. To which is added, A token for the children of New England / by Cotton Mather. Pittsburgh, PA: Soli Deo Gloria Publications. ISBN978-1-877611-76-6.
^Perrault, Charles (1963). The complete fairy tales of Charles Perrault. Illustrated by Sally Holmes; newly translated by Neil Philip and Nicoletta Simborowski; with an introduction and notes on the story by Neil Philip. New York: Clarion Books. ISBN978-0-395-57002-9. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
^Newbery, John, ed. (2009). A Little pretty pocket-book. Dodo Press. ISBN978-1-4099-4974-9.
^Welsh, Charles (2010). Goody Two Shoes (reprint ed.). Kessinger Publishing. ISBN978-1-162-75622-6.
^Pickering, Samuel F., Jr. John Locke and Children's Books in Eighteenth-Century England. Knoxville: The University of Tennessee Press, 1981. ISBN0-87049-290-X.
^Darton, F. J. Harvey. Children's Books in England: Five Centuries of Social Life. 3rd ed. Rev. Brian Alderson. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (1982), 146.
^Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (2006). Owens, Lily (ed.). The complete Brothers Grimm fairy tales (Deluxe ed.). New York: Gramercy Books. ISBN978-0-517-22925-5.
^"Little Prudy". Library of Congress. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
Cullinan, Bernice E.; Person, Diane G., eds. (2003). The Continuum encyclopedia of children's literature (Reprinted ed.). New York, NY: Continuum. ISBN978-0-8264-1516-5.
Hunt, Peter (2001). Children's literature (1st ed.). Oxford: Blackwell. ISBN978-0-631-21141-9.
Hunt, Peter, ed. (1996). International companion encyclopedia of children's literature. London: Routledge. ISBN9780203168127.
Lundin, Anne (2004). Constructing the canon of children's literature : beyond library walls and ivory towers. New York: Routledge. ISBN0-8153-3841-4. A scholarly examination of canons of children's literature.
