children’s literature

Introduction & Top Questions
Definition of terms
- “Children”
- “Literature”
The case for a children’s literature
Some general features and forces
- The discovery of the child
- Shifting visions of the child
- Slow development
- The didactic versus the imaginative
The development of children’s literature
- Criteria
- The criteria applied: three examples
  - West versus East
  - North versus south
  - Latin America
Historical sketches of the major literatures
- England
  - Overview
  - Prehistory (early Middle Ages to 1712)
  - From “T.W.” to “Alice” (1712?–1865)
  - Coming of age (1865–1945)
  - Contemporary times
  - Historical fiction
  - The creation of worlds
- United States
  - Overview
  - Prehistory (1646?–1865)
  - Peaks and plateaus (1865–1940)
  - Contemporary times
- Germany and Austria
  - Heritage and fairy tales
  - War and beyond
- Scandinavia
  - Sweden
  - National and modern literature
  - Norway
  - Denmark
  - Finland
- France
  - Overview
  - History
  - The 20th century
- Russia/Soviet Union

References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images, Videos & Interactives

Winnie-the-Pooh

Illustration by Beatrix Potter showing Peter Rabbit being dressed by his mother, with three sibling rabbits in red cloaks standing behind them in a woodland setting.

Huckleberry Finn

Illustration from The Jungle Book

The Fox and the Grapes

A sampler of Edward Lear's limericks

Lewis Carroll: Through the Looking-Glass

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

Cover of Charlotte's Web by E.B. White, illustrated by Garth Williams, showing a girl holding a pig with a sheep, goose, and spider on a web above the title.

Collage of Oz: Emerald City backdrop, illustrated Dorothy, woman with dog, Dorothy holding Toto, and a hand holding the book Wicked.

At a Glance

Illustration of mermaids and merman

children’s literature summary

Related Questions

Winnie-the-Pooh — Winnie-the-Pooh Winnie-the-Pooh and Piglet, illustration of A.A. Milne's classic children's tale by Ernest H. Shepard.

children’s literature

Also known as: juvenile literature

Written by

Clifton Fadiman

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Last updated

Oct. 6, 2026 •History

children’s literature, the body of written works and accompanying illustrations produced in order to entertain or instruct young people. The genre encompasses a wide range of works, including acknowledged classics of world literature, picture books and easy-to-read stories written exclusively for children, and fairy tales, lullabies, fables, folk songs, and other primarily orally transmitted materials. Children’s literature first clearly emerged as a distinct and independent form of literature in the second half of the 18th...

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