Children's literature canon
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As with adult literature, the validity of defining a canon of worthy or renowned works in children's literature is hotly debated. Nevertheless, many books have had enormous impact on publishing history and are still in print today. Due to the didactic nature of much children's publishing, in which the majority of books are written, published, selected, and taught by adults but consumed by children (Nodelman 1992), the children's literature canon is extremely powerful in influencing the books actually read.
[edit] Important Children's Books
- Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1864) by Lewis Carroll: Early surrealism and children's novel as pleasurable and non-didactic.
- Little Women (1868) by Louisa May Alcott.
- Max and Moritz (1865) by Wilhelm Busch.
- Pinocchio (1880) by Carlo Collodi.
- The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900) by L. Frank Baum, later expanded into a series of books which were tremendously popular in America during the first half of the twentieth century. One of the earliest children go to another world fantasies.
- The Call of the Wild (1903) by Jack London: Inspired by the high adventure of the Yukon gold rush.
- Peter and Wendy (1911) by J. M. Barrie (better known as Peter Pan)
- Winnie-the-Pooh (1926) and The House at Pooh Corner (1928) by A. A. Milne.
- The Hobbit or There and Back Again (1937) by J. R. R. Tolkien: and early example of the modern lighthearted quest fantasy
- Le Petit Prince (1943, English The Little Prince) by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
- Pippi Longstocking (1944) by Astrid Lindgren.
- The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1950) by C. S. Lewis
- The Cat in the Hat (1957) by Dr. Seuss: First high quality limited-vocabulary book, written for early readers
- To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) by Harper Lee: Pulitzer for book market to children; also seminal work on race
- Where the Wild Things Are (1964) by Maurice Sendak
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964) by Roald Dahl
- A Wizard of Earthsea (1968) by Ursula K. Le Guin, and sequels 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 isn't good vs. evil but balance.
- Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret (1970) by Judy Blume, approached puberty more openly than children's books had in the past.
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (1997) by J. K. Rowling, and sequels; worldwide publishing phenomenon, one of the bestselling books of all times and one of the most widely translated works of literature. Worldwide popularity caused resurgence of interest in children's literature.
[edit] References
Nodelman, Perry (1992). "The Other: Orientalism, Colonialism, and Children's Literature". Children's Literature Association Quarterly 17: 29–35.
