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A medieval kitchen scene where a child helps an adult by tending the fire, showing childhood as a working stage.

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No special concern for childhood;moral/religious survival was key

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The invention of the printing press (around 1440 by Johannes Gutenberg) 

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The invention of the printing press (around 1440 by Johannes Gutenberg) 

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This made books easier and cheaper to produce, so more people (including children) could have access to reading materials. It helped set the stage for the development of books specifically written for children, although most early books for children were still religious or educational.

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A Little Pretty Pocket-Book (1744, by John Newbery)

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A Little Pretty Pocket-Book (1744, by John Newbery)

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The first ilustrated children's book in United Kingdom. It combined entertaining stories, rhymes, and simple games with moral lessons.

Its publication marked a major commercial and cultural turning point in the history of children’s literature, as it was among the first books created specifically for children’s enjoyment as well as their instruction.

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Even though Homer didn't write The Iliad and The Odyssey for children, the stories became popular among them and paved the way for the adventure tales and superheroes we know today. Stories from that time have also been retold for children in modern times like Padric Colum's The Children's Homer (1918) or Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series (2009)

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In 1959, the UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, which defines children's rights to protection, education, health care, shelter, and good nutrition

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In 1959, the UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, which defines children's rights to protection, education, health care, shelter, and good nutrition

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The establishment of children's rights in the 20th century significantly influenced the evolution of children's literature, shifting its focus toward recognizing children as individuals with their own voices, emotions, and rights. Following the 1959 Declaration of the Rights of the Child by the United Nations, authors and educators began to see childhood not merely as a preparation for adulthood, but as a valuable stage of life in itself. This new perspective led to the emergence of stories that respected children's intelligence, addressed their emotional and social realities, and promoted values such as empathy, equality, and justice. For example, in Matilda by Roald Dahl (1988), the young protagonist stands up to abusive adults using her intelligence and courage—reflecting the child’s right to protection and to be heard. Similarly, The Neverending Story by Michael Ende (1979) presents a child protagonist, Bastian, who escapes into a fantasy world and ultimately becomes responsible for its fate. The story reflects a deep respect for children's imagination, emotional struggles, and capacity to make meaningful decisions. These books, among many others, show how the recognition of children's rights transformed literature into a space where children could see themselves not as passive learners, but as active subjects with agency and dignity.

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Books now featured magical worlds, talking animals, and child protagonists, capturing young readers' imaginations. An example of this is "Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland" by Lewis Carrol.

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-Title page to the seventh edition of Robert Samber’s 1729 translation, the first into English-

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Although these stories had already been passed orally for centuries in many cultures, what really changed during this period was the way people saw their cultural and literary value. This led writers to collect and publish them, kind of: revival of the Folktales.

One of the first to do this was Charles Perrault, whose book Tales of Mother Goose, including classics like Little Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty, and Cinderella, was first translated into English by Robert Samber and published in 1729. Although these tales were not written only for children, they started to be linked with childhood because of their simple structure, fantastic elements, and moral lessons.

Over time, these stories became not only entertainment but also symbols of cultural identity and useful educational tools, especially as they were adapted to fit the social and educational needs of each time.

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J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan (1904). P.L. Travers’s Mary Poppins (1934)

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Throughout the 20th Century, realistic fiction for children often remained grounded in social norms and traditional values. These stories frequently portrayed obedient children, conventional family structures, and moral lessons. However, fantasy literature had greater freedom to explore unconventional ideas and challenge cultural norms. Since fantasy operates outside the boundaries of the real world, it allows authors to criticise and break the rules of behaviour, authority, and logic. For example, P.L. Travers’s Mary Poppins (1934). On the surface, it's a fantasy about a magical nanny who brings enchantment into the lives of the children, but a closer reading reveals that Mary Poppins herself embodies a direct challenge to the expectations placed on women and authority figures at the time. Similarly, in J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan, fantasy is used to question the very idea of growing up.

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During the Middle Ages, although formal education declined after the fall of Rome and most people could not read, the oral tradition kept stories alive and accessible. As the period progressed, education gradually became more important, with the founding of universities like Bologna (1088) and Oxford (1167). This rise in literacy meant that more people could eventually access written versions of the stories they had long heard aloud, helping to preserve and adapt traditional tales for future generations, including children.

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One characteristic of the topic we’ve been dealing with is how ancient stories still influence children’s literature today. Even though these stories were written a long time ago, they are still being told in new ways for kids. Stories from the Bible, Greek myths, and Roman legends, like those by Homer and Ovid, are part of our culture and help shape the stories we enjoy now. Books like The Children’s Homer or Percy Jackson show that kids today still love adventures, heroes, and magical creatures—just like people did thousands of years ago. This shows how powerful and lasting these old stories really are.

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During the Victorian Era, children's literature often aimed to teach moral lessons and proper behavior, reflecting the values of the time such as obedience, hard work, and Christian ethics. Stories were not just for entertainment but were tools for shaping character. A well-known example is The Water-Babies (1863) by Charles Kingsley, which used fantasy to explore themes of redemption, cleanliness, and social reform, blending imagination with moral instruction

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Orbis Sensualium Pictus (1658) by Comenius

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Orbis Sensualium Pictus (1658) by Comenius

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As my classmate Tatiana said, the invention of the printing press was super important and influential in children's literature. Russell's text gives as an example what is considered the first children's picture book, Comenius' Orbis Sensualium Pictus (1658). However, at this time, children's literature did not seek to entertain and, again mentioning my classmate's participation, “most early books for children were still religious or educational”. This piece was designed to teach Latin through visual association, making learning more accessible.

Thanks to the efficiency of the printing press, the book, which was originally printed in Latin and German, was later translated into multiple languages, allowing the children of Europe to learn through visual association (multilingual editions). And not only to the privileged, the printing press allowed this book to have a wide audience from different social sectors (mass production).

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In the 20th century, Dr. Seuss became a key figure in children’s literature. With books like The Cat in the Hat (1957), he made reading fun through rhymes, humor, and quirky characters. His stories broke away from the dull, moral books of the past and encouraged kids to enjoy reading while still learning important lessons.

His playful style marked a big shift in how children’s books were written and read.

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The creation of illustrated children’s books

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The creation of illustrated children’s books

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By the mid-1800s, printing technology had improved and made it possible to print in color. This attracted many talented artists to work on children’s books. Before this, illustrations were often rough and not many skilled artists wanted to work on books for children because they were cheaply made.

But with color printing, artists started to see how fun and creative children’s stories could be. Walter Crane and George Cruikshank were some of the first to explore this.

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King Arthur and the knights of the round table 

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King Arthur and the knights of the round table 

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King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table is one of the most famous legends from the Middle Ages. It tells the story of a noble king, his magical sword Excalibur, and his brave knights who fought for justice and peace. These tales were passed down through oral tradition and later written in books that mixed history, magic, and moral lessons.

Although medieval children didn’t have books like today, stories about heroes like King Arthur were part of the culture and were often told to young people to teach values like bravery, loyalty, and honor.

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The typewriter is a mechanical device that has had a mayor impact on the history of communication and writting. The invention of the first typewriter is attributed to the italian Giuseppe Ravizza, who in 1808 designed a machine that could print letters on paper. However, this machine was never comercialized, and the design was lost. Later, in 1865 the American Christopher Latham Sholes designed the first commercially viable typewriter, which called the “Sholes and Glidden typewritter”.

It was designed to facilítate writing and transcribing documents, and became an essential tool for both the business and personal Words.

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A famous Victorian children's book is Black Beauty (1877) by Anna Sewell. This story was different because it was told from a horse's perspective, teaching readers to be kind to animals. At the time, many children's books tried to improve society, and Black Beauty actually helped change how people treated horses in real life. It showed how Victorian literature often mixed storytelling with important lessons about being good and responsible.

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As my classmates mentioned, the Renaissance was a period in which children's literature was scarce. It was mainly oriented toward religious education, and in terms of general education, fables with ethical values, such as those by Esopo.

With the invention of the printing press, Esopo’s fables could be distributed more easily, reaching a broader audience. Esopo’s fables, with their moral lessons, were used as tools to educate children and young people. They became a required text in universities and were widely used in the teaching of the Latin language.

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In this period of human history children's literature did not exist so ancient stories were told to children. A well known storyteller was the Roman poet Ovid, who wrote down many of the ancient myths and legends from Greece and Rome in his book Metamorphoses. He retells the tales of Hercules, Pyramus and Thisbe, Pygmalion, among others. These stories served as inspiration for modern variations.

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Children’s Literature in the Middle Ages

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Children’s Literature in the Middle Ages

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Children’s Literature in the Middle Ages

Children experienced literature in the Middle Ages in two ways: orally and in written form. The oral tradition was probably way more extensive and was accessible to every child, no matter their social status. Not every child could read, but most children could listen to stories, songs, and rhymes told to them by parents and nurses.

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In the 20th century the creation of the internet changed everything because it transformed how children and people could access literature and how they could complement those lectures with videos, films or games. Some of the websites where people could find books in those ages were Project Gutenberg and Internet Archive.

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Medieval Works for Children's Literature: Aesop’s Fables and Beyond

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Medieval Works for Children's Literature: Aesop’s Fables and Beyond

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During the Middle Ages, while formal "children's literature" did not yet exist as we know it, several key events laid the groundwork for stories that would later captivate young audiences. One pivotal moment was the printing of Aesop’s Fables in 1484 by William Caxton, England’s first printer. This collection of moral tales—featuring talking animals and timeless lessons—became one of the earliest texts used to educate and entertain children in Europe.

Though originally penned in ancient Greece, Aesop’s fables (The Fox and the Grapes, The Ant and the Grasshopper) were preserved by medieval scribes and adapted into Latin and vernacular languages. Their brevity and clear morals made them ideal for teaching both language and virtue in monastic schools.

Beyond Aesop, medieval Europe nurtured storytelling traditions that later influenced children’s literature:

Bestiaries blended natural history with fantasy, describing creatures like dragons and unicorns.

Arthurian legends, though intended for adults, were simplified into chivalric tales for younger audiences.

Oral folktales (Jack the Giant Killer) circulated among peasants, later refined into literary fairy tales.

These medieval innovations, moral instruction, wonder, and oral storytelling shaped the bases of children’s literature, bridging ancient wisdom and the printed books of the Renaissance.

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"History of Jack the Giant Killer" in chapbook form

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One of the most notable trends of the time was the emergence of inexpensive chapbooks, these are small, pocket-sized booklets that made folktales accessible. These chapbooks often featured tales of adventure, magical events, and heroic exploits. For instance, narratives featuring characters like Jack the Giant Killer was reworked to express virtues such as bravery, cleverness, and kindness

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Aesop´s fables and the cassical world of childres´s literature

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Aesop´s fables and the cassical world of childres´s literature

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In the Classical period, literature wasn’t specifically written for children, but Aesop’s fables were short, easy to understand and morally instructive. Though they are not written exclusively for kids, Aesop’s Fables are among the earliest examples of literature later classified as suitable for children.

They represent the roots of didactic children´s literature because the animal characters, and moral messages influenced children’s books for centuries.

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A Map of Narnia and the Surrounding Countries
The poster version of the map of Narnia by Pauline Baynes

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Pauline Baynes An Illustrated Journey

Pauline Baynes was the original illustrator of the editions of The Chronicles of Narnia (1950-1956), and her work helped bring to life the worlds created by C. S. Lewis.

Baynes captured the magic and mystery of Narnia, from the wardrobe to the final battle, with images that show bravery and hope. Each book includes illustrations and maps that reflect the unique atmosphere of Narnia.

This visual work not only went with the texts but also made the reading experience richer, making Baynes a key figure for the classic image of Narnia.

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Cover of the children's magazine, La Ilustración de la Infancia

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A milestone in the history of children's literature was the appearance of the first children's newspapers. The children's press emerged in Spain in the 18th century with the newspaper La Gaceta de los Niños (1798). Carefully printed, without illustrations, distributed by subscription, and with an educational purpose, it was born with the nickname Principios generales de moral, ciencias y artes, acomodados a la inteligencia de la primera edad (General Principles of Morality, Sciences, and Arts, Adapted to the Intelligence of Early Children). Inspired by Jouffret's French newspaper, Mail des Enfants (Children's Mail), it was aimed at a wealthy, predominantly bourgeois audience due to the values ​​it conveyed. The intention of this school newspaper was to create children's literature.

During the 19th century, various works on this theme appeared. On January 8, 1877, La Ilustración de la Infancia (The Illustration of Children) began publication, a magazine designed to encourage children to read, providing them with pastime and entertainment while providing them with moral education and instruction.

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The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien came out in 1937 and became one of the most important fantasy books of the 20th century. It told the story of a small, shy character who goes on a big adventure, showing kids that anyone can be a hero. The book helped fantasy stories become more popular and respected, and it inspired many other authors to write similar books.

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Straddling the close of the Victorian Golden Age of Children’s Literature, Beatrix Potter became an instant sensation with The Tale of Peter Rabbit (first privately printed in 1901). Crucially, she both wrote and illustrated the story, forging a model of author-illustrators that many 20th-century artists would later emulate. Potter’s finely observed watercolours of anthropomorphic animals, combined with her clear, understated prose, reflected Victorian values of nature study, domesticity, and gentle moral instruction while speaking to children “in simple, direct language,” as she herself advised (Hunt, An Introduction to Children’s Literature, 88).

Her ability to blend visual charm with engaging storytelling not only delighted young readers but also helped elevate the artistic and literary standards of children’s books, setting a precedent that would influence the genre for generations to come.

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Jigoku Zoshi (Scroll of the Hells), 12th century

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Emaki (絵巻) means "picture scrolls" in Japanese. They are handscrolls that combine paintings and calligraphy to tell a continuous narrative story.

Emakis began appearing in Japan during the Heian period (794–1185 CE) and flourished in medieval times.

Typically, an emaki scroll is long and narrow—unrolled horizontally from right to left.

As you unroll the scroll, you see a sequence of images and text, like an early form of a graphic novel or comic strip.

While emakis were primarily created for nobility and educated adults, they played a vital role in children’s learning and cultural education, especially among aristocratic families.

Early Visual Literacy and Storytelling:

Emakis combined images and text which helped children, even those still learning to read, follow complex stories.

The sequential art and vivid colors made stories engaging and memorable.

This combination supported early literacy development, as kids learned the connection between pictures and words.

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Telephone by K. Chukovsky on Bookvica, 1938.

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The Golden Age of Soviet children's books

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The Golden Age of Soviet children's books

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It's a period brimming with creativity and a unique approach to storytelling. Roughly from the 1920s to the 1930s, when the Soviet government placed a high value on children's literature as a tool for education and shaping young minds. This wasn't just about teaching the alphabet; it was about instilling values, fostering a sense of community, and sparking curiosity about the world.

What made this era so special?

Government Support: The Soviet state actively supported the development of children's books. They established dedicated publishing houses like Detgiz (Children's State Publishing House) and attracted talented writers and artists to the field. This created an environment where children's literature was taken seriously.

Focus on Education and Development: The books aimed to educate children about science, technology, different cultures, and the principles of the Soviet ideology in an accessible and engaging way. They often featured themes of collectivism, hard work, and progress.

Innovation in Art and Design: This period saw a remarkable flourishing of illustration. Artists experimented with bold colors, dynamic compositions, and various artistic styles, including constructivism and avant-garde techniques.

Talented Writers and Illustrators: A constellation of brilliant writers and illustrators dedicated themselves to creating high-quality books for children. Names like Kornei Chukovsky (think of his whimsical and rhythmic poems), Samuil Marshak (known for his playful verses and educational stories), and illustrators like Vladimir Lebedev and Yuri Vasnetsov became legends. Their work was often characterized by clever rhymes, engaging narratives, and unforgettable characters.

Accessibility: Efforts were made to make these books widely available to children across the vast Soviet Union through libraries and affordable pricing.

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The Gutenberg Bible is the first book printed using the printing press invented by Johannes Gutenberg.

This is another example of the great influence of religion on the advances of society at that time, aiming to the spread of religious values and knowledge.

Around 180-200 copies of this bible were printed in Latin as it was the church's official language. It featured innovative typography and design.

Only about 48 complete and partial copies exist in libraries and museums worldwide, making it one of the rarest and most valuable printed works in history.

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In 1959, the UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, which defines children's rights to protection, education, health care, shelter, and good nutrition

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In 1959, the UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, which defines children's rights to protection, education, health care, shelter, and good nutrition

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The establishment of children's rights in the 20th century significantly influenced the evolution of children's literature, shifting its focus toward recognizing children as individuals with their own voices, emotions, and rights. Following the 1959 Declaration of the Rights of the Child by the United Nations, authors and educators began to see childhood not merely as a preparation for adulthood, but as a valuable stage of life in itself. This new perspective led to the emergence of stories that respected children's intelligence, addressed their emotional and social realities, and promoted values such as empathy, equality, and justice. For example, in Matilda by Roald Dahl (1988), the young protagonist stands up to abusive adults using her intelligence and courage—reflecting the child’s right to protection and to be heard. Similarly, The Neverending Story by Michael Ende (1979) presents a child protagonist, Bastian, who escapes into a fantasy world and ultimately becomes responsible for its fate. The story reflects a deep respect for children's imagination, emotional struggles, and capacity to make meaningful decisions. These books, among many others, show how the recognition of children's rights transformed literature into a space where children could see themselves not as passive learners, but as active subjects with agency and dignity.