The major turning point in children's literature was the publication of Alice in Wonderland in November 1865. The crux was that Carroll made the child central to the story, rather than the adult. A rule was broken, a new law established, and a first golden age of children's literature was inaugurated, ending, critics generally agree, in the late 1920s with AA Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh.
I don't fully buy that - Alice in Wonderland being a law-breaker. Different and new, yes, but... Does anyone remember what the "first" children's lit book was?
2 comments:
You mean besides A is for Adam, or whatever that scary puritanical primer was called?
I don't know - I just thought there was something before Alice.
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