BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Literature 161
They are still considered to be some of
the best literature ever written.
Don Quixote is often called the first
modern novel. The Spanish writer
Miguel de Cervantes completed it in
1615. Over the following centuries the
novel became one of the most popular
types of literature.
In the 1900s writers began to experiment
with the form of the novel. The
Irish writer James Joyce used a technique
called stream of consciousness. In this
form the author tries to present the
thoughts of the characters as they occur
to the character. Later in the century
writers from Colombia, Argentina, and
other Latin American countries wrote
stories that were a mixture of real and
fantastic events. This style became
known as magic realism.
The 1800s and 1900s also saw changes
in poetry. Until that time poems had
taken many forms, but often they followed
strict rules about rhyme and
meter. In the 1800s poets began writing
in a style known as free verse. This
allowed them to write poetry that more
closely resembled regular spoken language.
The Spread of Literature
At first all stories had to be copied by
hand. This took a long time and was
expensive. Only the wealthy and welleducated
had access to these copies. In
the 1400s Johannes Gutenberg invented
a machine called a printing press. With
the printing press many copies of a
book could be made very quickly and
easily. Books became easier to get.
Gutenberg paved the way for the
ordinary person to borrow, own, and
read books. Today bookstores and
libraries make all kinds of printed
literature available to the public.
Literature can also be enjoyed by watching
a story performed on stage. Through
radio, movies, and television, stories can
now be presented to millions of people
at one time.
#More to explore
Drama • Fiction • Language • Poetry
• Storytelling •Writing
Literature for
Children
Books written especially for children are
called children’s literature. Children’s
literature includes stories, fairy tales,
A novel is usually
a long
literary work
that tells a
story about
realistic characters
and
events.
Each year the American Library Association
gives the Newbery Medal to the author of
the best children’s book. It gives the Caldecott
Medal to the illustrator of the best picture
book.
162 Literature for Children BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
fables, poems, and novels. It also
includes nonfiction (factual) works on
history, science, and other subjects.
Children’s literature can come in the
form of picture books or chapter books.
Picture books usually have a smaller
amount of text, or words, and pictures
on every page. They are written for
younger readers. Chapter books have
few or no pictures and much more text,
which is divided into sections called
chapters. Chapter books are written for
older children.
Awards
Many countries give good children’s
books special attention through awards
and prizes. In the United States the two
most important prizes for children’s
literature are the Newbery Medal and
the Caldecott Medal. The Newbery
Medal goes to the author of the best
children’s book of the year. The illustrator
of the year’s best picture book
receives the Caldecott Medal. The bestknown
international award is the Hans
Christian Andersen Award. Another
important international award is the
Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award.
History
Until a few hundred years ago, few
books were written for children. Many
children did not even learn to read at all.
The first literature especially for children
was published in Europe in the 1600s.
Most of this early writing was not meant
to entertain children. Its purpose was to
teach children lessons.
1700s
Many of the books read by children
during the 1700s were books written
for adults. These were adventure stories
with interesting characters. For
example, Daniel Defoe’s Robinson
Crusoe (1719) tells the story of a man
who is shipwrecked on a deserted
island. Another such book was
Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels
(1726). It is about the adventures of a
traveler in strange lands.
John Newbery in London, England,
published the first edition of the wellknown
Mother Goose rhymes in the
1760s. A version of Newbery’s book was
first published in the United States in
about 1785. Since then, generations of
children have learned the traditional
rhymes, such as “Little Miss Muffett.”
The poem
Twinkle,
Twinkle, Little
Star first
appeared in
the 1804 book
Original
Poems for
Infant Minds
by Ann and
Jane Taylor.
An illustration from the first edition of The
Wonderful Wizard of Oz shows the book’s
main characters.
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Literature for Children 163
1800s
By the 1800s, children’s books were
becoming an important kind of literature.
Authors began making their stories
more interesting and imaginative. Some
children’s books from the 1800s are still
very popular today. Many children still
enjoy Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures
inWonderland, which was published in
England in 1865.
Many children’s books from the 1800s
were collections of fairy tales and folktales.
These stories of magical creatures,
animals that talk, and imaginary places
