dren's publishing entered a period of growth after the American Civil War in 1865. Boys' book writer Oliver Optic published over 100 books. 1868 brought the publication of the "epoch-making book"[7]:4

ncreased as well, as paper and printing became widely available and affordable, the population grew and literacy rates improved.[1]:654–655
Tom Brown's School Days by Thomas Hughes appeared in 1857, and is considered as the founding book in the school story tradition.[32]:7–8 However, it was Lewis Carroll's fantasy Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, published in 1865 in England, that signalled the change in writing style for children to an imaginative and empathetic one. Regarded as the first "English masterpiece written for children"[7]:44 and as a founding book in the development of fantasy literature, its publication opened the "First Golden Age" of children's literature in Britain and Europe that continued until the early 1900s.[32]:18 Another important book of that decade was The Water-Babies, A Fairy Tale for a Land Baby by Reverend Charles Kingsley in 1862, which became extremely popular in England, and has remained as a classic of British children's literature.
In 1883, Carlo Collodi wrote the first Italian fantasy novel, The Adventures of Pinocchio, which was translated many times. In Britain, The Princess and the Goblin and its sequel The Princess and Curdie by George MacDonald appeared in 1872 and '83, and the adventure stories Treasure Island and Kidnapped, both by Robert Louis Stevenson, were extremely popular in the 1880s. Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book was first published in 1894, and J. M. Barrie told the story of Peter Pan in the novel Peter and Wendy in 1911. Johanna Spyri's two-part novel Heidi was published in Switzerland in 1880 and 1881.[1]:749 In the US, children's publishing entered a period of growth after the American Civil War in 1865. Boys' book writer Oliver Optic published over 100 books. 1868 brought the publication of the "epoch-making book"[7]:45 such as Little Women, the fictionalized autobiography of Louisa May Alcott. This coming of age story established the genre of realistic family books in the United States. Mark Twain released Tom Sawyer in 1876, and in 1880 another bestseller, Uncle Remus: His Songs and His Sayings, a collection of African American folk tales adapted and compiled by Joel Chandler Harris, appeared.[1]:478
Recent national traditions[edit]
Britain[edit]


A line-up of the American second edition printings of The Hobbit.
The Golden Age of Children's Literature ended with World War I in Great Britain and Europe, and the period before World War II was much slower in children's publishing. The main exceptions in England were the publications of Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne in 1926 and The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien in 1937.[1]:682–683 In 1941, children's paperback books were first released in England under the Puffin Books imprint, and their lower prices helped make book buying possible for children during World War II.[1]:475–476
In the 1950s, the book market in Europe began recovering from the effects of two world wars. In Britain, C. S. Lewis published the first installment of The Chronicles of Narnia series in 1950, Dodie Smith's The Hundred and One Dalmatians was published in 1956, and Roald Dahl wrote Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in 1964. Children's fantasy literature remained strong in Great Britain through the 1900s. In Wales, the Welsh Joint Education Committee and the Welsh Books Council encouraged the publication of children's books in the Welsh language as well as books in English about Wales.
In 1997, J. K. Rowling published the first book in the The Harry Potter Series in England. Despite its huge success, the children's book market in Britain suffered at the end of the century due to a difficult economy and competition from television and video games.

ted publications, individual researchers and university courses conduct scholarship on children's literature. Scholarship in children's literature is primarily conducted in three different disciplinary fields: literary studies (literature and language departments), library and information science, and education. (Wolf, et al., 2011). Typically, children's literature scholars from literature departments in universities (English, German, Spanish, etc. departments) condu

lti-colored prints) in a children's book was demonstrated in Struwwelpeter, published in Germany in 1845. English illustrator Walter Crane refined its use in children's books in the late 1800s.


Walter Crane's chromolithograph illustration for The Frog Prince, 1874.
Another method of creating illustrations for children's books was etching, used by George Cruikshank in the 1850s. By the 1860s, top artists were illustrating for children, including Crane, Randolph Caldecott, Kate Greenaway, and John Tenniel. Most pictures were still black-and-white, and many color pictures were hand colored, often by children.[1]:224–226 The Essential Guide to Children's Books and Their Creators credits Caldecott with "The concept of extending the meaning of text beyond literal visualization".[20]:350
Twentieth-century artists such as Kay Nielson, Edmund Dulac, and Arthur Rackham produced illustrations that are still reprinted today.[1]:224–227 Developments in printing capabilities were reflected in children's books. After World War II, offset lithography became more refined, and painter-style illustrations, such as Brian Wildsmith's were common by the 1950s.[1]:233
Scholarship[edit]

Professional organizations, dedicated publications, individual researchers and university courses conduct scholarship on children's literature. Scholarship in children's literature is primarily conducted in three different disciplinary fields: literary studies (literature and language departments), library and information science, and education. (Wolf, et al., 2011).
Typically, children's literature scholars from literature departments in universities (English, German, Spanish, etc. departments) conduct literary analysis of books. This literary criticism may focus on an author, a thematic or topical concern, genre, period, or literary device. The results of this type of research are typically published as books or articles in scholarly journals, including Children's Literature Association Quarterly, Children's Literature in Education, Children's Literature, The Lion and the Unicorn, and International Research in Children's Literature.
The field of Library and Information Science has a long history of conducting research related to children's literature.
Most educational researchers studying children's literature explore issues related to the use of children's literature in classroom settings. They may also study topics such as home use, children's out-of-school reading, or parents' use of children's books. Teachers typically use children's literature to augment classroom instruction.
Scholarly associations and centers include The Children's Literature Association, the International Research Society for Children's Literature, the Library Association Youth Libraries Group, the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators the Irish Society for the Study of Children's Literature, IBBY Canada and Centre for International Research in Childhood: Literature, Culture, Media (CIRCL), and the National Centre for Research in Children's Literature.
Awards[edit]

Many noted awards for children's literature exist in various countries:
In Africa, The Golden Baobab Prize runs an annual competition for African writers of Children's stories. It is one of the few African literary awards that recognizes writing for children and young adults. The com[petition is the only pan-African writin