Many of us keep a fond memory of childhood times when our parents and grandparents used to read to us the most amazing stories with special characters that made us enter new worlds of fiction and learn new lessons every day.
This is what makes the place of children in literature so valuable and a resource of education that should always be properly valued. Just the nostalgia of reading a book in which childish characters rediscover the joy of living and entering new worlds is sufficient reason for us to try and discover the history of the rise of children's literature in the 18th century.
Children's Literature: An Important Part of the Publishing Industry
By the end of the above-mentioned century, children's literature with its specific features had managed to become an important, flourishing part of the publishing industry in Great Britain and other places around the world. Numerous books meant to attract the attention of children and parents were published every year and new authors made their entrance in the industry.
All of them wanted to discover new ways of engaging young readers in their work and tried to bring the mystery factor on the map. From standard educational books to fiction work meant to attract the attention of young readers in a pleasant way, every step forward meant a lot in the process of gaining more popularity.
If we were to read some of the books published back then right now, we may think that some of them are no longer in trend or have nothing new to offer us. Others, however, were so well written back then that have become valuable resources for children for a lifetime. Even as adults, we have something to learn from the best ones in which the talent of famous authors was perfectly portrayed through the written word.
The Road to Success in the Industry of Children Literature
At the beginning of the 18th century, there were few highly popular books that were part of the children literature industry. However, by the end of this century, the highest rise in terms of popularity and reader interest was established for this category. New ways of creating popular fables were discovered back then as well as the perfect way of engaging young readers in fairy tales that they always kept close to their hearts from that moment on.
The most important role, in this case, was played by open-minded parents who were more than interested in revealing this fiction world to their children. Apart from their education purposes, the idea of helping children relax and relieve any form of stress that might appear at early ages led parents to read more to their children and discovering the wonderful world of books together.
Pamphlet Tales, Ballads, and Short Stories
The 18th century also represented the period of time in which new genres were discovered and more daring writers began their journey in the children literature. Amazing pamphlet tales were discovered back then by parents with a passion for good books interested in sharing this magic with their children.
Gorgeous ballads, as well as popular short stories, began their journey in the literature land of amazing discoveries. Children and adults enjoyed reading these books at the same time. The best ones became popular recommendations and the perfect way of spending time together in the family with the purpose of re-establishing the powerful value of quality family time spent together through a simple, good book to read. The earliest books for children focused mainly on intuitive illustrations meant to entertain and instruct young children at the same time. A wide range of works and new genres became popular back then and set the tone of future works that made new authors famous around the world.
Easy-to-read stories were preferred at the beginning of the century but later on, parents became curious to discover new things and better books to read with their children. This is how the literature created for this specific age range began to achieve more and more popularity and is now the real trend that amazes us all. Nowadays we all love to read both classic and modern fairy tales, fables as well as other written materials that are considered good books to read at an early age.