Children's Literature and History

HELP!!! I need some body help! Not just any body! Help! You know I need someone! Won't you PLEASE help me?!!

Okay, so I'm not quite that desperate, but with the stress of finals and the end of the semester, I thought we could all use a good laugh and take solace in the fact that at least we don't have it as bad as these people. In any case, I have a confession and I'm going to be an adult about it and take whatever pains will come with this confession: I'm horribly behind on this paper. Do you ever feel that you're drowning in papers and no matter how hard you try they just keep piling up and you just get less and less sleep and though you try to finish things by an ideal time, it's just not happening? That was me this past week.

So after  my momentous struggle with myself and my papers, I'm finally getting to posting my ideas for this paper. I know it's so last minute, but if any one has any contributions I'd greatly appreciate them! Without further ado, I give you Children's Literature and History!

Children's Literature, an Annotated Bibliography

Some of my favorite children's books.

The greatest difficulty I face in most of these units is figuring out what to write about. I like to keep my writing interesting and the best way for me to do that is to write about what interests me. Last Saturday, I was perusing the of topics we could write our annotated bibliographies about. I came across visual arts and how these were affected by printing. This led me to think about illustrations in books, which led me to thinking about picture books, which led me thinking about children's books, which led me to writing my last post on Monday. The more I have learned about the history of children's literature, the more enamored I become with it. THEREFORE I give you an annotated bibliography about children's literature, its history, criticism, and evaluation of the genre as it affects the printed word.

Literature that Relfects Society

As I anticipate completing the bibliography assignment, I find myself reflecting on the time in my life when weekly visits to the library found me bringing home the likes of these books:

Do you remember library day in elementary school? -- That half hour or 45 minutes set aside each week where you traverse the halls in a single file line with your class as you journey to the library in search of a new book? From third grade up, my personal book selections consisted of chapter books. Yours probably did too. But think back to the time before novels. Think back to the time when going to the library meant finding a new picture book. Think back to the time when Curious George, Green Eggs and Ham, and Alexander and the Horrible, Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Day meant more to you than any other reading you did. For me, this was the time when the printed word meant the most to me. This was when reading was exciting!

The history of children's literature greatly reflects and has been profoundly influenced by the history of the printing press. Spanning folk, oral, written, and print knowledge, children's literature is an ever-changing genre that manifests cultural perceptions of childhood.