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This is a list of classic children's books published no later than 2008 and still available in the English language.

Books specifically for children existed by the 17th century. Before that, books were written mainly for adults – although some later became popular with children. In Europe, Gutenberg's invention of the printing press around 1440 made possible mass production of books, though the first printed books were quite expensive and remained so for a long time. Gradually, however, improvements in printing technology lowered the costs of publishing and made books more affordable to the working classes, who were also likely to buy smaller and cheaper broadsides, chapbooks, pamphlets, tracts, and early newspapers, all of which were widely available before 1800. In the 19th century, improvements in paper production, as well as the invention of cast-iron, steam-powered printing presses, enabled book publishing on a very large scale, and made books of all kinds affordable by all.

Scholarship on children's literature includes professional organizations, dedicated publications, and university courses.

Before 18th century

18th century

19th century

20th century

21st century

See also

• List of children's literature authors
• List of fairy tales

References

1. ^ Nesbit, Eva Marie. "Classic novels". Cullinan & Person 2003. pp. 171–175.
2. ^ Silvey 1995, pp. xi–xvi
3. ^ Hunt 2001, p. xvi–xxii
4. Vijay Bedekar (27 December 2008). "Seminar on 'Suhbashita, Panchatantra & Gnomic Literature in Ancient & Medieval India'". Institute for Oriental Study, Thane. Retrieved 24 July 2012.
5. Silvey 1995, p. 3
6. Aesop, The Complete Fables. Translated by Olivia Temple and Robert K. G. Temple. New York: Penguin Classics. 1998. ISBN 0-14-044649-4.
7. Silvey 1995, p. 25,86
8. Lyons (2008). Three tales from the Arabian nights. translated by Malcolm C. Lyons, Robert Irwin, and Ursula Lyons ; with an introduction by Robert Irwin. London: Penguin. ISBN 978-1-84614-158-4.
9. Epstein, Connie C. (1991). The Art of Writing for Children. Archon Books. p. 2. ISBN 0-208-02297-X.
10. Comenius, John Amos (1999). Orbis Pictus : ( ed.). Kessinger. ISBN 978-0-7661-0825-7.
11. Janeway, James (1994). A token for children : being an exact account of the conversion, holy and exemplary lives and joyful deaths of several young children in two parts. To which is added, A token for the children of New England / by Cotton Mather. Pittsburgh, PA: Soli Deo Gloria Publications. ISBN 978-1-877611-76-6.
12. Defoe, Daniel (2001). Robinson Crusoe (Modern Library paperback ed.). New York: The Modern Library. ISBN 978-0-375-75732-7.
13. Swift, Jonathan (2002). Rivero, Albert J. (ed.). Gulliver's travels. Based on the 1726 text : contexts, criticism (1st ed.). New York: Norton. ISBN 978-0-393-95724-2.
14. Cook, Daniel (28 November 2017). "Gulliver's Travels Wasn't Meant to Be a Children's Book And More Things You Didn't Know About the Literary Classic". The Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
15. Perrault, Charles (1963). The complete fairy tales of Charles Perrault. Illustrated by Sally Holmes ; newly translated by Neil Philip and Nicoletta Simborowski ; with an introduction and notes on the story by Neil Philip. New York: Clarion Books. ISBN 978-0-395-57002-9.
16. Newbery, John, ed. (2009). A Little pretty pocket-book. Dodo Press. ISBN 978-1-4099-4974-9.
17. Welsh, Charles (2010). Goody Two Shoes (reprint ed.). Kessinger Publishing. ISBN 978-1-162-75622-6.
18. Pickering, Samuel F., Jr. John Locke and Children's Books in Eighteenth-Century England. Knoxville: The University of Tennessee Press, 1981. ISBN 0-87049-290-X.
19. Darton, F. J. Harvey. Children's Books in England: Five Centuries of Social Life. 3rd ed. Rev. Brian Alderson. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (1982), 146.
20. Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (2006). Owens, Lily (ed.). The complete Brothers Grimm fairy tales (Deluxe ed.). New York: Gramercy Books. ISBN 978-0-517-22925-5.
21. "Little Prudy". Library of Congress. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
22. Secret Gardens: A Study of the Golden Age of Children's Literature by Humphrey Carpenter, 1985, Part II, Chapter 1: "It seemed to open the door to a new way of writing for, and about, children"
23. ^ Baskin, Barbara H.; Harris, Karen. "Classics". Silvey 1995, pp. 140–142.
24. Hunt 2001, p. 36
25. Journal of American Folklore, Vol.34, p. 143; by J. Alden Mason & Aurelio M. Espinosa, ed.; 1921 Retrieved 2013-05-31.
26. Hunt 2001, p. 361
27. Hunt 2001, pp. 569–570
28. Hunt 2001, pp. 406–407
29. Hunt 2001, p. 97
30. Silvey 1995, p. 350
31. Introducing Children's Literature: From Romanticism to Postmodernism by Deborah Cogan Thacker, Routledge, 2002, page 123
32. 100 Best Books for Children by Anita Silvey, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2004, page 131
33. "Doris Buchanan Smith". St. James Guide to Young Adult Writers. Gale Biography In Contex. Retrieved 29 April 2011.
34. Trelease, Jim (2006). The Read-Aloud Handbook. New York: Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated. p. 236. ISBN 978-0-14-303739-2.

Further reading

• Kay E. Vandergrift. "Traditional Classics in Children's Literature". Rutgers University. Retrieved 2 December 2011.
• Baker, Franklin Thomas; Abbot, Allan (2008) . A bibliography of children's reading (digitized ed.). Teachers College.
• Cullinan, Bernice E.; Person, Diane G., eds. (2003). The Continuum encyclopedia of children's literature (Reprinted ed.). New York, NY: Continuum. ISBN 978-0-8264-1516-5.
• Hunt, Peter (2001). Children's literature (1st ed.). Oxford: Blackwell. ISBN 978-0-631-21141-9.
• Hunt, Peter, ed. (1996). International companion encyclopedia of children's literature. London: Routledge. ISBN 9780203168127.
• Lundin, Anne (2004). Constructing the canon of children's literature : beyond library walls and ivory towers. New York: Routledge. ISBN 0-8153-3841-4. A scholarly examination of canons of children's literature.
• Silvey, Anita, ed. (1995). Children's books and their creators. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 978-0-395-65380-7. Includes a basic reading list on pp. xi–xvi.
• Spitz, Ellen Handler (2000). Inside picture books. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300084764.
• Thwaite, Mary F. (1972). From primer to pleasure in reading : an introduction to the history of children's books in England from the invention of printing to 1914 with an outline of some developments in other countries (1st American ed.). Boston: The Horn book. ISBN 978-0-87675-275-3.
• Zipes, Jack, ed. (2006). The Oxford encyclopedia of children's literature. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press. ISBN 0195146565.

• Lists of children's books