LSC 300 L
Literature for Children
Department of Library Science and Instructional Technology
Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven CT

CONTENTS:
Syllabus
Child development
History of children in society
History of children's literature
Reading aloud
Storytelling
Genres of children's books
Children and reading
Deconstructing children's literature
Writing assignments
LSC300L Home

History of Children and Literature

Period: Attitudes/Treatment: Literature:
Anglo-Saxon: 525-1100 CE Not greatly valued; abandonment, killing, slavery; promising sons were educated Oral literature of adults; music, poetry, numbers, history; monks began to write books for educating children
Middle-English: 1100-1500 CE Infanticide still practiced despite strict laws; away at 3 days until 6 or 7; swaddling (Locke 1693), opium, liquor; hardening Upper-class French/educated Latin, lower-class English; reading Scriptures
Renaissance: 1500-1650 CE Infanticide still practiced; considered miniature but troublesome men and women; no concept of development horn-books, reading-boards, primers for lessons
Restoration: 1650-1800 Swaddling died out by end of 18th C; America: mothers cared for own children; survival raised to 50%; life less severe New England Primer published for children; chapbooks, nursery rhymes; fairy tales and fantasies discouraged
19th Century: 1800-1900 1860--changes in treatment of children; having enthusiasms and emotions; 1840--change to women schoolmarms: Given fantasy, history, adventure, biography, poetry, romances, periodicals; books on child rearing
20th Century: 1900-2000 Childhood recognized as a stage of development; emphasis on adolescence; no longer asset, family size decreased Materials based on child interests aid discipline in wake of new "softening;" no longer learning by frightening

NOTES

Anglo-Saxon (525-1100):

Imagine you labored hard from sun-up to sun-down. The entire tribe slept around a fire. In order to have the strength to survive the hardships of tomorrow, you had to sleep well tonight. Now imagine a new born lay screaming among the tribe. Nothing soothes the cries. Either the baby goes or the whole tribe could come to peril the next day due to a lack of sleep. Life if hard and sometimes there seem to be no good choices. Babies that survived to older childhood could be cherished. Parents could not emotionally afford to become attached to newborns -- for the newborn may prove to be a bother to the tribe and have to be abandoned or killed.

Middle-English (1100-1500):

Swaddling is wrapping cloths around a child so tightly it cannot move and may have difficulty breathing. These were superstitious times. People believed babies, if their hands were left free, might accidently pull off their nose. It was believed if babies were let to crawl they would turn into animals. Infants were given opium and liquor to keep them quiet. Hardening was a process of putting a newborn into cold water or snow. The hardy survived; others didn't.

Renaissance (1500-1650):

As a point of reference: "Romeo and Juliet" is set in the Renaissance.

Restoration (1650-1800):

19th Century (1801 - 1900):

20th Century (1901 - 2000):

 

 

           

                       

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