Narrative

Lessons for Little Learners

2. It is difficult to define ‘children’s literature.’ Obviously, some literature was written for children. The Beauties of History (London: Kearsley, 1811) by L.M. Ketch, for example, was ‘Designed for the Instruction and Entertainment of Youth.’ Such designations were not uncommon. But children also read much that was intended for adults, and adults likely read literature for children. At the back of The Beauties of History, for instance, there is an advertisement for books consisting of extracts from classical authors for the instruction of youth, which makes it a book that might just as easily end up in the hands of a mother or father.