University of Strathclyde

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Eighteenth Century Children's Books

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The Arabian Nights (first translated in 1706): available in many modern editions, including two strikingly different selections: Tales from the Thousand and One Nights, translated by N.J. Dawood (Penguin, 1973), and Tales from the Arabian Nights, edited by Andrew Lang (Wordsworth Classics, 1993). Various editions in Main and Jordanhill libraries.

Isaac Watts, Divine Songs, Attempted in Easie Language for the Use of Children (first published in 1715): 'the most famous Puritan classic of all' which 'became a part of English-speaking childhood for nearly two centuries' (Children's Literature, pp.27-8). Main Library.

Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe (1719); not a children’s book, but read by and adapted for children throughout eighteenth century and since; inspired many imitations and established some of the paradigms of the adventure story genre. Several editions in Main Library.

Jonathan Swift, Gulliver’s Travels (1726); another book for adults that was read by and adapted for children (first abridged for children in 1727). Several editions in Main Library.

Charles Perrault, Histoires ou contes du temps passé (Paris, 1697) ('Stories, or Tales from Times Past, with Morals: Tales of Mother Goose'); contained retellings of traditional tales, such as 'Sleeping Beauty', 'Puss in Boots', 'Little Tom Thumb', 'Cinderella', 'Little Red Riding Hood, and 'Blue Beard'; translated as Histories, or Tales of Past Times, Told by Mother Goose (1729), and then published in popular versions for children by John Newbery. A number of editions in Jordanhill Library.

John Newbery, A Little Pretty Pocket Book (1744). A book influenced by John Locke (and presumably Sir Philip Sidney) that attempted to both instruct and delight its young readers. Kinnell calls it 'one of the best loved of the early children’s books' (Children's Literature, p.36); Newbery was an influential writer and publisher of children's books in the eighteenth century, making children's books 'part of the mainstream of literary output for the first time in publishing history' (p.37). His contribution is acknowledged in the annual Newbery Medal for children's literature (see the Newbery Medal Home Page). One copy in Main Library, one in Jordanhill Library.

Chapbooks continued to be produced throughout the eighteenth century ('Little Red Riding Hood', 'Jack and the Beanstalk', etc). They included 'the traditional folk- and fairy-tales, ballads, collections of jests and riddles, and prophecies to children, and ensured their survival into the next generation of children's books'; they also included adapted versions of books originally intended for adults, such as Robinson Crusoe (Children's Literature, p.43).

'Nursery Rhymes' are part of the oral tradition, but appeared in printed editions at least since the eighteenth century onwards; the best modern edition, containing some illustrations from the chapbooks, is Iona and Peter Opie, eds, The Oxford Nursery Rhyme Book (OUP, 1955). Jordanhill Library.

Sarah Fielding, The Governess; or, The Little Female Academy (1749), in which 'children were for the first time offered realistic characters placed in a recognisable setting, children with whom readers could identify' (Children's Literature, p.34). The best modern edition is Sarah Fielding, The Governess or, The Little Female Academy, edited by Candace Ward (Broadview, 2005).

(Oliver Goldsmith? John Newbery?), The History of Little Goody Two-Shoes (Newbery, 1765): 'the most famous of all the early children’s books describing village education' (Children's Literature, p.31). Not currently available, and not in Library.

Christopher Smart, Hymns for the Amusement of Children (Newbery, c.1770). Not in Library.

For further information about the Children's Literature class, please contact Dr Tom Furniss at t.furniss@strath.ac.uk

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