Wednesday, January 26, 2011

History of Children's Books

A Little Pretty Pocketbook

Goody Two-Shoes







Jack the Giant-Killer

Newbery slogan; "Trade and Plumb-Cake Forever" (Darton, p. 5)

Fables (p. 6)

Romance (p. 6); King Arthur, Jack the Giant-Killer,

Conduct, etiquette (p. 6)

Fairy tale (p. 6); Cinderella,

The Pilgrim's Progress
Gulliver's Travels
Robinson Crusoe
Arabian Nights


From Be Merry and Wise: Origins of children's book publishing in England, 1650-1850
By Alderson, B. & de Marez Oyens, F.


The Gigantick History

Curiosities in the Tower of London

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

The history of childhood

Pantalettes: Liberation and moral panic (Early 1800s)
 Bloomers: awkwardly liberating


        
Fauntleroy suits

Boy with pony whip (see Calvert, p. 112)
Girl with tea set, early 1900s
Boy on tricycle, late 1800s

Girl on velocipede

Child with a hoop
Mumblety Peg: looks innocent enough...




Thomas Cole: The Voyage of Life, 1840

"Parents savored a new nostalgia for their own lost childhood in the perceived innocence, simplicity, and happiness of their children's lives.  In fact, a feeling of loss pervaded America in the nineteenth century, both in the sense of personal loss of one's own happier past and in the collective loss of the nation's youth, when life seemed simpler and more heroic" (Calvert, p. 106).


1/19/11 Today Show interview with Kelly Preston about the birth of her new baby boy Benjamin: "He's so innocent and just so sweet... He's peaceful and gentle and very present."  She also went on to explain that she planned a "silent birth" based on the teachings of L. Ron Hubbard in order to make the delivery as "peaceful and gentle" as possible.