Basic Characteristics

There is some debate as to what constitutes children's literature. Some would have it that children's literature is literature written specially for children, though many books that were originally intended for adults are now commonly thought of as works for children, for example Mark Twain's The Prince and the Pauper, or Huckleberry Finn. The opposite has also been known to occur, where works of fiction originally written or marketed for children are given recognition as adult books. Witness that in recent years, the prestigious Whitbread Awards were twice given to books marketed as children's books: Philip Pullman's The Amber Spyglass, and Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. The Nobel prize for literature has also been given to authors who made great contributions to children's literature, such as Selma Lagerlöf and Isaac Bashevis Singer. Often it is hard to reach consensus on the question of whether a certain book is a children's book or not, for example, The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien. Literature is literally an acquaintance with letters as in the first sense given in the Oxford English Dictionary (from the Latin littera meaning an individual written character (letter)). The term has, however, generally come to identify a collection of texts. ... Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 - April 21, 1910), better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was a famous and popular American humorist, writer and lecturer. ... The Prince and the Pauper is a 1882 book by Mark Twain that represents his first attempt at historical fiction. ... Huckleberry Finn is the protagonist of Mark Twains famous book, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. ... The Three Graces, here in a painting by Sandro Botticelli, were the goddesses of charm, beauty, nature, human creativity and fertility in Greek mythology. ... The Whitbread Book Awards are among the United Kingdoms most prestigious literary awards. ... Philip Pullman Philip Pullman, (born October 19, 1946) is an English writer, educated at Exeter College, Oxford, who is the bestselling author of the His Dark Materials trilogy of fantasy novels and a number of other books, purportedly for children, but attracting increasing attention by adult readers. ... The Amber Spyglass is the final book of the His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman, published in 2000. ... Mark Haddon is a novelist, who was educated at Uppingham School and Merton College, Oxford. ... The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time (ISBN 0099450259) is a novel by Mark Haddon. ... The Nobel Prizes (pronounced no-BELL or no-bell) are awarded annually to people who have done outstanding research, invented groundbreaking techniques or equipment, or made outstanding contributions to society. ... Isaac Bashevis Singer (born in 1904 in Leoncin, Poland, then part of the Russian Empire, and died on July 24, 1991 in Miami, Florida). ... The Hobbit is a fantasy novel written by J.R.R. Tolkien originally as a childrens story in the tradition of the fairy tale. ... J. R. R. Tolkien in 1916. ...

Additionally, there is some debate as to whether or not non-fiction is literature (and a separate debate over whether non-fiction should be called non-fiction or informational). While the ALSC has an award specifically for non-fiction, the Sibert Medal, non-fiction books have also very occasionally won the Newbery Medal, the premier children's book award in the United States (notably, Russell Freedman's 1988 Lincoln: A Photobiography). The John Newbery Medal is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children of the American Library Association (ALA) to the author of the most outstanding American book for children. ...

Many authors specialize in books for children. Other authors are more known for their writing for adults, but have also written books for children, such as Alexey Tolstoy's The Adventures of Burratino. In some cases, books intended for adults, such as Swift's Gulliver's Travels have been edited (or bowdlerized) somewhat, to make them more appropriate for children. Jonathan Swift Jonathan Swift (November 30, 1667 - October 19, 1745) was an Anglo-Irish writer and satirist. ... Thomas Bowdler (July 11, 1754 – February 24, 1825), an English physician, has become (in)famous as the editor of a childrens edition of William Shakespeare, the Family Shakespeare, in which he endeavoured to remove every thing that could give just offence to the religious and virtuous mind. ...

An attempt to identify the characteristics shared by works called 'children's literature' leads to some good general guidelines. No one rule is perfect, however, and for every identifying feature there are many exceptions, as well as many adult books which share the characteristic.

Publishers have attempted to further break down children's literature into subdivisions appropriate for different ages. In the United States, current practice within the field of children's books publishing is to break children's literature into pre-readers, early readers, chapter books, and young adults. This is roughly equivalent to the age groups 0-5, 5-7, 7-11 (sometimes broken down further into 7-9 and pre-teens), and books for teenagers. However, the criteria for these divisions are just as vague and problematic as the criteria for defining children's books as a whole. One obvious distinction is that books for younger children tend to contain illustrations, but Picture books which feature art as an integral part of the overall work also cross all genres and age levels. As a general rule the implied reader of a children's or young adult book is 1-3 years younger than the protagonist. (counter example: Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game, not necessarily written for children, but co-opted by a child and young adult audience) To Kill A Mockingbird is a 1960 novel by Harper Lee, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1961. ... Harper Lee (born April 28, 1926) is an American novelist, who has published only one novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. ... The protagonist is the central figure of a story, and is often referred to as a storys main character. ... John Burdon Sanderson Haldane (November 5, 1892 - December 1, 1964), who normally used J.B.S. as a first name, was a geneticist born in Scotland and educated at Eton and Oxford University. ... Cormac McCarthy (born July 20, 1933, Rhode Island) is a highly acclaimed American novelist. ... Young adult (YA) literature, while only recognized as a legitimate genre for a relatively short time, is a collection of books that can range from science fiction to autobiography. ... ... Kazuo Ishiguro (born November 8, 1954) is a Japanese-born British author. ... Genre fiction is a term for writings by multiple authors that are very similar in theme and style, especially where these similarities are deliberately pursued by the authors. ... Cover of the International edition Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is a 2003 book, the fifth book in the Harry Potter series of childrens books by J. K. Rowling. ... Joanne Rowling OBE (born July 31, 1965 in Chipping Sodbury, South Gloucestershire), commonly known as J.K. Rowling (pronunciation: roll-ing; her former students used to joke with her name calling her the Rolling Stone), is a British fiction writer. ... Michael Chabon (born 1963) is an American author who grew up in Columbia, Maryland. ... This article needs cleanup. ... Richard Bach (born 23 June 1936) is an American writer. ... Photograph of Anne Fine Anne Fine (born December 7, British author best known for her childrens books, of which she has written more than 50. ... Maus is a German word for Mouse. Maus is a series of Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novels by Art Spiegelman. ... Art Spiegelman (born February 15, 1948) is an American comics artist. ... Skellig is a childrens book by David Almond, for which Almond was given the Carnegie medal in 1998. ... The Woman Warrior was written by Maxine Hong Kingston in 1975. ... Maxine Hong Kingston (湯婷婷) (born October 27, 1940) is a Chinese American writer. ... John Ernst Steinbeck (February 27, 1902 - December 20, 1968) was one of the most famous American novelists of the 20th century. ... Original film poster for Jurassic Park Jurassic Park is a book written by Michael Crichton and published in 1990, which was later turned into a movie directed by Steven Spielberg. ... Dr. John Michael Crichton (born October 23, 1942) is an author and producer. ... Patricia Neal and Roald Dahl, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1954 Roald Dahl (September 13, 1916–November 23, 1990) was a British novelist and short story author of Norwegian descent, famous both as a writer of childrens fiction as well as adult and horror fiction. ... Fantastic Mr Fox is a childrens book written by Roald Dahl, and illustrated by Tony Ross. ... James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (February 2, 1882 – January 13, 1941) was an expatriate Irish writer and poet, and is widely considered one of the most significant writers of the 20th century. ... A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is a semi-autobiographical coming-of-age story by James Joyce, published in 1916. ... Education encompasses teaching and learning specific skills, and also something less tangible but more profound: the imparting of knowledge, good judgement and wisdom. ... For other definitions of fantasy see fantasy (psychology). ... Look up Adventure in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Adventure (from Latin res adventura, a thing about to happen), chance, and especially chance of danger; so a hazardous enterprise or remarkable incident. ... Encyclopedia Brown is a fictional boy detective, the main character in a long series of childrens books written by Donald J. Sobol. ... The Fountainhead is a 1943 novel by Ayn Rand (ISBN 0452283760). ... This article needs copyediting (checking for proper English spelling, grammar, usage, etc. ... DVD cover for the 1945 film version showing Hurd Hatfield (centre) as Gray, Donna Reed (left) as Gladys Hallward, Angela Lansbury (right) as Sibyl Vane and George Sanders (background) as Lord Henry Wotton The Picture of Dorian Gray is a novel by Oscar Wilde first published in 1890. ... Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal OFlahertie Wills Wilde ( October 16, 1854 – November 30, 1900) was an Anglo-Irish playwright, novelist, poet, and short story writer. ... Katherine Paterson is an award-winning American author of books for children. ... Bridge to Terabithia is a book of childrens fiction written by Katherine Paterson. ... A young adult is an informal term used to describe the transition from teenager to adult. ... A picture book is a popular form of illustrated literature—more precisely, a book with pictures in it—popularized in the 20th century Western world. ... Orson Scott Card (born August 24, 1951) is a prolific and best-selling author of numerous genres. ... The cover art of Enders Game depicts the Battle School space station. ...

History

Because of the difficulty in defining children's literature, it is also difficult to trace the history of children's literature to a precise starting point. In 1658 Jan Ámos Komenský published the illustrated informational book Orbis Pictus; it's considered to be the first picture book published specifically for children. John Newbery's 1744 publication of A Little Pretty Pocket-Book, sold with a ball for boys or a pincushion for girls, is considered a landmark for the beginning of pleasure reading marketed specifically to children. Previous to Newbery, literature marketed for children was intended to instruct the young, though there was a rich oral tradition of storytelling for children and adults; and many tales later considered to be inappropriate for children, such as the fairy tales of Charles Perrault, may have been considered family fare. Additionally, some literature not written with children in mind was given to children by adults. Among the earliest examples found in English of this co-opted adult fiction are Thomas Malory's Morte d'Arthur and the Robin Hood tales. Comenius on a Czechoslovak 20 koruna banknote Jan Amos Komenský (Latinized Comenius) (March 28, 1592 - November 15, 1670) was a Czech teacher, educator and writer, known as teacher of nations. ... Orbis Pictus, or Orbis Sensualium Pictus (The Visible World in Pictures) is a textbook for children by a Czech educator Jan Ámos Komenský. It is a kind of a childrens encyclopaedia and considered to be the first picture book intended for children. ... John Newbery (1713 - 22 December 1767) was an English publisher of books who specialized in childrens literature. ... Charles Perrault, 1665 Charles Perrault (January 12, 1628 _ May 16, 1703) was a French author. ... Sir Thomas Malory (c. ... Robin Hood is the archetypal English folk hero, an outlaw who, in modern versions of the legend, stole from the rich to give to the poor. ...

Series

The success of a book for children often prompts the author to continue the story in a sequel, or even to launch into an entire series of books. Some works are originally conceived as series: J. K. Rowling has always stated in interviews that her original plan was to write no fewer than seven books about Harry Potter, and some authors, such as the prolific Enid Blyton and R. L. Stine, seem incapable of writing a stand-alone book. In several cases, series have outlived their authors, whether publishers openly hired new authors to continue after the death of the original creator of the series (such was the case when Reilly and Lee hired Ruth Plumly Thompson to continue The Oz series after L. Frank Baum's death), or whether the pen name of the original author was retained as a brand-name-de-plum for the series (as with Franklin W. Dixon and the Hardy Boys series, Carolyn Keene and the Nancy Drew series, and V. C. Andrews and the Flowers in the Attic series). Joanne Rowling OBE (born July 31, 1965 in Chipping Sodbury, South Gloucestershire), commonly known as J.K. Rowling (pronunciation: roll-ing; her former students used to joke with her name calling her the Rolling Stone), is a British fiction writer. ... Harry James Potter (born July 31, 1980)[1] the only son of James Potter and Lily Potter; is a fictional character and the protagonist of a series of fantasy novels by J. K. Rowling. ... Enid Blyton (August 11, 1897 - November 28, 1968) was a British childrens author. ... Robert Lawrence Stine (born October 8, 1943), better known as R. L. Stine, is an American writer. ... Ruth Plumly Thompson (1891-1976) was an American writer of childrens stories. ... A series of books, starting with The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, dealing with the history of the Land of Oz. ... Lyman Frank Baum (May 15, 1856 - May 6, 1919) was an American author and the creator of one of the most beloved classics of childrens literature, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. ... Franklin W. Dixon is the pen name used by a variety of different authors who wrote the Hardy Boys novels for the Stratemeyer Syndicate. ... The Hardy Boys are the heroes of a popular series of detective books for boys. ... Carolyn Keene is the pen name of the authors of the Nancy Drew mystery series, published by the Stratemeyer Syndicate. ... Nancy Drew is the heroine of a popular mystery series for girls. ... Cleo Virginia Andrews (6 June 1923 – 19 December 1986), better known as or is an American author. ...

Awards

Some noted awards for children's literature are: An award is something given to a person or group of people to recognize excellence in a certain field. ...

• United States: the major awards are given by the American Library Association Association for Library Service to Children. They include the Newbery Medal for writing, Caldecott Medal for illustration, Sibert Medal for informational, Wilder Medal for impact over time, Batchelder Award for works in translation, Coretta Scott King Award for work by an African-American writer, and the Belpre Medal for work by a Latino writer.
• United Kingdoms and Commonwealth: the Carnegie Medal for writing and the Kate Greenaway Medal for illustration; the Nestle Smarties Book Prize; and the Guardian Award.
• Internationally: the Hans Christian Andersen Award

The American Library Association represents librarians in the United States. ... The John Newbery Medal is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children of the American Library Association (ALA) to the author of the most outstanding American book for children. ... The Caldecott Medal is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children published that year. ... The Carnegie Medal in Literature was established in the UK in 1936 in honour of Andrew Carnegie. ... The Kate Greenaway Medal was established in the UK in 1955 in honour of the childrens illustrator, Kate Greenaway. ... The Nestlé Smarties Book Prize is an annual award given to childrens books written in the previous year by a UK citizen or resident. ... The Guardian Childrens Fiction Prize or Guardian Award is a prominent award for works of childrens literature by British or Commonwealth authors, published in the UK during the preceding year. ... The Hans Christian Andersen Award, sometimes known as the Little Nobel Prize, is an international award given bianually by the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) in recognition of a lasting contribution to childrens literature. There are two categories of award winners: authors, and illustrators. ...

Famous Works of Children's Fiction

• Fairy tale collections are one of the earliest forms of published fiction that have never lost their charm for children, though several of the classic tales are gruesome and were not originally collected for children. Famous collectors and retellers of Fairy Tales include Charles Perrault, the brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen and Andrew Lang.

• Struwwelpeter (1845) by Heinrich Hoffman (published in English as Slovenly Peter).

• Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1864) by Lewis Carroll (the pen name of Oxford mathematician Charles Dodgson), a novel about a little girl who follows a white rabbit into a land where logical puzzles come to life, gained worldwide popularity in the Victorian era and is considered a seminal work of children's literature. It was succeeded by Through the Looking-Glass.

• Little Women (1868) by Louisa May Alcott.

• Max and Moritz (1865) by Wilhelm Busch.

• Pinocchio (1880) by Carlo Collodi.

• The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900) by L. Frank Baum, later expanded into a series of books which were tremendously popular in America during the first half of the twentieth century.

• Just So Stories for Little Children (1902), by Rudyard Kipling, fantastical accounts of the origins of natural phenomena.

• The Railway Children (1906), by E. Nesbit

• Anne of Green Gables (1908) by L. M. Montgomery.

• Peter and Wendy (1911) by J. M. Barrie (better known as Peter Pan)

• The Story of Doctor Dolittle (1920) by Hugh Lofting, and sequels.

• Winnie-the-Pooh (1928) by A. A. Milne.

• Mary Poppins (1934) by Pamela Travers, and sequels.

• Five on a Treasure Island (1942) by Enid Blyton, and sequels

• Pippi Longstocking (1944) by Astrid Lindgren.

• Goodnight Moon (1947) by Margaret Wise Brown

• The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (1950) by C. S. Lewis, and sequels.

• Charlotte's Web (1952) by E. B. White, about a spider who befriends a pig and saves him from being slaughtered.

• The Cat in the Hat (1957) by Dr. Seuss

• The Weirdstone of Brisingamen (1960) by Alan Garner

• Where the Wild Things Are (1964) by Maurice Sendak

• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964) by Roald Dahl, a novel about a young boy who receives a once-in-a-lifetime chance to visit the near-magical Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory. It was succeeded by Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator. Other children's books by Roald Dahl include James and the Giant Peach, Fantastic Mr Fox, and The Witches (winner of the 1983 Whitbread Award) and Matilda.

• A Wizard of Earthsea (1968) by Ursula K. Le Guin, and sequels.

• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (1997) by J. K. Rowling, and sequels.

A fairy tale is a story, either told to children or as if told to children, concerning the adventures of mythical characters such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, giants, and others. ... Charles Perrault, 1665 Charles Perrault (January 12, 1628 _ May 16, 1703) was a French author. ... Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm The Brothers Grimm (Brüder Grimm) are Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm. ... Hans Christian Andersen, (April 2, 1805 - August 4, 1875) was a Danish author and poet famous for his fairy tales. ... Andrew Lang (March 31, 1844 - July 20, 1912) was a prolific Scots poet, novelist, and literary critic but is best known as the collector of folk and fairy tales. ... Struwwelpeter is a popular German childrens book by Heinrich Hoffmann. ... 1845 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... John Tenniels illustration for A Mad Tea-Party, 1865 Alices Adventures in Wonderland is a work of childrens literature by the British mathematician and author Reverend Charles Lutwidge Dodgson under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll. ... Events January - March January 21 - Maori Wars: The Tauranga Campaign starts. ... Photograph of Lewis Carroll taken by himself, with assistance Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (January 27, 1832 – January 14, 1898), better known by the pen name Lewis Carroll, was a British author, mathematician, Anglican clergyman, logician, and amateur photographer. ... This article is about the city of Oxford in England. ... A mathematician is a person whose area of study and research is mathematics. ... Photograph of Lewis Carroll taken by himself, with assistance Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (January 27, 1832 – January 14, 1898), better known by the pen name Lewis Carroll, was a British author, mathematician, Anglican clergyman, logician, and amateur photographer. ... Queen Victoria (shown here on the morning of her Accession to the Throne, June 20, 1837) gave her name to the historic era. ... Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There (1871) is a work of childrens literature by Lewis Carroll (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson), and is the sequel to Alices Adventures in Wonderland. ... Little Women is an 1868 autobiographical novel by Louisa May Alcott, concerning the lives and loves of four sisters (from oldest to youngest: Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy) growing up during the American Civil War. ... 1868 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Louisa May Alcott Louisa May Alcott (November 29, 1832 - March 6, 1888) was an American novelist, best known for the novel Little Women (1868). ... Max and Moritz (A Story of Seven Boyish Pranks) was a German language comic strip and may have been the first such strip ever. ... 1865 is a common year starting on Sunday. ... Works (with the year of publication) 1864 Bilderpossen 1865 Max and Moritz 1866 Schnaken und Schnurren 1867 Hans Huckebein der Unglücksrabe 1868 Schnaken und Schnurren, part II 1869 Schnurrdiburr oder die Bienen Braun 1870 Der heilige Antonius von Padua 1872 Schnaken und Schnurren, part III 1872 Die fromme Helene... Pinocchio is a work by Carlo Collodi published in 1880 in Italy. ... 1880 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Carlo Lorenzini (November 24, 1826 _ October 26, 1890), better known as Carlo Collodi, or simply Collodi, was an Italian writer and journalist. ... The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a childrens story written by L. Frank Baum, illustrated by W.W. Denslow, and first published in 1900. ... 1900 is a common year starting on Monday. ... Lyman Frank Baum (May 15, 1856 - May 6, 1919) was an American author and the creator of one of the most beloved classics of childrens literature, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. ... The Just So Stories for Little Children were written by British author Rudyard Kipling. ... Events January-April January 28 - The Carnegie Institution is founded in Washington, DC with a $10 million gift from Andrew Carnegie. ... Rudyard Kipling, British author Joseph Rudyard Kipling (December 30, 1865 – January 18, 1936) was a British author and poet, born in India. ... The Railway Children is a childrens book by Edith Nesbit. ... Edith Nesbit (August 15, 1858 - May 4, 1924) was a British childrens author whose works were published under the asexual name of E. Nesbit. ... Anne of Green Gables boxed set Anne of Green Gables, a childrens book by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery, was first published in 1908. ... Lucy Maud Montgomery (November 30, 1874 - April 24, 1942) was a Canadian author, best known for a series of novels beginning with Anne of Green Gables. ... Sir James Matthew Barrie, Baronet, Scottish author Sir James Matthew Barrie, Baronet (May 9, 1860 - June 19, 1937), more commonly known as J. M. Barrie, was a Scottish novelist and dramatist. ... Peter Pan is a fictional character created by J. M. Barrie, and the name of a stage play, a childrens book, and various adaptations of them. ... Hugh John Lofting (Maidenhead, Berkshire, England January 14, 1886 - Topanga, California September 26, 1947) was a British author, trained as a civil engineer, who created the character of Doctor Dolittle - one of the classics of childrens literature. ... The Disney incarnation of Winnie the Pooh Winnie-the-Pooh is a fictional bear created by A. A. Milne. ... Alan Alexander Milne (January 18, 1882 _ January 31, 1956), also known as A. A. Milne, is an English author best known for his books about the talking stuffed bear; Winnie the Pooh and for various childrens poems, some of which also feature Winnie-the-Pooh and friends. ... Mary Poppins (right, behind) as portrayed in the most famous adaptation of the character. ... ... Enid Blyton (August 11, 1897 - November 28, 1968) was a British childrens author. ... Pippi Longstocking (Swedish Pippi Långstrump) is a fictional character in a series of childrens books created by author Astrid Lindgren. ... Astrid Lindgren (November 14, 1907 _ January 28, 2002) was a Swedish childrens book author, whose many titles were translated into over 70 languages and published in more than 100 countries. ... Goodnight Moon is a childrens book written by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Clement Hurd. ... Margaret Wise Brown (23 May 1910 - 13 November 1952) was a United States author of childrens literature, which include Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny. ... The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is a fantasy novel for children by C. S. Lewis. ... Events January January 5 - US Senator Estes Kefauver introduces a resolution calling for examination of organized crime in the USA January 6 - The United Kingdom recognizes the Peoples Republic of China. ... Clive Staples Lewis ( November 29, 1898– November 22, 1963), commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis, was an author and scholar. ... Charlottes Web is a childrens book by acclaimed American author E. B. White. ... Elwyn Brooks White (July 11, 1899–October 1, 1985) was an American essayist, author, and noted prose stylist. ... The Cat in the Hat is a fictional cat created by Dr. Seuss. ... 1957 was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Dr. Seuss is the pen name of Theodor Seuss Geisel ( March 2, 1904 – September 24, 1991). ... The Weirdstone of Brisingamen is a fantasy story for children (but also enjoyed by adults) by the author Alan Garner, first published in 1960. ... Alan Garner (born October 17, 1934) is a British writer whose work is firmly rooted in his local Cheshire culture, both linguistically and thematically. ... Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak is an illustrated childrens book (ISBN 0060254920, ISBN 0099408392). ... Maurice Sendak (born June 10, 1928) is an artist and creator of childrens literature who is best known for his book Where The Wild Things Are, published in 1963. ... For the 2005 film, see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (movie). ... Patricia Neal and Roald Dahl, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1954 Roald Dahl (September 13, 1916–November 23, 1990) was a British novelist and short story author of Norwegian descent, famous both as a writer of childrens fiction as well as adult and horror fiction. ... Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator is the sequel to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory also written by Roald Dahl. ... James and the Giant Peach is a childrens book by Roald Dahl, originally illustrated by Nancy Ekholm Burkert, first published in the USA in 1961 by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. ... Fantastic Mr Fox is a childrens book written by Roald Dahl, and illustrated by Tony Ross. ... The Witches is a book for children by Roald Dahl first published in London in 1983 by Jonathan Cape. ... The Whitbread Book Awards are among the United Kingdoms most prestigious literary awards. ... A Wizard of Earthsea, first published in 1968, is the first of a series of books written by Ursula K. Le Guin and set in her fantasy archipelago of Earthsea. ... Ursula K. Le Guin at an informal bookstore Q&A session, July 2004 Ursula Kroeber Le Guin (born October 21, 1929), is an American author. ... Joanne Rowling OBE (born July 31, 1965 in Chipping Sodbury, South Gloucestershire), commonly known as J.K. Rowling (pronunciation: roll-ing; her former students used to joke with her name calling her the Rolling Stone), is a British fiction writer. ...

See also

• Young adult literature
• List of children's literature authors
• List of illustrators
• Fairy tales
• Publishers of children books
• Fiction
• Coloring book
• Children's fantasy

Young adult (YA) literature, while only recognized as a legitimate genre for a relatively short time, is a collection of books that can range from science fiction to autobiography. ... This is a list of well-known illustrators. ... A fairy tale is a story, either told to children or as if told to children, concerning the adventures of mythical characters such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, giants, and others. ... List of publishers of Childrens books Gallimard Jeunesse J. Lumsden and Son Tabart and Co. ... The Three Graces, here in a painting by Sandro Botticelli, were the goddesses of charm, beauty, nature, human creativity and fertility in Greek mythology. ...

External links

• Online Resources for K-12 Teachers: Children's and Adolescent Literature (http://www.ericdigests.org/2000-3/online.htm)
• Using Literature To Help Children Cope with Problems (http://www.ericdigests.org/2000-3/cope.htm)
• Exploring the Function of Heroes and Heroines in Children's Literature from around the World (http://www.ericdigests.org/2004-1/heroes.htm)
• Multicultural Children's Literature in the Elementary Classroom (http://www.ericdigests.org/1999-2/literature.htm)
• Achuka - British children's books resource (http://www.achuka.co.uk/)
• Children's eTexts (http://www.gutenberg.org/catalog/world/results?subject=Children) at Project Gutenberg
• More Children's eTexts (http://www.gutenberg.org/catalog/world/results?locc=PZ) at Project Gutenberg