The Childrens Classics Popular Books
The Childrens Classics Biography & Facts
Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader, from picture books for the very young to young adult fiction. Children's literature can be traced to traditional stories like fairy tales, that have only been identified as children's literature in the eighteenth century, and songs, part of a wider oral tradition, that adults shared with children before publishing existed. The development of early children's literature, before printing was invented, is difficult to trace. Even after printing became widespread, many classic "children's" tales were originally created for adults and later adapted for a younger audience. Since the fifteenth century much literature has been aimed specifically at children, often with a moral or religious message. Children's literature has been shaped by religious sources, like Puritan traditions, or by more philosophical and scientific standpoints with the influences of Charles Darwin and John Locke. The late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries are known as the "Golden Age of Children's Literature" because many classic children's books were published then. Definition There is no single or widely used definition of children's literature.: 15–17 It can be broadly defined as the body of written works and accompanying illustrations produced in order to entertain or instruct young people. The genre encompasses a wide range of works, including acknowledged classics of world literature, picture books and easy-to-read stories written exclusively for children, and fairy tales, lullabies, fables, folk songs, and other primarily orally transmitted materials or more specifically defined as fiction, non-fiction, poetry, or drama intended for and used by children and young people.: xvii One writer on children's literature defines it as "all books written for children, excluding works such as comic books, joke books, cartoon books, and non-fiction works that are not intended to be read from front to back, such as dictionaries, encyclopedias, and other reference materials". However, others would argue that children's comics should also be included: "Children's Literature studies has traditionally treated comics fitfully and superficially despite the importance of comics as a global phenomenon associated with children". The International Companion Encyclopedia of Children's Literature notes that "the boundaries of genre... are not fixed but blurred".: 4 Sometimes, no agreement can be reached about whether a given work is best categorized as literature for adults or children. Some works defy easy categorization. J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series was written and marketed for children, but it is also popular among adults. The series' extreme popularity led The New York Times to create a separate bestseller list for children's books. Despite the widespread association of children's literature with picture books, spoken narratives existed before printing, and the root of many children's tales go back to ancient storytellers.: 30 Seth Lerer, in the opening of Children's Literature: A Reader's History from Aesop to Harry Potter, says, "This book presents a history of what children have heard and read.... The history I write of is a history of reception.": 2 History Early children's literature consisted of spoken stories, songs, and poems, used to educate, instruct, and entertain children. It was only in the eighteenth century, with the development of the concept of childhood, that a separate genre of children's literature began to emerge, with its own divisions, expectations, and canon.: x–xi The earliest of these books were educational books, books on conduct, and simple ABCs—often decorated with animals, plants, and anthropomorphic letters. In 1962, French historian Philippe Ariès argues in his book Centuries of Childhood that the modern concept of childhood only emerged in recent times. He explains that children were in the past not considered as greatly different from adults and were not given significantly different treatment.: 5 As evidence for this position, he notes that, apart from instructional and didactic texts for children written by clerics like the Venerable Bede and Ælfric of Eynsham, there was a lack of any genuine literature aimed specifically at children before the 18th century.: 11 Other scholars have qualified this viewpoint by noting that there was a literature designed to convey the values, attitudes, and information necessary for children within their cultures, such as the Play of Daniel from the twelfth century.: 46 : 4 Pre-modern children's literature, therefore, tended to be of a didactic and moralistic nature, with the purpose of conveying conduct-related, educational and religious lessons.: 6–8 Early-modern Europe During the seventeenth century, the concept of childhood began to emerge in Europe. Adults saw children as separate beings, innocent and in need of protection and training by the adults around them.: 6–7 : 9 The English philosopher John Locke developed his theory of the tabula rasa in his 1690 An Essay Concerning Human Understanding. In Locke's philosophy, tabula rasa was the theory that the (human) mind is at birth a "blank slate" without rules for processing data, and that data is added and rules for processing are formed solely by one's sensory experiences. A corollary of this doctrine was that the mind of the child was born blank and that it was the duty of the parents to imbue the child with correct notions. Locke himself emphasized the importance of providing children with "easy pleasant books" to develop their minds rather than using force to compel them: "Children may be cozen'd into a knowledge of the letters; be taught to read, without perceiving it to be anything but a sport, and play themselves into that which others are whipp'd for." He also suggested that picture books be created for children. In the nineteenth century, a few children's titles became famous as classroom reading texts. Among these were the fables of Aesop and Jean de la Fontaine and Charles Perraults's 1697 Tales of Mother Goose. The popularity of these texts led to the creation of a number of nineteenth-century fantasy and fairy tales for children which featured magic objects and talking animals. Another influence on this shift in attitudes came from Puritanism, which stressed the importance of individual salvation. Puritans were concerned with the spiritual welfare of their children, and there was a large growth in the publication of "good godly books" aimed squarely at children. Some of the most popular works were by James Janeway, but the most enduring book from this movement, still read today, especially in modernised versions, is The Pilgrim's Progress (1678) by John Bunyan. Chapbooks, pocket-sized pamphlets that were often folded instead.... Discover the The Childrens Classics popular books. Find the top 100 most popular The Childrens Classics books.
Best Seller The Childrens Classics Books of 2024
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The Jungle Book
Rudyard KiplingAn Apple Books Classic edition.Although most of The Jungle Book is set in India where Rudyard Kipling spent much of his early life he actually wrote this beloved story collection...
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The One and Only Ivan
Katherine ApplegateThe #1 New York Times bestselling and Newbery Awardwinning novel The One and Only Ivan is now a major motion picture streaming on Disney+This unforgettable...
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Black Beauty
Anna Sewell & Cecil AldinBlack Beauty is a spirited colt with a gentle disposition who spends his days in fresh meadows under the watchful eye of a devoted mother. But when it came time for him to leave hi...
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Old Yeller
Fred GipsonA timeless American classic and one of the most beloved children’s books ever written, Old Yeller is a Newbery Honor Book that explores the poignant and unforgettable bond between ...
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The Giving Tree
Shel SilversteinAs The Giving Tree turns fifty, this timeless classic is available for the first time ever in ebook format. This digital edition allows young readers and lifelong fans to continue ...
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The Phantom Tollbooth
Norton Juster & Jules Feiffer“Comes up bright and new every time I read it . . . it will continue to charm and delight for a very long time yet.” Phillip Pullman, New York Times bestselling author of His Dark ...
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A Wrinkle in Time
Madeleine L'EngleIt was a dark and stormy night; Meg Murry, her small brother Charles Wallace, and her mother had come down to the kitchen for a midnight snack when they were upset by the arrival o...
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Watership Down
Richard Adams & Madeline MillerNow with a new introduction by Madeline Miller, the New York Times bestselling author of The Song of Achilles and Circe.The 50th anniversary edition of Richard Adam’s timeless clas...
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The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
L. Frank BaumAn Apple Books Classic edition. You’ve seen the iconic 1939 movie, but do you know about the talking field mice, the Winkies, and the Witch of the North that appear in the original...
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Green Eggs and Ham
Dr. SeussJoin in the fun with SamIAm in this iconic classic by Dr. Seuss that will have readers of all ages craving Green Eggs and Ham! This is a beloved classic from the bestselling...
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The Mouse and the Motorcycle
Beverly ClearyIn this imaginative adventure from Newbery Medal–winning author Beverly Cleary, a young mouse named Ralph is thrown into a world of excitement when a boy and his shiny toy motorcyc...
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The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Mark TwainIn the 1840s, a mischievous boy named Tom Sawyer lives with his Aunt Polly and his halfbrother, Sid, in the fictional Mississippi River town of St. Petersburg, Missouri. After play...
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Walk Two Moons
Sharon CreechIn her own singularly beautiful style, Newbery Medal winner Sharon Creech intricately weaves together two tales, one funny, one bittersweet, to create a heartwarming, compelling, a...
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The Tortoise and the Hare - Read Aloud
Kate Friend & Mateya ArkovaThis classic fable tells the story of what happens when we try to rush and don’t take things slow and steady. The tortoise and the hare decide to race. The hare is convinced that h...
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To Kill a Mockingbird
Harper LeeVoted America's BestLoved Novel in PBS's The Great American ReadHarper Lee's Pulitzer Prizewinning masterwork of honor and injustice in the deep Southand the heroism of one man in ...
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Wildwood
Colin MeloyFor fans of the Chronicles of Narnia comes the first book in the Wildwood Chronicles, the New York Times bestselling fantasy adventure series by Colin Meloy, lead singer ...
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Where the Red Fern Grows
Wilson RawlsA beloved classic that captures the powerful bond between man and man’s best friend. Billy has long dreamt of owning not one, but two, dogs. So when he’s finally able to save ...
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The Tale of Peter Rabbit
Beatrix PotterStory Summary Peter Rabbit sneaks away from his sisters and mother to go to Mr McGregor’s garden. He enjoys eating all sorts of vegetables until Mr McGregor finds the little...
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Peter Pan
J.M. BarrieAn Apple Books Classic edition. Lose yourself in the pages of J.M. Barrie’s beloved story about Neverland, the Lost Boys, and Tinkerbell. The book begins with older sister Wendy re...
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Tuck Everlasting
Natalie BabbittCritically acclaimed when it was first published, Natalie Babbitt's Tuck Everlasting has become a muchloved, wellstudied modernday classic. Now a major motion film available on str...
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The Story of The Three Little Pigs - Read Aloud Edition
L. Leslie BrookeThe Brothers Grimm's classic fairly tale sees new life in this enhanced eBook version, that renders the original illustrations & text by Leslie Brooke in a tastefully redesign...
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The Tale of Peter Rabbit - Read Aloud Edition
Beatrix PotterBeatrix Potter's classic picture book sees new life in this enhanced eBook version, that renders the original illustrations & text in the fixed layout format preserving the ori...
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Lord of the Flies
William Golding, Lois Lowry & Jennifer BuehlerGolding’s iconic 1954 novel, now with a new foreword by Lois Lowry, remains one of the greatest books ever written for young adults and an unforgettable classic for readers of any ...
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The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
C. S. LewisThe Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is the second book in C. S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia, a series that has become part of the canon of classic literature, drawing readers...
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Children of Dune
Frank HerbertBook Three in the Magnificent Dune Chroniclesthe Bestselling Science Fiction Adventure of All TimeThe Children of Dune are twin siblings Leto and Ghanima Atreides, whose father, th...
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The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies
Beatrix PotterThis book features the original text and fullcolor original Beatrix Potter art. Benjamin Bunny and his cousin Peter Rabbit and Flopsy are adult rabbits. Benjamin and Flopsy are mar...
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Beezus and Ramona
Beverly ClearyNewbery Award winner Beverly Cleary delivers a humorous portrayal of the ups and downs of sisterhood. Both the younger and older siblings of the family will enjoy this book. Having...
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From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
E.L. KonigsburgNow available in a deluxe keepsake edition!A Time Best YA Book of All Time (2021)Run away to the Metropolitan Museum of Art with E. L. Konigsburg’s beloved classic and Newbery Meda...
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The Cay
Theodore TaylorFor fans of Hatchet and Island of the Blue Dolphins comes Theodore Taylor’s classic bestseller and Lewis Carroll Shelf Award winner, The Cay. Phillip is excited when th...
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The Story of Miss Moppet - Interactive Read Aloud Edition With Highlighting
Beatrix PotterBeatrix Potter's classic picture book sees new life in this enhanced eBook version, that renders the original illustrations & text in a tastefully redesigned digital version...
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Bridge to Terabithia
Katherine PatersonThe 40th anniversary edition of the classic Newbery Medalwinning title by beloved author Katherine Paterson, with brandnew bonus materials including an author's note by Katherine h...
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The House on Mango Street
Sandra CisnerosNATIONAL BESTSELLER A comingofage classic, acclaimed by critics, beloved by readers of all ages, taught in schools and universities alike, and translated around the worldfrom the ...
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20000 Leagues Under the Sea
Jules VerneThis ebook is a completely new way to learn English vocabulary Fast and Fun! Start reading the original book and playing with the word building games to master the selected vocabul...
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A Tree Grows In Brooklyn
Betty SmithThe American classic about a young girl's comingofage at the turn of the century.This P.S. edition features an extra 16 pages of insights into the book, including author interviews...
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The Outsiders
S. E. HintonOver 50 years of an iconic classic! This international bestseller and inspiration for a beloved movie is a heroic story of friendship and belonging. No one ever said life was ...
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Princess and the Pea
Hans Christian Andersen & Christine SawinskiNew features include updated reading reccommendations! Late one night a mysterious girl arrives at the home of a prince. She says she is a princess but is she telling the truth? Th...