"Teach your children well..."

-Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

How absolutely splendid and varied the world of children's literature has become. Many of us have been lucky enough to encounter and fall in love with books before we even learned how properly to read! Such is the beauty of a life linked to storytelling, literary, oral, or otherwise.

Broadly speaking, children's literature refers to books and other written works that are intended for children and young adults. These works can take many forms, including picture books, chapter books, middle-grade novels, and young adult fiction.

One of the earliest exemplars of children's literature is Aesop's Fables, which date back to ancient Greece. These stories, which feature animal characters and teach moral lessons, have been popular with children for centuries.

In the late 19th century, writers such as Lewis Carroll and J.M. Barrie created some of the most exhilarating and enduring works of children's literature. Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass are beloved for their imaginative worlds and nonsensical wordplay, while Barrie's Peter Pan is now an iconic work.

In the 20th century, children's literature continued to evolve and diversify. Authors such as Dr. Seuss, Maurice Sendak, and Shel Silverstein created books that pushed the boundaries of traditional storytelling and appealed to children's sense of humor and wonder, while J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series have become the best-selling and among the most beloved books in human history.