Children's literature

Children's literature, often known as juvenile literature, refers to tales, novels, periodicals, and poetry that are written specifically for young readers. There are two ways in which modern children's literature is classified: according to genre, and according to the age of the target audience.

It is possible to trace the origins of children's literature back to traditional stories such as fairy tales, which were only recognised as children's literature in the eighteenth century, and songs, which were part of a larger oral tradition that adults shared with children before publishing was invented. Trying to trace the history of early children's literature before the invention of printing is a tough task. However, even when printing became widely available, many famous "children's" stories were first written for an adult audience and then modified for a younger generation. Since the fourteenth century, a great deal of writing has been written especially for children, with a moral or religious message often included. Religious origins, such as Puritan traditions, have had an impact on children's literature, as have more philosophical and scientific viewpoints, such as those of Charles Darwin and John Locke, on children's literature. The late nineteenth and early twentieth century are referred to as the "Golden Age of Children's Literature" because a large number of great children's novels were produced during this time period.