Chapter 2 – The History of Children’s Literature

Multiple Choice

1. The history of children’s literature was most strongly influenced by a. The invention of the printing press b. The social attitudes toward children. c. The mortality rate of children. d. The amount of research that supports the need for improved and varied children’s literature.

2. The earliest history of children’s literature began with a. The invention of movable type. b. Mother Goose. c. The oral tradition. d. Fairy tales. a. Authorities seek to control the stories they tell. b. They can both be jailed if they anger a ruler or the church. c. The both tell stories for people of all ages. d. They both are entertainers. a. A child should be seen and not heard. b. A child was considered a small adult who should enter into adult life as quickly as possible. c. A child’s mind was a blank page on which ideas were to be imprinted. d. Children were expected to spend their lives attempting to prove predestined worthiness to be saved.

3. How is the literary role of the 16th century storytellers most like the role of the modern American children’s authors?

4. What was the attitude toward children in feudal Europe that led to the conclusion that stories for children were not necessary?

5. The most significant event related to literature in the 1400s was a. The creation of the hornbook. b. Johannes Gutenberg’s discovery of mov able type. c. William Caxton’s establishment of England’s first printing press. d. The Puritan influence. a. They were printed sheets of text mounted on wood and covered with translucent animal horn. b. They were used to teach reading and numbers. c. They included the alphabet, numerals, and the Lord’s Prayer. d. All of the above.

6. What characterized horn books?

7. Chapbooks were a. Crudely printed, inexpensive books sold by peddlers or “chapmen.” b. Expensive books containing hand-drawn illustrations. c. Books containing stories of h igh literary quality. d. Instructional books that usually included the alphabet, numerals, and the Lord’s Prayer.

8. Puritan influence of literature emphasized a. Enjoyment. b. Moral development of children. c. Intellectual development of children. d. None of the above

9. The enlightened belief for the late 1600s that children should go through a period of childhood rather than be treated as little adults was credited to a. John Bunyan. b. Jean Jacques Rousseau. c. John Locke. d. Daniel Defoe. a. He was the first to publish a book of children’s poetry. b. He was one of the first writers to recognize that fairy tales belong to the world of children. c. He was the first to publish an adventure book for children. d. He was the first illustrator of children’s books.

10. What was Charles Perrault’s contribution to children’s literature?

11. The original Mother Goose of 1698 contained a. Verses about manners for children. b. Retold German fairy tales such as Hansel and Gretel and The Frog Prince. c. English nursery rhymes such as Humpty Dumpty and Mary Had a Little Lamb d. Retold French fairy tales such as Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood and Sleeping Beauty

12. The 18th century authors whose adventure stories were adopted by children were a. Daniel Defoe and Jonathan Swift. b. John Locke and Jean Jacques Rousseau. c. The Brothers Grimm. d. Hans Christian Anderson and Oliver Goldsmith. a. He was the first to be successful in publishing and marketing children’s books. b. He published Oliver Goldsmith’s History of Little Goody Two-Shoes c. He was the first to illustrate children’s books. d. He was the first to write books for children.

13. What is the major reason that today’s prized Newbery Award was named for John Newbery?

14. Change occurred in children’s literature in the mid-1700s, the time when children’s books began in Europe, because a. The middle class was growing and was centered on home and family. b. More people had time, money and the education necessary to read. c. People realized children were children rather than small adults. d. All of the above. a. He envisioned the child’s mind at birth as a blank page on which ideas were to be imprinted. b. He believed children were little adults. c. He maintained that children could and should develop naturally with gentle guidance from wise adults. d. None of the above.

15. What was philosopher Jean Jacques Rousseau’s totally n ew approach to educating children?

16. Which 18th century English poet is credited with “writing verses as if a child had written them?” a. John Newbery b. William Blake c. Edward Lear d. Robert Louis Stevenson a. The made them up. b. They listened to German storytellers. c. They found them in libraries. d. They read them in chapbooks.

17. Where did the Brothers Grimm find their fairy tales?

18. The first person to create and publish an original fairy tale, using his own experiences to stimulate his writing was a. Charles Perrault b. Hans Christian Anderson c. Wilhelm Grimm d. William Blake a. Edward Lear b. Walter Crane c. Randolph Caldecott d. Kate Greenaway a. The rise of a highly competitive industrial technology. b. The growth of rural traditions and movement from large cities. c. An emphasis on strictly controlled behavior. d. A romantic focus on home and family.

19. Which of the following is NOT one of the nineteenth-century English artists who had an enormous impact on illustrations for children’s books?

20. Which of the following did NOT characterize the Victorian Age?

21. Horatio Alger wrote books in the mid-1800s about a. Poor children. b. Fantasy. c. Adventure. d. Children as adults.

22. Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is considered one of the first children’s books written a. Purely to give pleasure to children. b. Without a tr ace of a lesson or moral. c. As a fantasy for children. d. All of the above.

23. The novel Little Women told the account of everyday family life in the 1800s, and was written by a. Mark Twain. b. Louisa May Alcott. c. Sir Walter Scott. d. Kate Douglas Wiggins. a. Seditious b. Racist c. Anti-American d. All of the above a. Puritan age b. Victorian age c. 1938-1960 d. 1960 to the present

24. In the 1980s, what type of literature was most frequently banned?

25. Optimism, religious values, patriotism, stability, respect for older generations, and traditional family models characterize the children’s literature of what age?

Essay Questions

1. Analyze the changing attitudes toward children over the last 400 years. Explain how the different attitudes are reflected in the literature of various time periods by listing specific book titles to support your discussion.

2. Choose an author of children’s literature who wrote during the 1800s and whose work is still considered classic in children’s literature. Discuss why you believe this book was and is influential.

3. Descr ibe the role censorship has played in the evolution of children’s literature. Explain your own stance toward censorship and use support from the text and your own life to support your own stance.

4. What impact do you think digital books will have on read ing? Draw from the arguments presented in the text and include your own ideas and opinions based on your own readings and experiences.

5. Choose a current book written for adolescent readers. Thoroughly evaluate the book using the guidelines in the text.