John Newbery (1713–1767)

First appearing in 1744, A Little Pretty Pocket Book was one of a number of titles that publisher John Newbery brought out, in a career that did much to establish the children's book industry in the Anglophone world. Dedicated to the parents, guardians and nurses of Great Britain and Ireland, the book's preface contains a paraphrase of John Locke's Some Thoughts Concerning Education, arguing that the "grand design" of child-rearing was to make the young strong, hardy, healthy, virtuous, wise and happy. Here we see a departure from the Puritan texts being produced for children in the late 17th century - books like James Janeway's A Token for Children (1671), or John Bunyan's A Book for Boys and Girls (1678) - where the concern was exclusively on moral and religious education. The book itself contained a selection of stories and activities, and was meant to be paired with either a black and red ball for boy readers or a black and red pincushion for girl readers, which (in an inspired stroke of marketing), had to be purchased separately. These were to be used to record one's good and bad deeds, leading either to reward or to punishment...

Although not, as all too many scholars and readers of children's literature like to claim, the founder of children's literature in the English-speaking world, John Newbery was certainly a pioneer in that field, producing some of the first titles that were meant to be both educational and entertaining. The John Newbery Medal, which recognizes "the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children", is named after him, and is considered the preeminent children's book award in the United States. It is not clear who actually wrote many of the children's books that Newbery published, including A Little Pretty Pocket-Book, although his titles are often attributed to him in databases, in much the same way that the books brought out by the American Sunday-School Union list that institution as author. I found this one interesting, and enjoyed comparing it to the Puritan works mentioned above. It is far more secular than these predecessors, and (as mentioned) attempts to add an element of play and entertainment to children's reading. This play is still intended to be didactic however - to encourage virtue and discourage vice. It was, like the Puritans texts, an assigned reading in a class I took on early children's literature, during the course of my masters. Recommended to anyone interested in 18th-century English children's literature and/or in the career of John Newbery, and the books he produced.… (plus d'informations)