Literature for Children

Abstract

The first edition of Bestsellers did not deal with the children’s book as a best-selling phenomenon, but this needs to be addressed in this edition. Nevertheless, despite bookshops setting aside large amounts of space for them and prizes being available for their authors the very idea of writing for children alone has been hotly contested by critics.

We define children’s literature … as books read by, especially suitable for, or especially satisfying for, members of the group currently defined as children. However, such an accommodating definition is not very practical, as it obviously includes every text ever read by a child.¹

‘Is that the end of the story?’ asked Christopher Robin.

‘That’s the end of that one. There are others.’

(A. A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh, ch. 1)