Adult books were rewritten for children with added didacticism
Early children’s books were written with instruction in mind. The medieval The Babees’ Book declares itself to be “made for your lernynge”, giving directions to children to wash their hands, and not to fill their mouths, scratch themselves, or pick their teeth and nails. Adult books were rewritten for children with added didacticism. Richard Johnson, the compiler of The Oriental Moralist or the Beauties of the Arabian Nights Entertainment (1790), admitted that he had “added many moral reflections, wherever the story would admit of them” and altered the text of The Arabian Nights “to fortify the youthful heart against the impressions of vice”.
By the 18th century, stories of ghosts and goblins, and popular tales like (with his bottomless purse and magic hat) and , had become standard fare found in cheap chapbooks. Tales of the Brothers Grimm such as , and were first translated from German into English in 1823, while Hans Christian Andersen’s stories such as , and began to appear in English in 1846. Illustrations made these books more attractive: George Cruikshank’s evocative pen-and-ink drawings accompanied the Brothers Grimm’s tales, and Henry Justice Ford illustrated Andersen’s stories. Ford also illustrated Andrew Lang’s , written with his wife Leonora Blanche Alleyne and published between 1889 and 1913.
