You ever repeat something over and over in your head to help remember it? That's exactly what's going on in children's literature: authors repeat things so they stick with the kids. Earworms turn i...

Children's literature isn't just written to entertain kids—it's written to teach them. And we don't mean just teaching them their ABCs or 123s; children's literature also help children learn righ...

Pictures: we all love 'em, but kids just go gaga for 'em. Why? Because they're preeeeety. Seriously. Illustrations help keep kids' attention and stimulate their imagination. Oh, and they help them...

Notice how things always end with "happily ever after" in children's books? That optimistic perspective is a big part of what we consider to be children's literature. When we grow up, we may realiz...

In children's literature, people fly. They grow into giants. They talk to animals. They cast spells and transform into magical beings.This emphasis on the fantastic, of course, reflects the imagina...

We know it's obvious, but we love stating the obvious: children are everywhere in children's literature—in fact, they're usually the protagonists. Given that this literature is written for kids,...

If nothing else, kids are innocent—and as they grow up, they lose that innocence. This exploration of innocence is one of the defining characteristics of children's literature. How innocent are w...

Kids are cute and all, but they're not quite keyed into all the abstract ideas and emotions that we adults are privy to. And that's why children's books are full of action: kids are much more able...

The Children's Rights Movement really got going during the Industrial Revolution in Britain (1760-1840), when loads of kids worked in factories. Yep: tiny little kids, as young as six, were forced...

Believe it or not, we didn't always make a distinction between children and adults. The idea that children were a separate category of people from adults only began to emerge during the 18th centur...