Uploaded November 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
What is the meaning of the concept of 'Children's literature'? In this Wiki video, our intern Sofia Ulnyrova explains that children's literature can refer to literature written for children, about children, consumed by children, and sometimes even written by children. For a long time, there were no texts written specifically for children, but the field gradually gained popularity during the following decades. This shift was marked by rising literacy, improved prosperity, and a new understanding of adulthood and childhood, influenced by the works of John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Building on these philosophers’ notions, the “enlightened child” was seen as malleable and in need of education. In contrast, romanticism introduced a new image of children: innocent, creative, and close to nature. After World War II, children’s literature underwent further changes. Taboos were broken, issues like gender and decolonisation entered the field, and the concept of the autonomous or competent child emerged. In the 1980s, literary innovations brought non-linear plots, multiple voices, metafiction, and intertextuality. Moreover, it has become an academic field in recent years, with academics like Evelyn Arizpe — who is the Chair of Children’s Literature at the University of Glasgow and leader of the Erasmus Mundus Joint Master’s Degree programme titled 'Children’s Literature, Media and Culture' — publishing about topics like visual literacy, picture books and children's literature about refugees. However, despite these improvements, children’s literature still does not receive the same amount of attention and admiration as adult literature.
What is the meaning of the concept of 'Children's literature'? In this Wiki video, our intern Sofia Ulnyrova explains that children's literature can refer to literature written for children, about children, consumed by children, and sometimes even written by children. For a long time, there were no texts written specifically for children, but the field gradually gained popularity during the following decades. This shift was marked by rising literacy, improved prosperity, and a new understanding of adulthood and childhood, influenced by the works of John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Building on these philosophers’ notions, the “enlightened child” was seen as malleable and in need of education. In contrast, romanticism introduced a new image of children: innocent, creative, and close to nature. After World War II, children’s literature underwent further changes. Taboos were broken, issues like gender and decolonisation entered the field, and the concept of the autonomous or competent child emerged. In the 1980s, literary innovations brought non-linear plots, multiple voices, metafiction, and intertextuality. Moreover, it has become an academic field in recent years, with academics like Evelyn Arizpe — who is the Chair of Children’s Literature at the University of Glasgow and leader of the Erasmus Mundus Joint Master’s Degree programme titled 'Children’s Literature, Media and Culture' — publishing about topics like visual literacy, picture books and children's literature about refugees. However, despite these improvements, children’s literature still does not receive the same amount of attention and admiration as adult literature.
