lenore: Dallas Book Festival

I am so pleased to be invited to speak at the Dallas Book Festival and give a little glimpse into the history of children's literature (in 45 minutes!). I decided to use the lens of poetry (of course) to talk about how children's literature has evolved-- a chance to look back, to revisit some old favorites, and to share poetry with a new audience. Here are just a few nuggets from my slide show. Enjoy!

Did you know one of the earliest books published in the U.S. for children included the poem that most people know as the song, "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star"?

Probably the best known American poem is this holiday classic:

A.A. Milne gave us Winnie the Pooh and many witty poems for children. This is also the first children's book I owned as a child-- given to me by my dad.

Langston Hughes published one book intended for young people (in his lifetime) and this is one of my favorite books of poetry of all time and by any poet.

This British couple brought scholarly study to the world of children's oral folklore, collecting thousands of children's rhymes and games from the playground.

The best-selling book of poetry for young people OF ALL TIME is this one:

This study helped us see that children really love funny, rhyming poetry. (But not JUST funny, rhyming poetry.)

The first award for children's poetry was established by the National Council of Teachers of English in 1977.

Only 5 children's books have been awarded the Newbery medal since it was established in 1922 and this was the first one.

According to Ann Terry's study, this was children's all-time favorite poem at that time:

Jack Prelutsky had authored several books of poetry before compiling this MAJOR anthology and followed with many additional wonderful works of his own.