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• Children's literature in Western countries began before the invention of the printing press, with stories about people's adventures, animal movements, the way they live, and imaginary creatures being passed down through word of mouth
• Aldhelm (640-709) was the first man to write lesson books for children, which began in churches where monks used to teach children
• John Gutenberg invented the printing press in 1458
• William Caxton of England published the Boke of Curtayse in about 1477, which talked about proper manners and morals
• Babee's Boke or Little Reports of How Young People Should Behave was written in a manuscript to teach good manners and right conduct
• The ABC books or primers were used for private devotions and hornbooks were used to teach children to read alphabets and numerals
• Orbis Sensualium or Orbis Pictus (The World in Pictures) was the first illustrated children's book written in 1637 by Johann Amos Comenius
• Divine Emblems was written by Paul Bunyan in 1686, containing rough but kindly natural history verses and vigorous morals
• Charles Perault compiled 80 fairy tales of France and published them in 1697 in his book entitled Histories or Contes de temps passe or Tales of Mother Goose
• John Newberry published Little Pretty Pocket Books in 1744, considered the first child's book for the appreciation and enjoyment of children
• Emile was published in 1762 by Jean Jacques Rousseau to express new ideas on education, emphasizing freedom for the child to grow and experience life
• Johann David Wyss wrote Swiss Family Robinson in 1812, inspired by Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, with underlying tones of Christianity and morals
• Grimm's Fairytales, collected by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, were translated into English in 1823 and were not for children's entertainment but to record scientific posterity
• Hans Christian Andersen published Fairy Tales in 1846, including stories like Thumbelina, The Nightingale, The Emperor's New Clothes, The Ugly Duckling, The Princess and the Pea
• Edward Lear developed a Book of Nonsense in 1846, characterized by limericks and illustrations with no clear meaning
• Laura Elizabeth Howe Richards was known for nonsense poems, with Eletelephony being her famous poem
• Lewis Carroll created Alice in Wonderland in 1865, full of fantasy, light, and happiness, with a sequel Through the Looking Glass in 1871
• Randolph Caldecott was a pioneer of children's book illustrations in the 19th century, and the Caldecott Medal is awarded annually by the American Library Association in his honor
• Louisa M. Alcott wrote Little Women in 1868, a realistic family story of four sisters and their romantic lives, with sequels like Little Men and Jo's Boys
• Mark Twain wrote Tom Sawyer in 1876 and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in 1884, capturing adventure, humor, and genuine portrayals of a young American boy
• Robert Louis Stevenson wrote Treasure Island in 1883, a quintessential pirate story, and A Child's Garden of Verse in 1885, depicting childhood through an adult's eyes
• Robert Louis Stevenson wrote A Child's Garden of Verse in 1885, depicting the vision of childhood through an adult's eyes
• Carlo Collodi wrote The Adventures of Pinocchio in the 17th and 18th Century, a story about a toy boy who wished to be alive
• Rudyard Kipling published The Jungle Book in 1894, featuring a boy named Mowgli who enjoys his relationships with jungle creatures
• Rudyard Kipling also wrote Stalky & Co. in 1899 and Kim in 1901, with Kim being considered his finest work, a story of a thirteen-year-old boy in British India
• Frances Hodgson Burnett wrote Little Lord Fauntleroy in 1886, A Little Princess in 1905, and The Secret Garden in 1911
• L. Frank Baum wrote The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in 1900, aiming to please children with a modernized fairy tale
• Beatrix Potter created The Tale of Peter Rabbit in 1902, a talking animal tale for children
• J.M. Barrie wrote Peter Pan in 1904, a story about a boy who never grows up
• Kenneth Grahame wrote The Wind and the Willows in 1908, an enduring animal fantasy about Rat, Mole, Badger, and Mr. Toad
• A.A. Milne wrote Winnie the Pooh in 1926, featuring a bear who thinks, talks, and reasons like a child
• Laura Ingalls Wilder began a series of nine books based on her childhood experiences, starting with Little House in the Big Woods in 1932
• J.R.R. Tolkien wrote The Hobbit in 1937 and The Lord of the Rings in 1954-1955, achieving fame with his epic fantasy works
• C.S. Lewis published The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe in the 1950s, the first of seven Narnia chronicles
• Enid Blyton wrote over 700 books, including The Magic Faraway Tree in 1943 and series like The Famous Five and Malory Towers
• J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye in 1951 is a realistic book for adolescents, reflecting the trend towards greater realism in children's literature
• Anne Frank's Diary of a Young Girl, published in 1952, is a classic piece of war literature about a Jewish teenager hiding from the Nazis
• The International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) was founded in 1953 to bring books and children together internationally
• Eric Carle wrote The Very Hungry Caterpillar in 1968, a children's picture book about a caterpillar turning into a butterfly
• Francelia Butler founded the journal of Children's Literature in 1972