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"The Pilgrim's Progress"
Before 1800, literature read by children and young adults alike was largely religious. Such books as John Bunyan's "The Pilgrim's Progress" reminded young people that they were merely small adults who soon must face the wrath of God. -
Development of the American Public Library
In 1731, Benjamin Franklin suggested that members of the Junto, a middle-class social and literary club in Philadelphia, share their books with other members. That led to the founding of the Philadelphia Library Company, America's first subscription library. -
The American Sunday School Union
By 1830, the American Sunday School Union had determined to change the course of U.S. education by offering Sunday School lessons that taught religion at the same time they educated young people in mathematics and grammar and history and all sorts of practical, job-related skills. For the next forty years, the Union produced millions of books for use in Sunday Schools. All titles were approved by a board representing six major religions. -
The First Domestic Novel
Writing under the pen name of Elizabeth Wetherell, Susan Warner wrote more than twenty novels and the first domestic novel, "The Wide, Wide World". As much as forty years later, the novel was said to be one of the four most widely read books in the United States, along with the Bible, "The Pilgrim's Progress", and "Uncle Tom's Cabin". -
Dime Novels
While domestic novels took women by storm, dime novels performed almost the same miracle for men. In June 1860, two brothers, Erastus and Irwin Beadle, republished Ann S. Stephens's "Malaeksa:The Indian Wife of the White Hunter". -
Horatio Alger, Jr.
Oliver Optic's magazine, "Student and Schoolmate", published Alger's book, "Ragged Dick; or, "Street Life in New York", in hardcover in 1867 or 1868. -
"St. Elmo"
Warner's popularity was exceeded only by Augusta Jane Evans WIlson for her domestic novel, "St. Elmo". -
Louisa May Alcott
The first part of "Little Women: Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy. The Story of Their Lives. A Girl's Book" was published. -
Part Two: "Little Women"
A second part of Louisa May Alcott's "Little Women"was published. -
The Developing Movement
The first major report on the developing movement came in an 1876 document from the U.S. Bureau of Education. Part I, "Public Libraries in the United States of America, Their History, Condition, and Manangement". -
The American Library Association & "The American Library Journal"
On October 4, 1876, Melvil Dewey assisted in a conference of librarians that formed the American Library Association. The first issue of the "American Library Journal" appeared the same year. -
English as a Discipline in Schools
In 1894, the prestigious Committee of Ten on Secondary School Studies presented its report, and English became an accepted discipline in schools, although not yet as respectable as Latin. -
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U.S. High Schools
In the decades before the 1929 stock market crash, U.S. high schools developed in their present form, including the establishment of athletic teams as a way of "bribing" boys into reading and writing. -
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Boy's Books & Girls' Books
Before World War II, books published for teenagers were clearly divided into "boy's books" and "girls' books", with the boys getting the more exciting stories. However, a surprising number of pre- 1950s girls' books were designed to make girls think about careers. -
Nation Council of Teachers of English Begins
The First Annual Meeting of the National Council of Teachers of English began on December 1 & 2, 1911 in Chicago. -
Winnetka Graded Book List
In 1926, Carleton Washburne & Mabel Vogel put together the lengthy Winnetka Graded Book List. -
"Junior" or "Juvenile" Novels
Although for years countless books had been published and widely read by young adults, the term "junior" or "juvenile" was first applied to young adult literature during the early 1930s. -
Rise of Paperbacks
Despite the success of dime novels and libraries of paperbacks in the late 1800s, paperbacks as we know them entered the mass market in 1938 when Pocket Books offered Pearl Buck's "The Good Earth" as a sample volume in mail-order tests. -
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Rise of Criticism of Young Adult Literature
Today we take criticism of YA literature for granted, but it developed slowly. In the 1940s, journals provided little information on, & less criticism of, YA literature except for ook lists, book reviews, & occasional references in articles on reading interests or improving young people's literary taste. The comments that did appear were often appreciative than critical, but given the times and the attitude of many teachers & librarians, appreciation/recognition may have been more important. -
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Changes and Growth in Young Adult Literature
From 1941 to 1965, the quality of young adult literature rose steadily. Series books, so popular from 1900 to the 1940s, died out, except for the Stratemeyer Syndicate stalwarts Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, and the new Tom Swift, Jr. series.
