Children's Book Week – May 2-8, 2024

History of Children's Book Week

Children’s books as we know them today have been around since the 18th century, with the earliest of the genre being educational books, books on conduct, and simple A.B.Cs.

“Tommy Thumb’s Pretty Song Book”, published by Mary Cooper in 1744, is the first known nursery rhyme collection. However, the most celebrated of the pioneers in children’s literature is John Newbery, whose first book for the entertainment of children was “A Little Pretty Pocket-Book,” which is widely considered to be the first modern children’s book. Newbery became known as the father of children’s literature and set the tone for the literature of years to come. Books like ”Alice in Wonderland,” “Adventures of Pinocchio,” and “Treasure Island,” all became later examples of advancement in the field of children’s literature.

Children’s Book Week is the longest-running national literacy initiative in the United States, and it originated in the belief that children’s books and literacy have the potential to transform lives. In 1913, Franklin K. Matthews, a librarian of the Boy Scouts of America, began touring the country to promote higher standards in children’s books and promoted the idea for Children’s Book Week.

In 1916, the American Booksellers Association, and the American Library Association sponsored a Good Book Week with the Boy Scouts of America, with the help of Matthews, Frederic G. Melcher, editor of Publishers Weekly, and Anne Carroll Moore, the Superintendent of Children’s Works at the New York Public Library. Children’s Book Week was established in 1919, and in 1944, the newly-formed Children’s Book Council assumed responsibility for putting on Children’s Book Week thereafter. Schools and organizations have been celebrating Children’s Book Week ever since, and its 100th anniversary was marked in 2019.