HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF CHILDREN 'S LITERATURE IN ENGLISH

Abstract

This article provides a comprehensive analysis of the historical development and evolutionary stages of English children’s literature. It examines the role of children’s literature in the spiritual life of society, highlighting its pedagogical, aesthetic, and educational significance. The study traces the origins of English children’s literature from folklore traditions to its emergence as an independent literary field in the eighteenth century, its rise to a “golden age” during the Victorian era, and its genre-based and ideological transformations in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Particular attention is paid to the contributions of prominent writers such as Daniel Defoe, Jonathan Swift, Lewis Carroll, Charles Dickens, Rudyard Kipling, J.R.R. Tolkien, Roald Dahl, and J.K. Rowling to the development of children’s literature. The article also emphasizes the importance of plot construction, character portrayal, the unity of artistic and educational elements, and consideration of child psychology in literary works intended for young readers.