Children’s literature generally refers to books and stories for readers from infancy through the ages of fourteen or fifteen. The American children’s literature industry includes publishing houses, book weeks, specialty associations, conferences, storytelling associations and libraries; one Internet vendor in this prolific field lists 1 million titles, while the New York Times Parents Guide (1991) reviews over 1,700. American children’s literature reflects concern for family society and environment and increasingly seeks to deal with multiculturalism and social problems. The industry also has responded to new media ties as well as marketing associated with well-known characters.

Broad categories of children’s literature respond to age, interests and skills, including picture books, read-aloud books, biography folklore and legends, history, religion, series, ethnic narratives and poetry Nursery rhymes, song books, coloringin and alphabet books abound for young children; schools and media encourage parents to read to their children, while public libraries, schools and bookstores make books readily available for growing readers.

Picture books and read-aloud books are recognized annually in the Caldecott Awards for illustrated stories: Maurice Sendak, Eric Carle and Tomie de Paola are well-known authorillustrators. Pat the Bunny and Good Nïght Moon are babyhood classics, while other popular read-aloud books include Millions of Cats, Madeline, The Little House and Make Way for Ducklings. Madeline and Curious George, like the more recent Arthur series, also have media, toy and game tie-ins. The many works of Dr Seuss (Theodore Geisel) and Shel Silverstein’s A Light in the Attic and Where the Sidewalk Ends provide comic verse, word play and catchy illustrations.

Series books introduce recurrent characters for older readers. Popular series of the baby boom include Nancy Drew, Bobbsey Twins and The Hardy Boys, which also demarcated gendered readers. By the 1990s, these had given way to the contemporary issues and social mixtures of Sweet Valley Twins, The Baby-sitters Club (aimed at girls) or the Goosebump horror tales. The British Harry Potter books have become publishing blockbusters.

Nonetheless, fairy tales and legends remain popular, reaching across time and space through lavishly illustrated editions, popular movie adaptations and accompanying books, CD-ROM games and board games. Some classic early American novels, such as Little Women, Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn and The Little House (series), also retain their appeal for established readers. In the 1990s, for example, Frances Burnett’s A Little Princess and The Secret Garden, both written before 1930, were revitalized by movies, stage plays, CD-ROM and newly illustrated editions.

Other books move children onward into new worlds. Here, the Newberry Awards recognize excellence in children’s literature, including since the 1960s works that deal with issues of race, death and sexuality Science fiction for children proliferated in the 1950s and 1960s, including Robert Heinlein’s works and Madeline L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time. Stories of aliens and anti-utopian societies, such as The Giver, maintain this tradition. The Harry Potter fantasy books captured the imagination of millions of young readers at the turn of the twentyfirst century Semi-documentary novels also inform and educate young readers: My Brother Sam is Dead treats the tragic disruption of a family during the Civil War, while Number the Stars depicts a child during the Holocaust. Nonfiction books dealing with environmental issues also reflect broader American concerns in the 1980s and 1990s.

Late twentieth century trends included works for the disadvantaged child, works written with limited vocabulary and a new realism. Children’s literature written by and about African Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, disabled citizens and children with illnesses all appear in books designed to spur reflection and conversation with parents and teachers.