New World, New Eyes: America in Early Children's Books

The John Carter Brown Library’s collection documents European contact with the Americas from the point of encounter to the period of independence. The exploration, exploitation, and incorporation of territories, resources and peoples are decidedly grown-up pursuits, generating many stories not fit for young eyes. But new ideas about childhood and education put forth by Enlightenment philosophers inspired writers and publishers of children’s materials in the 18th century to make the newly acquired knowledge of the “new world” accessible to children.