The best-known children’s songs and verses are English and originated around the 17th century, and have continued to be passed down the generations. Some, however, are older – Baa Baa Black Sheep exists in written records as far back as the Middle Ages.

While their words may seem nonsensical, many themes were devised in response to difficult political, social or economic situations. For example, Ring-A-Ring Of Roses was believed to refer to the Great Plague.

Fairy tales

The stories of Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella and Little Red Riding Hood are some of Charles Perrault’s most famous works. Born in 1628 in Paris, Perrault followed a career in government service until the age of 55, when he published Tales And Stories Of The Past With Morals. Although aimed at a sophisticated adult audience, it launched a new literary genre: the fairy tale.

Perrault’s stories were often based on folk tales, but by adapting them, and writing them down for the first time, some of the world's most famous children’s stories were created.

The 1740s were an important decade in the development of writing for children. In 1744, Mary Cooper, the widow of a London printer, published Tommy Thumb's Song Book.

This was also the year John Newbery published his first book for children, A Little Pretty Pocket Book, which contained rhymes and fables telling infants how to be good. Newbery was the first publisher to make a commercial success of children’s books. One of his best-known titles was The History Of Little Goody Two-Shoes (1765), about a female Dick Whittington character.

Mary Martha Sherwood was a prolific evangelical writer. Her History Of The Fairchild Family, the first part of which appeared in 1818, was one of the most widely read children’s books of the century. With the rise of Sunday schools and increasing literacy, a huge market for religious fiction was created. Most was aimed at the working classes, who in the early and mid-Victorian period were expected only to understand books relating to their own background.

In 1823, Edgar Taylor’s translation of the Grimm brothers' tales was published, followed by three separate translations of Hans Christian Anderson in 1846. This showed that fantasy was becoming more acceptable, although it was often used for educational and moralising purposes.

Born in 1819, Charles Kingsley was a parson and Christian socialist, as well as a novelist. The Water-Babies is his best-known work, appearing serially in MacMillan’s Magazine in 1862 before being published in volume format in 1863.

The book touches on most of Kingsley’s favourite themes: the working conditions of the poor, education and pollution. It was written for his youngest son Grenville, and despite educational and satiric content, remains chaotic and imaginative.

The story follows Tom, a young chimney sweep who is transformed into a water-baby. It was a favourite with Queen Victoria, who read it to her own children.