The Norton Anthology of Children’s Literature The Norton Anthology of Children’s Literature The Norton Anthology of Children’s Literature The Norton Anthology of Children’s Literature The Norton Anthology of Children’s Literature
The Norton Anthology of Children’s Literature The Norton Anthology of Children’s Literature The Norton Anthology of Children’s Literature The Norton Anthology of Children’s Literature The Norton Anthology of Children’s Literature
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  • 1953 IBBY (International Board on Books for Young People) founded by Jella Lepman in Zurich, Switzerland. There are now more than sixty-five chapters throughout the world.


  • 1954 Frederic Wertham's Seduction of the Innocent, an attack on "horror comics" • Brown v. Board of Education, U.S. Supreme Court decision declaring segregated schools unconstitutional


  • 1955-91 Captain Kangaroo, television program for children hosted by Robert (Bob) Keesham


  • 1957 Dr. Seuss's The Cat in the Hat


  • 1959 Ruth Handler creates the Barbie doll, named for her daughter; the Ken doll, named for her son, would debut in 1961; Christie, an African American doll, in 1968


  • 1961 Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach


  • 1962 Cuban missile crisis


  • 1963 Ezra Jack Keats's The Snowy Day • Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time, a blend of science fantasy and religious themes • Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are • Martin Luther King Jr. leads the March on Washington and delivers his "I Have a Dream" speech


  • 1964 Louise Fitzhugh's Harriet the Spy • Lloyd Alexander's The Book of Three


  • 1965-73 Vietnam War


  • 1967-2001 Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, created and hosted by Fred Rogers; the longest-running program on PBS


  • 1968 Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar • Ursula Le Guin's A Wizard of Earthsea, the first in the Earthsea series (1968-2001)


  • 1969 Sesame Street, featuring Jim Henson's muppets, begins its telecast on PBS • First landing of humans on the moon


  • 1970 Judy Blume's Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret, a young adult novel that depicts teenage life candidly and realistically • Signal: Approaches to Children's Books founded by Nancy Chambers and Aidan Chambers


  • 1971 Foundation of the International Research Society for Children's Literature in Europe. Klaus Doderer is elected first president.


  • 1972 Foundation of the Children's Literature Association by Anne Devereaux Jordan at Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo. The journal Children's Literature founded the same year by Francelia Butler. The journal and the association were linked in 1973.


  • 1974 Robert Cormier's The Chocolate War, the first of his dark and compelling young adult novels


  • 1975 Natalie Babbitt's Tuck Everlasting • Mitsumasa Anno's Alphabet


  • 1976 Leo and Diane Dillon's Ashanti to Zulu • Mildred D. Taylor's Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry


  • 1977 Katherine Paterson's Bridge to Terabithia • Robert Crowther's The Most Amazing Hide-and- Seek Alphabet Book, a movable picture book


  • 1978 Raymond Briggs's The Snowman, a wordless picture book in comic-strip form


  • 1979 Leonard Clark's Tales from the Panchatantra, ancient Indian fables, many of which have passed into European folklore


  • 1980 Toshi Maruki's Hiroshima no Pika, a depiction of the bombing of Hiroshima • Isaac Bashevis Singer's The Power of Light: Eight Stories for Hanukkah, stories about Jewish life and traditions • Robert Munsch's The Paper Bag Princess, a feminist picture book


  • 1982 David McKee's I Hate My Teddy Bear, a surreal tale


  • 1985 Virginia Hamilton's The People May Fly: African Black Folktales


  • 1988 David Macaulay's The Way Things Work


  • 1989 The Simpsons, animated prime-time television show created by Matt Groening, begins • David Macaulay's Black and White, a nonlinear picture story • Successful production of The Little Mermaid brings about the resurgence of Disney’s animated fairy-tale films such as Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and Mulan • Fall of the Berlin Wall • Demonstration and massacre at Beijing’s Tienenman Square