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Covering the earliest known Anglophone literature for children from its medieval forms, its evolution in the early modern period and towards its emergence in the world of print culture, this volume explores the very foundations of the field through to its establishment as a popular genre for nineteenth-century consumers. In-depth discussion of specific sub-periods is provided in the opening chapters, while the remainder trace both major and more subtle changes in genre and style over time, charting an age of experimentation in form including both successful innovations and frequent failed attempts. The geographical range primarily focuses on the British Isles, but chapters also investigate early developments in children's books from North America and the wider impacts of colonialism and slavery. The shifting currents of didacticism and reading for pleasure across a variety of genres, bolstered by Enlightenment educational ideals, intersect here with new thinking about politics, sex, science, and faith.