Forgotten Books of the American Nursery

Small bindings, crude pictures and religious lessons provide the starting point for Rosalie Vrylina Halsey's history of American children's books. She examines reading from colonial times through the early nineteenth century, linking changes in stories to family life and publishing. Chapters on English playbooks, Newbery's books in America and patriotic printers show the different influences on this developing literature. The physical appearance of the volumes matters as much as the lessons adults expected them to teach.

Personal records bring the discussion into the household. Eliza Drinker's journal mentions reading to her grandchildren and recovering a valued collection of stories and pictures made by Nancy Skyrin for her children. American editions of Mrs. Barbauld's lessons offer another example, with local substitutions intended to make instruction familiar. Readers interested in education, publishing or childhood can use these examples to see how books reflected both adult expectations and the details of daily life.