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108-570: The Mistmantle Chronicles is a series of children's novels by M. I. McAllister about anthropomorphic squirrels, hedgehogs, otters, and moles. The protagonist is a pale, honey-coloured Eurasian red squirrel named Urchin. The first book in the Mistmantle Chronicles, Urchin of the Riding Stars , was published by Bloomsbury Publishing in 2005. All five books are currently in print from Purple House Press. A squirrel named Urchin

216-404: A Peter Rabbit doll, making Peter the first licensed character . Michael O. Tunnell and James S. Jacobs, professors of children's literature at Brigham Young University, write, "Potter was the first to use pictures as well as words to tell the story, incorporating coloured illustration with text, page for page." Rudyard Kipling published The Jungle Book in 1894. A major theme in the book

324-712: A courtesy book by the Dutch priest Erasmus . A Pretty and Splendid Maiden's Mirror , an adaptation of a German book for young women, became the first Swedish children's book upon its 1591 publication. Sweden published fables and a children's magazine by 1766. In Italy , Giovanni Francesco Straparola released The Facetious Nights of Straparola in the 1550s. Called the first European storybook to contain fairy-tales, it eventually had 75 separate stories and written for an adult audience. Giulio Cesare Croce also borrowed from some stories children enjoyed for his books. Russia 's earliest children's books, primers , appeared in

432-500: A British man in his 60s during an early morning walk in Singapore Botanic Gardens . Despite weighing over 200 pounds, he was trampled and bitten and could not stand up without help from a nearby rescuer. The man speculated that another runner might have stepped on one of the animals earlier, and wished that there could be more lighting installed at that location. Norse mythology tells of the dwarf Ótr habitually taking

540-525: A Land Baby , by Rev. Charles Kingsley (1862), which became extremely popular and remains a classic of British children's literature. In 1883, Carlo Collodi wrote the first Italian fantasy novel, The Adventures of Pinocchio , which was translated many times. In that same year, Emilio Salgari , the man who would become "the adventure writer par excellence for the young in Italy" first published his legendary character Sandokan . In Britain, The Princess and

648-441: A Voyager has been known to leave Mistmantle and return more than three times. In the books, Mistmantle is host to two battles and one minor fight in the first book and a full-scale war in the fourth book. Mistmantle has a tower where the king, queen and captains live, which has sandstone-yellow walls and comes under attack in books 1, 2 and 4. To the south of the island is Anemone Wood, where Urchin and Needle were brought up, and there

756-562: A brightly colored cover that appealed to children—something new in the publishing industry. Known as gift books, these early books became the precursors to the toy books popular in the nineteenth century. Newbery was also adept at marketing this new genre. According to the journal The Lion and the Unicorn , "Newbery's genius was in developing the fairly new product category, children's books, through his frequent advertisements... and his clever ploy of introducing additional titles and products into

864-407: A captain, and asks Urchin to be his page, which he accepts enthusiastically. Urchin performs many heroic deeds throughout his life, such as bringing Crispin back to Mistmantle and helping to redeem the island of Whitewings. He becomes companion to the king in book one, redeems Whitewings and learns about his parents Almond and Candle in book two, becomes a Circle member in book three and is a captain by

972-516: A genre, Robinsonade ), adventure stories written specifically for children began in the nineteenth century. Early examples from British authors include Frederick Marryat 's The Children of the New Forest (1847) and Harriet Martineau 's The Peasant and the Prince (1856). The Victorian era saw the development of the genre, with W. H. G. Kingston , R. M. Ballantyne and G. A. Henty specializing in

1080-566: A high metabolic rate for warmth. Otter-human interactions have varied over time, with otters being hunted for their pelts , used in fishing practices in southern Bangladesh, and occasionally attacking humans, though such incidents are rare and often a result of provocation. Otters hold a place in various cultures' mythology and religion, symbolizing different attributes and stories, from Norse mythology to Native American totems and Asian folklore, where they are sometimes believed to possess shapeshifting abilities. The word otter derives from

1188-467: A knowledge of the letters; be taught to read, without perceiving it to be anything but a sport, and play themselves into that which others are whipp'd for." He also suggested that picture books be created for children. In the nineteenth century, a few children's titles became famous as classroom reading texts. Among these were the fables of Aesop and Jean de la Fontaine and Charles Perraults's 1697 Tales of Mother Goose . The popularity of these texts led to

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1296-489: A moral or religious message. Children's literature has been shaped by religious sources, like Puritan traditions, or by more philosophical and scientific standpoints with the influences of Charles Darwin and John Locke. The late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries are known as the "Golden Age of Children's Literature" because many classic children's books were published then. There is no single or widely used definition of children's literature. It can be broadly defined as

1404-655: A movement concerned with reforming both education and literature for children. Its founder, Johann Bernhard Basedow , authored Elementarwerk as a popular textbook for children that included many illustrations by Daniel Chodowiecki . Another follower, Joachim Heinrich Campe , created an adaptation of Robinson Crusoe that went into over 100 printings. He became Germany's "outstanding and most modern" writer for children. According to Hans-Heino Ewers in The International Companion Encyclopedia of Children's Literature , "It can be argued that from this time,

1512-531: A new sophistication to the historical adventure novel. Philip Pullman in the Sally Lockhart novels and Julia Golding in the Cat Royal series have continued the tradition of the historical adventure. An important aspect of British children's literature has been comic books and magazines . Amongst the most popular and longest running comics have been The Beano and The Dandy , both first published in

1620-568: A rocky cairn, more common in Scotland. It is lined with moss and grass. After one month, the pup can leave the holt and after two months, it is able to swim. The pup lives with its family for approximately one year. Otters live up to 16 years; they are by nature playful, and frolic in the water with their pups. Its usual source of food is fish, and further downriver, eels, but it may sample frogs and birds. Otters have long, slim bodies and relatively short limbs. Their most striking anatomical features are

1728-869: A separate category of literature especially in the Victorian era , with some works becoming internationally known, such as Lewis Carroll 's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass . Another classic of the period is Anna Sewell 's animal novel Black Beauty (1877). At the end of the Victorian era and leading into the Edwardian era, author and illustrator Beatrix Potter published The Tale of Peter Rabbit in 1902. Potter went on to produce 23 children's books and become very wealthy. A pioneer of character merchandising, in 1903 she patented

1836-523: A series of twelve books . The Golden Age of Children's Literature ended with World War I . The period before World War II was much slower in children's publishing. The main exceptions in England were the publications of Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne in 1926, the first Mary Poppins book by P. L. Travers in 1934, The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien in 1937, and the Arthurian The Sword in

1944-672: A varied life cycle with a gestation period of about 60–86 days, and offspring typically stay with their family for a year. They can live up to 16 years, with their diet mainly consisting of fish and sometimes frogs , birds, or shellfish , depending on the species. Otters are distinguished by their long, slim bodies, powerful webbed feet for swimming, and their dense fur, which keeps them warm and buoyant in water. They are playful animals, engaging in activities like sliding into water on natural slides and playing with stones. There are 13 known species of otters, ranging in size and habitat preferences, with some species adapted to cold waters requiring

2052-515: A wide range of topics including education, natural history, fantasy, mystery, and biblical narratives and is best remembered today for her Noddy , The Famous Five , The Secret Seven , and The Adventure Series . The first of these children's stories, Five on a Treasure Island , was published in 1942. In the 1950s, the book market in Europe began to recover from the effects of the two world wars. An informal literary discussion group associated with

2160-665: Is a branch of the Mustelidae family , which includes weasels , badgers , mink , and wolverines , among other animals. Otters' habitats include dens known as holts or couches, with their social structure described by terms such as dogs or boars for males, bitches or sows for females, and pups or cubs for offspring. Groups of otters can be referred to as a bevy, family, lodge, romp, or raft when in water, indicating their social and playful characteristics. Otters are known for their distinct feces, termed spraints , which can vary in smell from freshly mown hay to putrefied fish. Otters exhibit

2268-404: Is a jetty by the tower. About one-third into the first book, Crispin makes his way across the ocean and his voyage takes him to two other islands in the same chain as Mistmantle. One is a barren piece of stone while the other is dominated by giant crabs and other crustaceans, which he battles to escape. Eventually, he reaches an island far from Mistmantle, which is later identified as Swan Isle. It

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2376-646: Is abandonment followed by fostering, as in the life of Mowgli , echoing Kipling's own childhood. In the latter years of the 19th century, precursors of the modern picture book were illustrated books of poems and short stories produced by English illustrators Randolph Caldecott , Walter Crane , and Kate Greenaway . These had a larger proportion of pictures to words than earlier books, and many of their pictures were in colour. Some British artists made their living illustrating novels and children's books, among them Arthur Rackham , Cicely Mary Barker , W. Heath Robinson , Henry J. Ford , John Leech , and George Cruikshank . In

2484-421: Is added and rules for processing are formed solely by one's sensory experiences. A corollary of this doctrine was that the mind of the child was born blank and that it was the duty of the parents to imbue the child with correct notions. Locke himself emphasized the importance of providing children with "easy pleasant books" to develop their minds rather than using force to compel them: "Children may be cozen'd into

2592-490: Is also the father of Oakleaf and Almondflower. He is gravely injured in battle in book four during the Raven War and dies at the end of the fifth book. Husk is an ambitious squirrel who seeks to take over the island in the first book by influencing the king's decisions. He becomes evil when he discovers an old pit beneath Mistmantle Tower where the kings of old made sacrifices. He murders babies that have physical disabilities with

2700-582: Is an adaptation of the myth of Blodeuwedd from the Mabinogion , set in modern Wales – it won Garner the annual Carnegie Medal from the Library Association , recognising the year's best children's book by a British author. Mary Norton wrote The Borrowers (1952), featuring tiny people who borrow from humans. Dodie Smith 's The Hundred and One Dalmatians was published in 1956. Philippa Pearce 's Tom's Midnight Garden (1958) has Tom opening

2808-467: Is an epic trilogy of fantasy novels consisting of Northern Lights (1995, published as The Golden Compass in North America), The Subtle Knife (1997), and The Amber Spyglass (2000). It follows the coming of age of two children, Lyra Belacqua and Will Parry, as they wander through a series of parallel universes. The three novels have won a number of awards, most notably the 2001 Whitbread Book of

2916-503: Is born in Mistmantle on the night of the Riding Stars. There is a prophecy that he will take down a great leader. His mother dies in childbirth. He is found by Crispin and Fir, who give him to the loud and talkative Apple to raise. The rulers of Mistmantle, Queen Spindle and King Brushen, have a son who is then murdered. A pair of villains in disguise, Captain Husk and Lady Aspen, seize control of

3024-461: Is due to hunting to supply the demand for skins. For many generations, fishermen in southern Bangladesh have bred smooth-coated otters and used them to chase fish into their nets. Once a widespread practice, passed down from father to son throughout many communities in Asia, this traditional use of domesticated wild animals is still in practice in the district of Narail , Bangladesh. A 2011 review by

3132-515: Is held to be a clean animal belonging to Ahura Mazda in Zoroastrian belief, and taboo to kill. In popular Korean mythology, it is told that people who see an otter ( soodal ) will attract 'rain clouds' for the rest of their lives. In the Buddhist Jataka tales, The Otters and The Wolf, two otters agreed to let a wolf settle their dispute in dividing their caught fish but it was taken away by

3240-453: Is made a captain of Mistmantle at the end of book one and resigns in book five as she wishes to spend more time with her young daughter, Fionn. Lugg is a down-to-earth, brave and determined mole who is a member of the Circle and a captain. In book one, Lugg aids Urchin in his adventures and fights alongside Padra in the battle against Husk. After he is named king, Crispin makes Lugg a captain. In

3348-400: Is referred to in the books, and is known to have water poisonous to non-native creatures. Cedar and Almond left the island when they were young as the volcano erupted. Ashfire is mentioned in books two and five. Sepia lands her boat there in the middle of the fifth book. Urchin is a young, energetic and charismatic red squirrel who looks different from most. His fur is the colour of honey; only

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3456-431: Is taken there to satisfy the mad King Silverbirch's desire for silver. It has a large stone fortress a little way from the beach where Urchin is brought in; the fortress is destroyed by an earthquake at the end of the book. Further into the island there are several large hills, one being Eagle Crag from which Urchin's father Candle was pushed off and killed. There are silver mines which Silverbirch makes his animals work in so

3564-538: Is undercover in King Silverbirch's court. She plays a significant role in helping Urchin escape from King Silverbirch and rebels against Silverbirch. At the end of the book, Cedar goes to Mistmantle and marries King Crispin. In the remaining books, she is the queen of Mistmantle and a useful healer. Children%27s literature Children's literature can be traced to traditional stories like fairy tales , which have only been identified as children's literature since

3672-466: Is very angry when Crispin is exiled from Mistmantle, and takes Urchin on as a page after Crispin enters the Mists. Padra has a longtime girlfriend called Arran, and they get married at the end of book one. In book two they have twins, Tide and Swanfeather. He is the older brother of Fingal. In book five, he and Arran have another baby whom they name Fionn. Arran is Padra's longtime girlfriend and later wife. She

3780-409: Is where he meets Lord and Lady Arcneck, rulers of the island, and Whisper, a female red squirrel who later becomes his love interest. It is also where Urchin arrives seeking to recover Crispin and bring him back to Mistmantle, unaware that he has brought with him a mole who kills Whisper. Whitewings is a large island compared to Mistmantle and is about three days away by boat. In the second book, Urchin

3888-552: The Jennings series by Anthony Buckeridge . Ruth Manning-Sanders 's first collection, A Book of Giants , retells a number of giant stories from around the world. Susan Cooper 's The Dark Is Rising is a five-volume fantasy saga set in England and Wales. Raymond Briggs ' children's picture book The Snowman (1978) has been adapted as an animation, shown every Christmas on British television. The Reverend. W. Awdry and son Christopher 's The Railway Series features Thomas

3996-768: The Old English word otor or oter . This and cognate words in other Indo-European languages ultimately stem from the Proto-Indo-European root *wódr̥ , which also gave rise to the English word "water". An otter's den is called a holt, or couch. Male otters are called dogs or boars; females are called bitches or sows; and their offspring are called pups or cubs. The collective nouns for otters are bevy, family, lodge, romp (being descriptive of their often playful nature), or, when in water, raft. The feces of otters are typically identified by their distinctive aroma,

4104-444: The giant otter and sea otter are the largest. They have very soft, insulated underfur, which is protected by an outer layer of long guard hairs . This traps a layer of air which keeps them dry, warm, and somewhat buoyant under water. Several otter species live in cold waters and have high metabolic rates to help keep them warm. Eurasian otters must eat 15% of their body weight each day, and sea otters 20 to 25%, depending on

4212-430: The hedgehog is Urchin's friend who sticks with him throughout all his adventures. She is a little sharper than most hedgehogs. Needle is a seamstress in the castle and is made part of the Circle with Urchin in book three. Urchin and Lugg rescue Needle's younger brother Scufflen from Husk, who sentences him to be culled in book one. Cedar is a squirrel from the island of Whitewings. She first appears in book two, where she

4320-528: The 1700s, although it may have begun well before then. Early hunting methods included darts, arrows, nets and snares but later, traps were set on land and guns used. There has been a long history of otter pelts being worn around the world. In China it was standard for the royalty to wear robes made from them. People that were financially high in status also wore them. The tails of otters were often made into items for men to wear. These included hats and belts. Even some types of mittens for children have been made from

4428-446: The 1740s, a cluster of London publishers began to produce new books designed to instruct and delight young readers. Thomas Boreman was one. Another was Mary Cooper , whose two-volume Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book (1744) is the first known nursery rhyme collection. But the most celebrated of these pioneers is John Newbery , whose first book for the entertainment of children was A Little Pretty Pocket-Book ." Widely considered

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4536-707: The 1890s, some of the best known fairy tales from England were compiled in Joseph Jacobs ' English Fairy Tales , including Jack and the Beanstalk , Goldilocks and the Three Bears , The Three Little Pigs , Jack the Giant Killer and Tom Thumb . The Kailyard School of Scottish writers, notably J. M. Barrie , creator of Peter Pan (1904), presented an idealised version of society and brought fantasy and folklore back into fashion. In 1908, Kenneth Grahame wrote

4644-621: The 1930s he began publishing his Swallows and Amazons series of children's books about the school-holiday adventures of children, mostly in the English Lake District and the Norfolk Broads . Many of them involve sailing; fishing and camping are other common subjects. Biggles was a popular series of adventure books for young boys, about James Bigglesworth, a fictional pilot and adventurer , by W. E. Johns . Between 1941 and 1961 there were 60 issues with stories about Biggles, and in

4752-507: The 1930s. British comics in the 20th century evolved from illustrated penny dreadfuls of the Victorian era (featuring Sweeney Todd , Dick Turpin and Varney the Vampire ). First published in the 1830s, according to The Guardian , penny dreadfuls were "Britain's first taste of mass-produced popular culture for the young." Robin Hood featured in a series of penny dreadfuls in 1838 which sparked

4860-478: The 1960s occasional contributors included the BBC astronomer Patrick Moore . Between 1940 and 1947, W. E. Johns contributed sixty stories featuring the female pilot Worrals . Evoking epic themes, Richard Adams 's 1972 survival and adventure novel Watership Down follows a small group of rabbits who escape the destruction of their warren and seek to establish a new home. Geoffrey Trease and Rosemary Sutcliff brought

4968-586: The English faculty at the University of Oxford, were the "Inklings", with the major fantasy novelists C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien as its main members. C. S. Lewis published the first installment of The Chronicles of Narnia series in 1950, while Tolkien is best known, in addition to The Hobbit , as the author of The Lord of the Rings (1954). Another writer of fantasy stories is Alan Garner author of Elidor (1965), and The Owl Service (1967). The latter

5076-510: The French literary society, who saw them as only fit for old people and children. In 1658, John Amos Comenius in Bohemia published the informative illustrated Orbis Pictus , for children under six learning to read. It is considered to be the first picture book produced specifically for children. The first Danish children's book was The Child's Mirror by Niels Bredal in 1568, an adaptation of

5184-493: The Goblin and its sequel The Princess and Curdie , by George MacDonald , appeared in 1872 and 1883, and the adventure stories Treasure Island and Kidnapped , both by Robert Louis Stevenson , were extremely popular in the 1880s. Rudyard Kipling 's The Jungle Book was first published in 1894, and J. M. Barrie told the story of Peter Pan in the novel Peter and Wendy in 1911. Johanna Spyri 's two-part novel Heidi

5292-582: The Great wrote allegories for children, and during her reign, Nikolai Novikov started the first juvenile magazine in Russia. The modern children's book emerged in mid-18th-century England. A growing polite middle-class and the influence of Lockean theories of childhood innocence combined to create the beginnings of childhood as a concept. In an article for the British Library , professor MO Grenby writes, "in

5400-663: The Grimm brothers also contributed to children's literature through their academic pursuits. As professors, they had a scholarly interest in the stories, striving to preserve them and their variations accurately, recording their sources. A similar project was carried out by the Norwegian scholars Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe , who collected Norwegian fairy tales and published them as Norwegian Folktales , often referred to as Asbjørnsen and Moe . By compiling these stories, they preserved Norway's literary heritage and helped create

5508-792: The IUCN/SSC Otter Specialist Group showed that otter attacks reported between 1875 and 2010 occurred most often in Florida , where human and otter populations have substantially increased since 2000, with the majority involving the North American otter. At least 42 instances of attack were found, including one resulting in death and another case of serious injury. Attacking otters had rabies in 36% of anecdotal reports. 80% of otter bite victims do not seek medical treatment. Animal welfare groups say that, unless threatened, otters rarely attack humans. In November 2021, about 20 otters ambushed

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5616-507: The Norwegian written language. Danish author and poet Hans Christian Andersen traveled through Europe and gathered many well-known fairy tales and created new stories in the fairy tale genre. In Switzerland , Johann David Wyss published The Swiss Family Robinson in 1812, with the aim of teaching children about family values, good husbandry, the uses of the natural world and self-reliance. The book became popular across Europe after it

5724-563: The Stone by T. H. White in 1938. Children's mass paperback books were first released in England in 1940 under the Puffin Books imprint, and their lower prices helped make book buying possible for children during World War II. Enid Blyton 's books have been among the world's bestsellers since the 1930s, selling more than 600 million copies. Blyton's books are still enormously popular and have been translated into almost 90 languages. She wrote on

5832-601: The Tank Engine . Margery Sharp 's series The Rescuers is based on a heroic mouse organisation. The third Children's Laureate Michael Morpurgo published War Horse in 1982. Dick King-Smith 's novels include The Sheep-Pig (1984). Diana Wynne Jones wrote the young adult fantasy novel Howl's Moving Castle in 1986. Anne Fine 's Madame Doubtfire (1987) is based around a family with divorced parents. Anthony Horowitz 's Alex Rider series begins with Stormbreaker (2000). Philip Pullman 's His Dark Materials

5940-680: The United States. Mark Twain released Tom Sawyer in 1876. In 1880 another bestseller, Uncle Remus: His Songs and His Sayings , a collection of African American folk tales adapted and compiled by Joel Chandler Harris , appeared. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a plethora of children's novels began featuring realistic, non-magical plotlines. Certain titles received international success such as Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island (1883), L. M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables (1908), and Louisa May Alcott's Little Women (1869). Literature for children had developed as

6048-782: The Year prize, won by The Amber Spyglass . Northern Lights won the Carnegie Medal for children's fiction in 1995. Neil Gaiman wrote the dark fantasy novella Coraline (2002). His 2008 fantasy, The Graveyard Book , traces the story of a boy who is raised by the supernatural occupants of a graveyard. In 2001, Terry Pratchett received the Carnegie Medal (his first major award) for The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents . Cressida Cowell 's How to Train Your Dragon series were published between 2003 and 2015. J. K. Rowling 's Harry Potter fantasy sequence of seven novels chronicles

6156-603: The adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter . The series began with Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in 1997 and ended with the seventh and final book Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in 2007; becoming the best selling book-series in history . The series has been translated into 67 languages, so placing Rowling among the most translated authors in history. While Daniel Defoe wrote Robinson Crusoe in 1719 (spawning so many imitations it defined

6264-665: The alphabet, vowels, consonants, double letters, and syllables before providing a religious rhyme of the alphabet, beginning "In Adam's fall We sinned all...", and continues through the alphabet. It also contained religious maxims, acronyms , spelling help and other educational items, all decorated by woodcuts . In 1634, the Pentamerone from Italy became the first major published collection of European folk tales. Charles Perrault began recording fairy tales in France, publishing his first collection in 1697. They were not well received among

6372-507: The beginning of the mass circulation of Robin stories. Otter Aonyx Enhydra Hydrictis Lontra Lutra Lutrogale Pteronura † Enhydriodon † Algarolutra † Cyrnaonyx † Megalenhydris † Sardolutra † Siamogale † Teruelictis † Satherium † Enhydritherium Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae . The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic , aquatic , or marine . Lutrinae

6480-504: The body of his children's books." Professor Grenby writes, "Newbery has become known as the 'father of children's literature' chiefly because he was able to show that publishing children's books could be a commercial success." The improvement in the quality of books for children and the diversity of topics he published helped make Newbery the leading producer of children's books in his time. He published his own books as well as those by authors such as Samuel Johnson and Oliver Goldsmith ;

6588-1000: The body of written works and accompanying illustrations produced in order to entertain or instruct young people. The genre encompasses a wide range of works, including acknowledged classics of world literature , picture books and easy-to-read stories written exclusively for children, and fairy tales , lullabies , fables , folk songs , and other primarily orally transmitted materials or more specifically defined as fiction , non-fiction , poetry , or drama intended for and used by children and young people. One writer on children's literature defines it as "all books written for children, excluding works such as comic books , joke books, cartoon books , and non-fiction works that are not intended to be read from front to back, such as dictionaries, encyclopedias, and other reference materials". However, others would argue that children's comics should also be included: "Children's Literature studies has traditionally treated comics fitfully and superficially despite

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6696-552: The booklets as well. Johanna Bradley says, in From Chapbooks to Plum Cake , that chapbooks kept imaginative stories from being lost to readers under the strict Puritan influence of the time. Hornbooks also appeared in England during this time, teaching children basic information such as the alphabet and the Lord's Prayer . These were brought from England to the American colonies in

6804-734: The children's classic The Wind in the Willows and the Scouts founder Robert Baden-Powell 's first book, Scouting for Boys , was published. Inspiration for Frances Hodgson Burnett 's novel The Secret Garden (1910) was the Great Maytham Hall Garden in Kent. While fighting in the trenches for the British Army in World War I, Hugh Lofting created the character of Doctor Dolittle , who appears in

6912-490: The concept of childhood , that a separate genre of children's literature began to emerge, with its own divisions, expectations, and canon . The earliest of these books were educational books, books on conduct, and simple ABCs—often decorated with animals, plants, and anthropomorphic letters. In 1962, French historian Philippe Ariès argues in his book Centuries of Childhood that the modern concept of childhood only emerged in recent times. He explains that children were in

7020-457: The concept of childhood began to emerge in Europe. Adults saw children as separate beings, innocent and in need of protection and training by the adults around them. The English philosopher John Locke developed his theory of the tabula rasa in his 1690 An Essay Concerning Human Understanding . In Locke's philosophy, tabula rasa was the theory that the (human) mind is at birth a "blank slate" without rules for processing data, and that data

7128-527: The content (the weird adventures of a young girl in a fantasy land), but also the origin of the tales as both are dedicated and given to a daughter of the author's friends. The shift to a modern genre of children's literature occurred in the mid-19th century; didacticism of a previous age began to make way for more humorous, child-oriented books, more attuned to the child's imagination. The availability of children's literature greatly increased as well, as paper and printing became widely available and affordable,

7236-437: The creation of a number of nineteenth-century fantasy and fairy tales for children which featured magic objects and talking animals. Another influence on this shift in attitudes came from Puritanism , which stressed the importance of individual salvation. Puritans were concerned with the spiritual welfare of their children, and there was a large growth in the publication of "good godly books" aimed squarely at children. Some of

7344-646: The cunning wolf. In Japanese, otters are called "kawauso" ( 獺、川獺 ). In Japanese folklore, they fool humans in the same way as foxes ( kitsune ) and tanuki . In the Noto region , Ishikawa Prefecture , there are stories where they shapeshift into beautiful women or children wearing checker-patterned clothing. If a human attempts to speak to one, they will answer "oraya" and then answer "araya," and if anybody asks them anything, they say cryptic things like "kawai." There are darker stories, such as one from Kaga Province (now Ishikawa Prefecture ) in which an otter that lives in

7452-474: The eighteenth century, and songs, part of a wider oral tradition , which adults shared with children before publishing existed. The development of early children's literature, before printing was invented, is difficult to trace. Even after printing became widespread, many classic "children's" tales were originally created for adults and later adapted for a younger audience. Since the fifteenth century much literature has been aimed specifically at children, often with

7560-433: The end of book five and she accepts. Juniper is Urchin's friend that helps him throughout his journeys; they consider each other brothers. He limps due to a twisted paw and later discovers his prophetic powers. In book three, he finds out Husk was his father when his foster mother Damson is on her deathbed, making him afraid he will turn out like Husk. He becomes the island's priest when Brother Fir dies in book four. Needle

7668-400: The end of book five. At the end of book five, he proposes to Sepia, and she accepts. Crispin is a red squirrel who is a captain of Mistmantle. He finds Urchin on the shore when he is a new captain. In the first book Crispin is exiled after being falsely accused of murder and ends up on Swan Isle, where he meets a red squirrel called Whisper, whom he later marries. She is later murdered by Gloss

7776-455: The first "English masterpiece written for children" and as a founding book in the development of fantasy literature, its publication opened the "First Golden Age" of children's literature in Britain and Europe that continued until the early 1900s. The fairy-tale absurdity of Wonderland has solid historical ground as a satire of the serious problems of the Victorian era. Lewis Carroll is ironic about

7884-405: The first modern children's book, A Little Pretty Pocket-Book was the first children's publication aimed at giving enjoyment to children, containing a mixture of rhymes, picture stories and games for pleasure. Newbery believed that play was a better enticement to children's good behavior than physical discipline, and the child was to record his or her behaviour daily. The book was child–sized with

7992-512: The form of an otter. The myth of "Otter's Ransom" is the starting point of the Volsunga saga . In Irish mythology , the character Lí Ban was turned from a woman into a mermaid, half human and half salmon, and given three hundred years of life to roam the oceans. Her lapdog assumed the form of an otter and shared her prolonged lifetime and her extensive wanderings. In some Native American cultures, otters are considered totem animals . The otter

8100-615: The fur of otters. Otters have also been hunted using dogs, especially the otterhound . From 1958 to 1963, the 11 otter hunts in England and Wales killed 1,065 otters between them. In such hunts, the hunters notched their poles after every kill. The prized trophy that hunters would take from the otters was the baculum , which would be worn as a tie-pin . Traffic (the wildlife trade monitoring network) reported that otters are at serious risk in Southeast Asia and have disappeared from parts of their former range. This decline in populations

8208-463: The garden door at night and entering into a different age. William Golding 's 1954 novel Lord of the Flies focuses on a group of British boys stranded on an uninhabited island and their disastrous attempt to govern themselves. Roald Dahl wrote children's fantasy novels which were often inspired from experiences from his childhood, with often unexpected endings, and unsentimental, dark humour. Dahl

8316-489: The help of his girlfriend and later wife, Lady Aspen. After his plots are revealed by Captain Padra, he is pursued and dies falling into the pit. His body isn't discovered until book three, when Juniper, his son, goes looking for him to disprove rumours that Husk is alive. Padra is an otter with a face that looks as if he is always about to laugh. He is Crispin's best friend. He, Husk, and Crispin are all captains in book one. Padra

8424-536: The history of European children's literature was largely written in Germany." The Brothers Grimm preserved and published the traditional tales told in Germany . They were so popular in their home country that modern, realistic children's literature began to be looked down on there. This dislike of non-traditional stories continued there until the beginning of the next century. In addition to their collection of stories,

8532-401: The impending disaster as an opportunity to rise to power. Urchin, his page Corr, and King Crispin's Circle must stop Mossberry and bring the islanders to safety. Mistmantle is the island where the Mistmantle Chronicles are mainly set. It is a relatively small island with mists that surround it which keep those who would seek to harm Mistmantle and those who do not belong on the island away. Only

8640-417: The importance of comics as a global phenomenon associated with children". The International Companion Encyclopedia of Children's Literature notes that "the boundaries of genre... are not fixed but blurred". Sometimes, no agreement can be reached about whether a given work is best categorized as literature for adults or children. Some works defy easy categorization. J. K. Rowling 's Harry Potter series

8748-417: The island before it's too late. Crispin does his part and many lives are risked to save Urchin. Along the way, Urchin gains a new friend and also discovers a secret about his past that will change his life forever. The heir of Mistmantle, Princess Catkin, is kidnapped. A mysterious epidemic begins to ravage the island, and news starts spreading about sightings of the infamous Captain Husk, who everyone believed

8856-503: The island is covered in a slight layer of dust and many animals have lung problems from being forced to work in the silver mines. Under the fortress are a series of tunnels and caves that are used by the Larchlings for meetings and are a place of refuge for those in danger of being assassinated by Silverbirch's soldiers. Ashfire is the island where Cedar and Almond originally come from. It is home to an active volcano, or "fire mountain" as it

8964-525: The island, introducing a regime of culling and forced labour . Urchin has to take down Husk and Aspen to save the island. Urchin realises that he will have a special role to play in the battle to save Mistmantle. The animals of Mistmantle prepare for the coronation of Crispin the squirrel. But when the Heartstone goes missing and Urchin gets kidnapped by some unexpected visitors from the island called Whitewings, panic begins to rise. Urchin knows he must escape

9072-413: The late sixteenth century. An early example is ABC-Book , an alphabet book published by Ivan Fyodorov in 1571. The first picture book published in Russia, Karion Istomin 's The Illustrated Primer , appeared in 1694. Peter the Great 's interest in modernizing his country through Westernization helped Western children's literature dominate the field through the eighteenth century. Catherine

9180-755: The latter may have written The History of Little Goody Two-Shoes , Newbery's most popular book. Another philosopher who influenced the development of children's literature was Jean-Jacques Rousseau , who argued that children should be allowed to develop naturally and joyously. His idea of appealing to a children's natural interests took hold among writers for children. Popular examples included Thomas Day 's The History of Sandford and Merton , four volumes that embody Rousseau's theories. Furthermore, Maria and Richard Lovell Edgeworth 's Practical Education : The History of Harry and Lucy (1780) urged children to teach themselves. Rousseau's ideas also had great influence in Germany, especially on German Philanthropism ,

9288-513: The mid-seventeenth century. The first such book was a catechism for children, written in verse by the Puritan John Cotton . Known as Spiritual Milk for Boston Babes , it was published in 1646, appearing both in England and Boston . Another early book, The New England Primer , was in print by 1691 and used in schools for 100 years. The primer begins with "The young Infant's or Child's morning Prayer" and evening prayer. It then shows

9396-420: The mole. Crispin journeys back to Mistmantle with Urchin on the backs of swans and helps to save Mistmantle from Husk. At the end of book one, Crispin is proclaimed king by the laws of Mistmantle Island after King Brushen dies. In book two, he refuses to be crowned until Urchin is returned to the island. He falls in love with Cedar, and in book three they have their first child and the heir of Mistmantle, Catkin. He

9504-535: The most popular works were by James Janeway , but the most enduring book from this movement, still read today, especially in modernised versions, is The Pilgrim's Progress (1678) by John Bunyan . Chapbooks , pocket-sized pamphlets that were often folded instead of being stitched, were published in Britain; illustrated by woodblock printing , these inexpensive booklets reprinted popular ballads , historical re-tellings, and folk tales. Though not specifically published for children at this time, young people enjoyed

9612-410: The opening of Children's Literature: A Reader's History from Aesop to Harry Potter , says, "This book presents a history of what children have heard and read.... The history I write of is a history of reception ." Early children's literature consisted of spoken stories, songs, and poems, used to educate, instruct, and entertain children. It was only in the eighteenth century, with the development of

9720-514: The past not considered as greatly different from adults and were not given significantly different treatment. As evidence for this position, he notes that, apart from instructional and didactic texts for children written by clerics like the Venerable Bede and Ælfric of Eynsham , there was a lack of any genuine literature aimed specifically at children before the 18th century. Other scholars have qualified this viewpoint by noting that there

9828-410: The population grew and literacy rates improved. Tom Brown's School Days by Thomas Hughes appeared in 1857, and is considered to be the founding book in the school story tradition. However, it was Lewis Carroll 's fantasy, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland , published in 1865 in England, that signaled the change in writing style for children to an imaginative and empathetic one. Regarded as

9936-400: The powerful webbed feet used to swim, and their seal-like abilities for holding breath underwater. Most have sharp claws on their feet and all except the sea otter have long, muscular tails. The 13 species range in adult size from 0.6 to 1.8 m (2.0 to 5.9 ft) in length and 1 to 45 kg (2.2 to 99.2 lb) in weight. The Asian small-clawed otter is the smallest otter species and

10044-435: The prim and all-out regulated life of the "golden" Victorian century. One other noteworthy publication was Mark Twain 's book Tom Sawyer (1876), which was one of the first "boy books", intended for children but enjoyed by both children and adults alike. These were classified as such for the themes they contained, consisting of fighting and work. Another important book of that decade was The Water-Babies, A Fairy Tale for

10152-467: The production of adventure fiction for boys. This inspired writers who normally catered to adult audiences to write for children, a notable example being Robert Louis Stevenson 's classic pirate story Treasure Island (1883). In the years after the First World War, writers such as Arthur Ransome developed the adventure genre by setting the adventure in Britain rather than distant countries. In

10260-400: The smell of which has been described as ranging from freshly mown hay to putrefied fish; these are known as spraints . The gestation period in otters is about 60 to 86 days. The newborn pup is cared for by the bitch, dog, and older offspring. Female otters reach sexual maturity at approximately two years of age and males at approximately three years. The holt is built under tree roots or

10368-510: The sweetest voice on the island, and is the leader of the Choir. She is introduced in book one, at the Spring Festival, and becomes a main character throughout the other books. She rescues Princess Catkin in book three because she is the only one calm and kind enough to get past Mistress Linty, Catkin's captor. She and Urchin have a developing relationship throughout the series; he proposes to her at

10476-727: The temperature. In water as warm as 10 °C (50 °F), an otter needs to catch 100 g (3.5 oz) of fish per hour to survive. Most species hunt for three to five hours each day and nursing mothers up to eight hours each day. For most otters, fish is the staple of their diet. This is often supplemented by frogs, crayfish and crabs . Some otters are experts at opening shellfish , and others will feed on available small mammals or birds. Prey-dependence leaves otters very vulnerable to prey depletion. Sea otters are hunters of clams , sea urchins and other shelled creatures. They are notable for their ability to use stones to break open shellfish on their bellies. This skill must be learned by

10584-405: The third book, Lugg dies after he tries to stop Linty from taking Catkin away from the island and his heart gives out. Fingal names his boat after Lugg. Brother Fir is Mistmantle's priest in books one to four. He is said to have kind, wise eyes and a depth of joy that no one else has. He dies peacefully of old age in book four. Juniper becomes the next priest. Sepia is a kind, caring squirrel with

10692-410: The tips of his ears and tail are the colour that identifies his species. He is born on a night of Riding Stars on the shore opposite to where Mistmantle Tower is located. His mother lives just long enough to give him a blessing. He is rescued by Crispin, then a skittish page, and Apple, who takes him in and raises him as her adopted son. Several years later he is approached by Crispin, who had since become

10800-1008: The water. They may also find and play with small stones. Different species vary in their social structure, some being largely solitary, while others live in groups – in a few species these groups may be fairly large. Giant otter ( Pteronura brasiliensis ) North American river otter ( Lontra canadensis ) Marine otter ( Lontra felina ) Southern river otter ( Lontra provocax ) Neotropical otter ( Lontra longicaudis ) Sea otter ( Enhydra lutris ) Spotted-necked otter ( Hydrictis maculicollis ) Eurasian otter ( Lutra lutra ) Hairy-nosed otter ( Lutra sumatrana ) Japanese otter † ( Lutra nippon ) Lutra euxena † Lutra castiglionis † Lutra simplicidens † Lutra trinacriae † African clawless otter ( Aonyx capensis ) Asian small-clawed otter ( Aonyx cinerea ) Congo clawless otter ( Aonyx congicus ) Smooth-coated otter ( Lutrogale perspicillata ) Subfamily Lutrinae Otters have been hunted for their pelts from at least

10908-441: The wrath of the ravens down on Mistmantle. When the vengeful ravens attack Mistmantle Island, the animals of Mistmantle band together to defeat them. Under the guidance of King Crispin, the animals of Mistmantle are in a long period of peace and prosperity since the Raven War. This tranquility is disrupted when a series of tidal waves threatens to destroy the island. Mossberry, an influential squirrel with delusions of grandeur, sees

11016-529: The young. Otters are active hunters, chasing prey in the water or searching the beds of rivers, lakes or the seas. Most species live beside water, but river otters usually enter it only to hunt or travel, otherwise spending much of their time on land to prevent their fur becoming waterlogged. Sea otters are considerably more aquatic and live in the ocean for most of their lives. Otters are playful animals and appear to engage in various behaviors for sheer enjoyment, such as making waterslides and sliding on them into

11124-448: Was a literature designed to convey the values, attitudes, and information necessary for children within their cultures, such as the Play of Daniel from the twelfth century. Pre-modern children's literature, therefore, tended to be of a didactic and moralistic nature, with the purpose of conveying conduct -related, educational and religious lessons. During the seventeenth century,

11232-399: Was dead. The inhabitants of Mistmantle begin to worry that these events are connected and that Husk will return. Urchin and his friend Juniper must recover Catkin before her life is in serious danger. Peace on Mistmantle is disrupted when Lord Arcneck returns to the island from Swan Isle, asking for help in a war against bloodthirsty ravens. King Crispin and his friends aid him, but they bring

11340-1001: Was inspired to write Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964), featuring the eccentric chocolatier Willy Wonka , having grown up near two chocolate makers in England who often tried to steal trade secrets by sending spies into the other's factory. His other works include James and the Giant Peach (1961), Fantastic Mr. Fox (1970), The BFG (1982), The Witches (1983), and Matilda (1988). Starting in 1958, Michael Bond published more than twenty humorous stories about Paddington Bear . Boarding schools in literature are centred on older pre-adolescent and adolescent school life, and are most commonly set in English boarding schools . Popular school stories from this period include Ronald Searle 's comic St Trinian's (1949–1953) and his illustrations for Geoffrey Willans 's Molesworth series, Jill Murphy 's The Worst Witch , and

11448-567: Was published in Switzerland in 1880 and 1881. In the US, children's publishing entered a period of growth after the American Civil War in 1865. Boys' book writer Oliver Optic published over 100 books. In 1868, the "epoch-making" Little Women , the fictionalized autobiography of Louisa May Alcott , was published. This " coming of age " story established the genre of realistic family books in

11556-497: Was translated into French by Isabelle de Montolieu . E. T. A. Hoffmann 's tale " The Nutcracker and the Mouse King " was published in 1816 in a German collection of stories for children, Kinder-Märchen . It is the first modern short story to introduce bizarre, odd and grotesque elements in children's literature and thereby anticipates Lewis Carroll's tale, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland . There are not only parallels concerning

11664-410: Was written and marketed for children, but it is also popular among adults. The series' extreme popularity led The New York Times to create a separate bestseller list for children's books. Despite the widespread association of children's literature with picture books, spoken narratives existed before printing , and the root of many children's tales go back to ancient storytellers. Seth Lerer , in

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