Editing Children's literature (section)

==Illustration==
[[File:orbispictus.JPG|thumb|A late 18th-century reprint of ''[[Orbis Pictus]]'' by [[Comenius]], the first children's picture book.]]
Pictures have always accompanied children's stories.<ref name=lerer>{{cite book |last=Lerer |first=Seth |title=Children's Literature: A Reader's History, from Aesop to Harry Potter |url=https://archive.org/details/childrensliterat0000lere |url-access=registration |year=2008 |publisher=University of Chicago}}</ref>{{rp|320}} A [[papyrus]] from [[Diocese of Egypt (Late Antiquity)|Byzantine Egypt]], shows illustrations accompanied by the story of [[Hercules]]' labors.<ref>Cribiore, Raffaella, ''Gymnastics of the Mind'', p. 139 [[Princeton University]], 2001, cited in Lerer, Seth, ''Children's Literature'', p. 22, [[University of Chicago]], 2008.</ref> Modern [[Children's book illustration|children's books are illustrated]] in a way that is rarely seen in adult literature, except in [[graphic novel]]s. Generally, artwork plays a greater role in books intended for younger readers (especially pre-literate children). Children's picture books often serve as an accessible source of high quality art for young children. Even after children learn to read well enough to enjoy a story without illustrations, they (like their elders) continue to appreciate the occasional drawings found in chapter books.

According to Joyce Whalley in ''The International Companion Encyclopedia of Children's Literature'', "an illustrated book differs from a book with [[illustration]]s in that a good illustrated book is one where the pictures enhance or add depth to the text."<ref name="int.comp.ency" />{{rp|221}} Using this definition, the first illustrated children's book is considered to be ''[[Orbis Pictus]]'' which was published in 1658 by the [[Moravians (ethnic group)|Moravian]] author [[Comenius]]. Acting as a kind of encyclopedia, ''Orbis Pictus'' had a picture on every page, followed by the name of the object in [[Latin]] and German. It was translated into English in 1659 and was used in homes and schools around Europe and Great Britain for many years.<ref name="int.comp.ency" />{{rp|220}}

Early children's books, such as ''Orbis Pictus'', were illustrated by [[woodcut]], and many times the same image was repeated in a number of books regardless of how appropriate the illustration was for the story.<ref name=lerer />{{rp|322}} Newer processes, including copper and steel [[engraving]] were first used in the 1830s. One of the first uses of [[Chromolithography]] (a way of making multi-colored prints) in a children's book was demonstrated in ''[[Struwwelpeter]]'', published in Germany in 1845. English illustrator [[Walter Crane]] refined its use in children's books in the late 19th century. [[File:Crane frog4.jpg|thumb|left|[[Walter Crane]]'s [[Chromolithography|chromolithograph]] illustration for ''[[The Frog Prince (story)|The Frog Prince]]'', 1874.]]

Another method of creating illustrations for children's books was [[etching]], used by [[George Cruikshank]] in the 1850s. By the 1860s, top artists were illustrating for children, including Crane, [[Randolph Caldecott]], [[Kate Greenaway]], and [[John Tenniel]]. Most pictures were still black-and-white, and many color pictures were hand colored, often by children.<ref name="int.comp.ency" />{{rp|224–226}} ''The Essential Guide to Children's Books and Their Creators'' credits Caldecott with "The concept of extending the meaning of text beyond literal visualization".<ref name=Silvey />{{rp|350}}

Twentieth-century artists such as [[Kay Nielson]], [[Edmund Dulac]], and [[Arthur Rackham]] produced illustrations that are still reprinted today.<ref name="int.comp.ency" />{{rp|224–227}} Developments in printing capabilities were reflected in children's books. After World War II, [[Offset printing|offset lithography]] became more refined, and painter-style illustrations, such as [[Brian Wildsmith]]'s were common by the 1950s.<ref name="int.comp.ency" />{{rp|233}}

''Illustrators of Children's Books, 1744–1945'' (Horn Book, 1947), an extensively detailed four volume work by [[Louise Payson Latimer]], Bertha E. Mahony and Beulah Folmsbee, catalogs illustrators of children's books over two centuries.