John Newbery

John Newbery ( born July 9, 1713 Waltham St. Lawrence, Berkshire, † December 22 1767 in Islington, London ) was an English publisher and bookseller. He provided a new impetus for the children 's and youth literature and helped to establish it as a permanent genre.

Life

John Newbery was born the son of a farmer. At sixteen he went to Reading, where he became an apprentice to the printer William Carnan. After the death of his master in 1737 Newbery inherited a part of the property and married the widow. From 1740 he began in Reading with the publication of books. 1744 Newbery published his first children's book, A Little Pretty Pocket - Book, which asked children to good manners. Finally, he moved in 1745 with his family to London. There he opened his own bookstore, The Bible and the Sun.

In the following years he published religious magazines, newspapers and books, especially just children's books. The latter stood out all through their high-quality printing and its durable paper out and thus set new standards for the genre. Although Newbery published his books anonymously, it is believed that he wrote some of them himself; in other cases, it employed well-known authors.

Newberys children's books were also novel in that they are not mediated exclusively moral values, but had a certain entertainment value. However, they were probably not the first such works, for more than two years before Newberys first books Thomas Boreman published his Gigantick Histories. 1751 Newbery was the first magazine for children, The Lilliputian Magazine, out. In 1765 he published his most successful children's book, The History of Little Goody Two-Shoes, which may have been written by Oliver Goldsmith.

Others

After John Newbery, the Newbery Medal is named, which is awarded annually since 1922 by the American Library Association for outstanding works of children's literature.