Peter and Iona Opie

•Specialized in the children’s literature, the customs of schoolchildren, children’s rhymes and playground rhymes
•1951 The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes
•1959 The Lore and Language of Schoolchildren
•The Opie Collection at the Bodleian Library at Oxford University contains 20,000 pieces, covering the 16th to 20th centuries

Biography of the Opies

Lilly Library Collection

University of Sheffield Collection

Bodleian Library Collection

Opie Collection of Children's Games and Songs (recordings)

Children's Playground Games and Songs in the New Media Age

The Secret Garden

•1910 classic of English children’s literature by Frances Hodgson Burnett
•Using the garden theme, Burnett explores the healing power inherent in living themes
•Struggle between common sense and the accepted wisdom of the day
•Was marketed to both children and adults

Complete Story

Peter Pan

•1904 play and 1911 novel by James Barrie
•Major theme: the conflict between the innocence of childhood and the responsibility of adulthood
•Traditionally in the play, a woman plays the part of Peter Pan and an actor plays both Mr. Darling and Captain Hook

What is Childhood?

Philippe Arles

•In his influential 1960 book, Centuries of Childhood, the French historian Philippe Arlès, argued that “childhood” is a modern concept.

•Before the 17th century, children were represented as greatly different from adults and not given significantly different treatment.

•In ancient and medieval times, children were trained for work by their families. The ability to read was not common.

Creation of Childhood Concept

John Locke (1632-1704)
by John Greenhill (d. 1676)

•John Locke, the English philosopher and physician, was influential in the new attitude towards children in his 1690 An Essay Concerning Human Understanding. 

•The human mind is a blank slate and parents have a duty to teach their children correct notions of morality and social behavior. 

•Easy pleasant books are important to provide to children.