Works specifically written for children. The
earliest known illustrated children's book in
English is Goody Two Shoes 1765, possibly
written by Oliver Goldsmith. Fairy tales were
originally part of a vast range of oral
literature, credited only to the writer who
first recorded them, such as Charles
Perrault. During the 19th century several
writers, including Hans Christian Andersen,
wrote original stories in the fairy tale
genre; others, such as the Grimm brothers,
collected (and sometimes adapted) existing
stories. Early children's stories were
written with a moral purpose; this was
particularly true in the 19th century, apart
from the unique case of Lewis Carroll's Alice
books. The late 19th century was the great
era of children's literature in the UK, with
Lewis Carroll, Beatrix Potter, Charles
Kingsley, and J M Barrie. It was also the
golden age of illustrated children's books,
with such artists as Kate Greenaway and
Randolph Caldecott. In the USA, Louise May
Alcott's Little Women 1868 and its sequels
found a wide audience. Among the most popular
20th-century children's writers in English
have been Kenneth Grahame (The Wind in the
Willows 1908) and A A Milne (Winnie the Pooh
1926) in the UK; and, in the USA, Laura
Ingalls Wilder (Little House on the Prairie
1935), E B White (Stuart Little 1945,
Charlotte's Web 1952), Dr Suess (Cat in the
Hat 1957), and Maurice Sendak (Where the Wild
Things Are 1963). Canadian Lucy Maud
Montgomery's series that began with Anne of
Green Gables 1908 was widely popular.
examples include Robinson Crusoe by Daniel
Defoe; the satirical Gulliver's Travels by
Jonathan Swift, and Tom Sawyer 1876 and
Huckleberry Finn 1884 by Mark Twain.