_.
1917. Crownfield, Gertrude, _The Little Taylor of the Winding Way_.
1920. Latham, Harold S., _Jimmy Quigg, Office Boy_.

SECTION VIII. REALISTIC STORIES

INTRODUCTORY

_Origin._ The history of realistic stories for children may well begin
with the interest in juvenile education awakened by the great French
teacher and author Rousseau (1712-1778). He taught that formal methods
should be discarded in juvenile education and that children should be
taught to know the things about them. The new method of education is
illustrated, probably unintentionally, in _The Renowned History of
Little Goody Two-Shoes_, the first selection in this section. Rousseau
directly influenced the thought of such writers as Thomas Day, Maria
Edgeworth, Dr. Aiken, and Mrs. Barbauld. The stories produced by these
authors in the last quarter of the eighteenth century are among the
first written primarily for the purpose of entertaining children. To
these writers we are indebted for the creation of types of children's
literature that modern authors have developed into the fascinating
stories of child life, the thrilling stories of adventure, and the
interesting accounts of nature that now abound in libraries and book
stores.

_The didactic period._ When we read these first stories written for the
entertainment of children, we can hardly fail to observe that each one
presents a lesson, either moral or practical. The didactic purpose is so
prominent that the term "Didactic Period" may be applied to the period
from 1765 (the publication of _Goody Two-Shoes_) to 1825, or even later.
The small amount of writing for children before this period was
practically all for the purpose of moral or religious instruction; hence
it was but natural for these first writers of juvenile entertainment
stories to feel it their duty to present moral and practical lessons. It
would be a mistake, however, to assume that these quaint old stories
would not be interesting to children today, for they deal with
fundamental truths, which are new and interesting to children of all
ages.

In addition to the writers already mentioned, and represented by
selections in the following pages, there were several others whose books
are yet accessible and now and then read for their historical interest
if not for any intrinsic literary value they may possess. One of these
was Mrs. Sarah K. Trimmer (1741-1810), who, associated with the early
days of the Sunday-school movem