Children’s Books – Page 3 – Interesting Literature

Five Fascinating Facts about Dr Seuss

Five fun facts about Dr Seuss – or Theodor Seuss Geisel, to give him his full name

1. His first book was rejected by over 20 publishers. Dr Seuss got the idea for his first work, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, from listening to the rhythmic sound of a ship’s engine. The book was reportedly rejected by anything between 20 and 43 publishers (the author’s own account of the number varied) before it was accepted for publication by Vanguard Press in 1937. His books have gone on to sell over half a billion copies worldwide, making him one of the biggest-selling children’s authors in the world.

Five Fascinating Facts about C. S. Lewis

C. S. Lewis is one of the major figures of twentieth-century children’s literature and Christian apologism, so we’ve gathered together our five favourite interesting facts about Lewis and his work. Some of the interesting facts about C. S. Lewis that follow touch upon his friendship with J. R. R. Tolkien; these may be known to diehard fans of the ‘Inklings’ (of whom more below), but we hope that some facts will be news to even devoted fans of C. S. Lewis’s work.

Guest Blog: Five Fascinating Facts about Frances Hodgson Burnett

In this special guest post, Harriet Devine from Shiny New Books looks at the author of children’s classic The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett… 1. Frances was born near Manchester, England. Her father was a successful ironmonger, but her family fell on hard times after his death when she was only three. They had to adopt a … Read more

Five Fascinating Facts about Roald Dahl

Roald Dahl was born on this day in 1916, so we’ve taken the opportunity to raise a glass of burgundy (apparently one of Dahl’s favourite drinks – see below) to the man who gave us Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Twits, Matilda, The BFG, and so many more classic books. Here are five of our favourite interesting … Read more

Things You May Not Know about The Water-Babies

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

Charles Kingsley was an eccentric who once made friends with a wasp which he saved from drowning. He gave a Devon village its name. He gave us a number of words and phrases still in common use. His most famous work, The Water-Babies, is an odd book which is at once a children’s classic, a moral fable, a response to the theory of evolution, and a satire on Victorian attitudes to child labour and religion.