Timeline of the History of Children’s Poetry

As we seek to share poetry with children, it can be interesting to revisit the roots of the genre and appreciate the milestones from the last 200 years of creating poetry for young people. The following timeline focuses on poetry publishing in English; obviously the oral tradition and the global perspective offers even more examples of poetry for young people.

The timeline begins:

c1765

John Newbery published a collection of English rhymes, Mother Goose's Melody, or, Sonnets for the Cradle in London.

1789

Songs of Innocence, an illustrated collection of 19 poems by William Blake followed by Songs of Experience (26 poems) published in 1794, including the well-known poem, “The Tyger”

1804

Original Poems for Infant Minds by Ann and Jane Taylor was first issued in two volumes and includes the classic, “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.”

1823

“A Visit from St. Nicholas” also known as "The Night Before Christmas" first published anonymously and generally attributed to Clement Clark Moore and widely considered the best-known American poem.

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