Purposes ServedTraditionally, information books have set out to present facts about a specific subject.
There is a long history of publications of this kind, but it is significant that those of
earlier centuries attempted to coax children into learning. Orbis Pictus (1658) by
J.A.Comenius, is often cited as one of the earliest examples of an information book, with
its pictures of hundreds of familiar objects and scenes. However, this was more than an
enjoyable browsing book: a major purpose of the author was to improve readers’
knowledge of Latin, with each picture being given both its Latin and vernacular name.
Some of John Newbery’s works can also be regarded as having a concern for more than
stories—witness the title of one of his works advertised in 1756: ‘A Little Lottery-Book
for Children; Containing a new Method of playing them into a Knowledge of the Letters,
Figures etc.’
The long sequence of Peter Parley books, originated by Samuel Goodrich of New
England, are tales of history, travels, nature, and so also have a claim to be early
information books. Tales of Peter Parley about America, a rather rambling history,
appeared in 1827, and was followed by some 120 other titles, covering a wide range of
places and subjects. The style was conversational, the approach digressive, and the
books achieved considerable sales. Goodrich’s aim was ‘to feed the young mind upon
things wholesome and pure, instead of things monstrous, false and pestilent’ (Sloane
1953:68).
These early books are a reminder that non-fiction may offer pleasure as well as
instruction, an imaginative experience as well as information. This duality is apparent
as one studies the publications of this present century, but it is noticeable that non-
fiction today seems to be serving a range of purposes not apparent three decades ago.
The fact bankChildren need quick-reference books as much as adults, books so arranged that basic
information on a specific subject can be accessed quickly. Many of these titles are likely
to be bought for home use, as well as forming significant sections of school and
children’s libraries. The core categories are atlases, dictionaries and encyclopedias, and
in all three there are publications available which cover the various stages of childhood.
So, for example, a publisher may move from an introductory atlas for 7-year-olds, which
works its way from interpretation of photographs and plans to simple maps, to an atlas
with some world coverage but showing major features only, and end with an atlas aimed
at 13-year-olds, which gives almost as much detail as an adult work. Similarly, some
publishers produce a series of dictionaries, beginning with those which are almost
picture books, and ending with works of 30–40,000 entries which include notes on
etymology, usage and pronunciation.
As knowledge has expanded, it has become ever more difficult to produce a
comprehensive children’s encyclopedia. At the lower end of the market—in terms of age-
level, price and quality—there are a number of single-volume works, which should,
perhaps, be more accurately be described as general-knowledge books. The multi-
volume works represent a considerable publishing investment and are therefore to be
undertaken with considerable caution. Examples of current sets which have proved
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