University of Florida College of Education's Baldwin Library of Historical Children’s Literature is featured in an article titled "The History of the Bendable, Durable, Chewable Board Book" by Olivia Campbell on Literary Hub (lithub.com).
The author’s goal was to find out the history and progression of children’s books, namely the board book. With the mention of our very own library, we thought we would gather some insight from our own faculty on the article and the history of the board books itself.
Campbell came to Gainesville and for four weeks looked through the Baldwin Library to see if she could find a clear history of the evolution of the books.
“I went searching for the first board book, but I didn’t really find it,” she says.
So with the history not being clear cut and easy to put together, what was the purpose of board books to begin with? Our faculty give some various insight on this mystery.
“The contemporary understanding of board books originates during the 1930s, where the boards were made of very thick cardboard that could be bitten or thrown with little to no damage,” says Suzan Alteri, Curator of the Baldwin Library of Historical Children’s Literature “Throughout most of the 18th and 19th centuries, books had value in the sense that they cost a fair amount of money and so children who had books would not have been encouraged to try and destroy them.”
The article does state that children would often get paper cuts on regular books and the board book made it possible for children to read and play with it without having to be supervised.
Dr. Caitlin Gallingane, Clinical Assistant Professor at the School of Teaching and Learning at UF, says that while board books were made as a safer alternative for children, that was not their first purpose.
“We want young children to develop Concepts of Print very early, including how to “use” a book, orientation and book handling, as well as directionality in turning the pages,” Dr. Gallingane said “Board books are designed the way they are so that babies and toddlers with limited fine motor skills can hold them easily and turn the pages, something most cannot do with the pages of a traditional picture book.”
While the history is hard to piece together and many academics have differing opinions on the origins and purpose of the books, it is evident that the invention of the board book was instrumental in the development of children’s literature. However, how has this genre of book progressed and evolved recently? This is something that is lacking in this article, and something that the Director of the Center for Children’t Literature and Culture here at UF, John Cech, wishes was researched more.
“I think it stops too soon,” Cech says “One wishes it would examine the innovations that have been taking place in this literary form for the past twenty or so years.”
One thing is for sure, the board book is not going away anytime soon. According to Nielson, sales rose by 7.4 percent in 2016 and between 2010 and 2015, sales have skyrocketed from 17 million to 31 million units. Future children will definitely be able to enjoy their cardboard, durable and safe literature.
