YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE.

American young adult literature; Young adult literature; United States literatures; American authors; Publishing; American literature

This article explores the history of young adult literature in the U.S. In the 18th century, children on both sides of the Atlantic read and heard such novels as Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe and Samuel Richardson's Pamela and Clarissa. The practice of appropriation continued into the 19th century; it is as old as books and will always endure. About 1830, the American Sunday School Union, created in Philadelphia in 1824, began publishing books. The post-Civil War period was the golden age of children's literature, producing classics that still delight young adult readers.