Children's Collections at Rare Books and Special Collections

Children's Collection Highlights

The Children's Literature Collection represents a diverse range of genres and subject matters (e.g. fables, fairy tales, moral and religious instruction, adventure fiction, natural history, travel, poetry) and houses many fine examples of illustrated works from the late 19^th and early 20^th century, as well as a significant grouping of 19^th century chapbooks. The Children’s and Juvenile Literature Collection incorporates several named collections, including:

• The Sheila R. Bourke Collection (~2,500 items)
• The Soviet Children’s Collection

The collection encompasses a range of formats including picture books, serials, chapbooks, interactive/moveable books, classroom primers and textbooks, and penny-dreadfuls. There is also reference material including bibliographies and booksellers’ catalogues.

Date range: The bulk of the collection dates from the 19th and early 20th centuries, though there is considerable material from earlier and later periods.

Language/s: Primarily English, with some French and German. The Soviet Children’s Collection contains books in various East Slavic, Baltic, and Turkic languages, including Ukrainian, Georgian, Armenian, Tatar, and others.

Geographic coverage: The majority of the collection comes from Canada, Britain, and the United States, although there is consider material from elsewhere (the most notable exception is the several hundred books published in the Soviet Union between the 1920s and 1940s).

Provenance: Portions of the collection came to Rare Books and Special Collections via other McGill libraries and departments, including the former Education and Library and Information Studies libraries. The Sheila R. Bourke Collection comprises books donated by Sheila Bourke, a contemporary Montreal collector and historian.

McGill Guides

• Children's and Young Adult Literature, by Sharon Rankin 

• Rare Books and Archival Collections Guide

External Guides

• Children's Literature and Culture: Home - Cotsen Children's Library, Special Collections, Princeton University
• Children's Literature Guide - University of Albany Libraries
• Library of Congress Historical Children's Books Guide
• Historical Children's Literature - University of British Columbia

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.