{"id":2589,"date":"2019-10-10T13:51:09","date_gmt":"2019-10-10T02:51:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.deakin.edu.au\/article\/?p=2589"},"modified":"2019-10-10T13:51:09","modified_gmt":"2019-10-10T02:51:09","slug":"the-book-of-my-heart-childrens-encyclopaedia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.deakin.edu.au\/article\/the-book-of-my-heart-childrens-encyclopaedia\/","title":{"rendered":"‘The book of my heart’: the Children\u2019s Encyclopaedia"},"content":{"rendered":"

Our Special Collection contains many items read and used by children throughout history, including particularly the Australian schools textbook collection and the children\u2019s literature research collection, which contain examples of what children read at home and what they read at school<\/strong>. Although Arthur Mee\u2019s Children\u2019s Encyclopaedia<\/em> is contained within the textbook collection, it crossed the boundaries of home and school, and its popularity and unusual format<\/strong> make it especially interesting to lovers of history and antique books.<\/p>\n

Before the Children\u2019s Encyclopaedia<\/em> commenced publication in 1908, nothing on a similar scale had ever before been produced<\/strong> for young readers. Although Arthur Mee had only one child and always said that he knew little about children, he could write sincere, straightforward prose that did not talk down to them<\/strong>. It was this skill that helped to make his encyclopaedia such a success. Parents and teachers had a resource to answer all the questions that children manage to ask \u2013 and they ask a lot! \u2013 and also found much within that was of general interest.<\/p>\n