The Acquisitions Table: Lessons for Children

Barbauld, Anna Letitia. Lessons for Children, from Two to Three Years Old. Boston: S. Hall, 1800.

This is an unrecorded title, drawn from English writer Anna Letitia Barbauld’s series of Lessons for Children written for youngsters between the ages of two and six. They are written as a series of dialogs between a child (frequently a little boy) and a parent (usually a well-informed mama). Publisher Samuel Hall (1740-1807) notes on the last page that the title probably should have been changed to Lessons for Children from Three to Four Years Old, because in the opinion of “many judicious persons,” children do not learn to read much before age three or four. Purchased from James Visbeck. Ruth E. Adomeit and Harry G. Stoddard Memorial Funds.

Published by

Laura Wasowicz

Curator of Children's Literature, American Antiquarian Society

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