CFP. Issue 29. Children's book and printed forms

2025-07-22

Dear colleagues,

we are dedicating the 29th issue of “Children's Readings” to the diverse printed and handwritten book forms created for children.

Throughout its long history, the children's book has appeared in an impressive variety of styles and formats that clearly surpassed those available for adults. Books for children existed even before children's literature emerged as a distinct phenomenon. Although medieval and early printed editions for children have been studied before, this aspect is rarely addressed in contemporary academic research. Many of these publications, however, were bold experiments by their creators, who were working within a publishing tradition aimed primarily at adult readers. The publishers, educators, and authors of the 18th century–the very creators of children's literature–also carved out a specific market for children's books. This market was certainly dominated by educational and moralistic texts published in conventional formats. Yet, it also featured innovative designs, such as books composed mainly of illustrations, alongside various "trifles" like books of magic tricks, games, and riddles. The illustrated book would go on to become a key area of children's book publishing.

In the latter half of a the 19th century, advances in printing technology, combined with a new perception of the child as an independent consumer of commercial entertainment, led to an even wider range of books and related printed materials. The toy book became a space for experimenting with how children perceive information optically, aurally, and tactilely. The creative explorations of avant-garde artists in the early 20th century led to new designs in the world of books, such as book-cubes, book-ribbons, book-screens, and pop-up books.

The 20th century and our own time have seen a further expansion of formats related to the leisure and entertainment side of childhood's material culture. The hybrid nature of items like picture books, board games, calendars, and coloring books is the result of a collaboration between writers, illustrators, editors, and publishers. This collaborative process naturally encourages participation from a mixed audience of children and adults. The interactive quality of these publications reflects a trend toward engaging a multi-generational audience and creating a richer experience for all.

This interaction with diverse audiences raises the question of how literary texts are adapted into both conventional and unconventional book forms. It also touches on the genre boundaries of these publications and the specific audiences they target.



In the 29th issue of “Children's Readings”, we would like to explore the following topics:

  • The classification and genre boundaries of books and related publications for children.

  • The history of early children's books, including handwritten, early printed, and 18th-century editions.

  • The history of the publishers, printers, and printing associations that produced entertainment and educational books for children.

  • The collaboration between authors and publishers in creating conventional and unconventional book forms.

  • The adaptation of handwritten folklore—such as songbooks, fortune-telling guides, and questionnaires—into printed formats.

  • Cardboard theater for children.

  • The design of toy books, tracing the evolution of their forms and materials.

  • The history, classification, and themes of printed cardboard board games for children, such as lotto and card games.

  • Paper toys, modules, and craft sets for creating miniature houses, vehicle models, masks, and doll wardrobes.

  • Forms of printed and handwritten works by children themselves, including samizdat, handmade newspapers and magazines, and zines.



We invite you to participate. Please inform colleagues who may be interested in these topics. In addition to submitting articles on the given topics, we welcome materials for the journal's REVIEWS, ARCHIVES, and INTERVIEWS sections.



Our journal's website: http://detskie-chtenia.ru

Please send proposed articles to the editorial board: detskie.chtenia@gmail.com

Article formatting requirements: http://detskie-chtenia.ru/index.php/journal/about/submissions

Article length: within 40,000 characters.

Deadline for article submission: 1 February 2026. The issue will be published in July 2026.



We invite you to collaborate,

Editorial Board