John Newbery: The Father of Children

Juno

紐伯瑞儿童文学奖，又称纽伯瑞奖章，每年由美国图书馆学会颁发，专门奖励上一年度出版的英语儿童文学优秀作品。获奖书籍在图书馆、学校和书店受到广泛关注，出版商也会在每本获奖书籍的封面上都印上闪亮的纪念章。尽管该奖项本身引起了公众的广泛关注，但你知道这奖项背后的人物约翰·纽伯瑞吗？

John Newbery， called “The Father of Children's Literature"， was an English publisher of books who first made children's literature a lsustainable and 2profitable part of the literary market. He also supported and published the works of Christopher Smart， Oliver Goldsmith and Samuel Johnson. In 3）recognition of his achievements the Newbery Medal was named after him in 1922.

John Newbery was born in 1713 in Berkshire， England. The son of a farmer， he saw to his own education and through his efforts became 4apprenticed to a printer when he was sixteen years old. In 1740， Newbery established a publishing business in Reading. The venture proved so successful thatjust a few years later， he was ableto move to London to open a shop.

It was during this time that his first children's book A Little Pretty Pocket Book was published. It was filled with rhymes and 5）adages and came bound in a colorful cover appealing to children. The book also came with a ball for boys and a 6pincushion for girls. Records indicated that these items werered on one side and black on the other. When children did a good deed， they got a pin in the red side. When they did a bad deed， they gota pin in the black side. By modern standards the book was a little heavy on 7moral instruction， but it nonetheless aimed to instruct children in proper conduct with playfulness rather than discipline.

A Little Pretty Pocket Book was so successful that it allowed Newbery to move his shop to a more 8prestigious location by 1747. He continued to publish for both adults and children， working in upcoming products into the stories in a way that allowed his books to serve as marketing as well as stories.

Throughout the course of his career， Newbery published over one hundred books for children， popularizing the mostly non-existent genre to the point that today it is one of the most popular and profitable publishing categories. He published alphabet books， picture books， fairy tales， novels， and magazines. Newbery passed away in 1767 at the age of fifty-four.

In 1922， the Association for Library Service to Children created the John Newbery Medal as a way of honoring the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children， name for him due to his role in popularizing andadvocating for books for children. The Newbery Medal is awarded annually and is considered one of the most prestigious children's book awards in the nation.

1） sustainable 【se'stelnabl】 adj.可持续的

2） profitable 【proftabl】 adj.有利可圖的

3） recognition 【rekeg'nJn】n.承认

4） apprenticed 【e'prentust】 v.学徒

5） adage 【aedld3】n.谚语

7） moral 【moral】 adj.道德的

6） pincushion 【'pinkoJn】n.针垫

8） prestigious 【pre'std3es】 adj.受尊敬的

约翰·纽伯瑞被称为“儿童文学之父”，他是一个英语书籍的出版商，他率先使儿童文学成为文学市场中可持续的、营利的部分。他支持并出版了克里斯托弗。斯玛特、奥利弗。戈德史密斯和塞缪尔。约翰逊的著作。为了表彰他的成就，纽伯瑞奖章于1922年以他的名字命名。

纽伯瑞于1713年出生于英国伯克郡。他是一个农民的儿子，自学成才，16岁时通过自己的努力成为印刷厂的学徒。1740年，纽伯瑞在雷丁开设了一家出版公司。公司取得了成功，仅仅几年后，他就搬到伦敦开设了一家商店。

就是这段时间，他的第一本儿童读物《小巧的袖珍书》出版。这本书里面充满了韵律和格言，并配有彩色的封面，吸引了孩子们。这本书还附带了一个男孩专用的球和女孩专用的针垫。这些物品的一侧是红色，而另一侧是黑色。当孩子们做了一件好事时，他们在红色一面插上针。当他们做了坏事时，他们在黑色一面插上针。按照现代标准，这本书在道德指导上有点繁重，但它的目的是通过嬉戏而不是纪律来指导孩子正确的举止。

《小巧的袖珍书》如此畅销，以致纽伯瑞得以在1747年之前将他的商店搬到更加享有盛名的位置。他继续为成人和儿童出版图书，并在故事中融入产品，从而使得书籍既可以玩又可以阅读。

在整个职业生涯中，纽伯瑞出版了一百多本针对儿童的书籍，普及了原来几乎不存在的这类书籍，以至于如今儿童书籍已成为最受欢迎和最赚钱的出版类别之一。他出版了字母书籍、图画书、童话、小说和杂志。

纽伯瑞于1767年去世，享年54岁。

1922年，美国儿童图书馆服务协会创建了约翰·纽伯瑞奖章，以纪念纽伯瑞对美国儿童文学做出的最杰出贡献，纽伯瑞奖章因其在普及和倡导儿童读物方面的作用而得名。纽伯瑞奖章每年颁发一次，被认为是美国最负盛名的儿童读物奖之一。