Free Library of 2,000 Vintage Children’s Story Books from UCLA

Discover centuries-old stories from this archive of American children’s literature, from ancient fables to classics

Books are windows into imaginary worlds. They captivate, build empathy, and educate, and have done so for hundreds of years. For the ultimate historical inspiration for your next children’s book project, explore this huge collection of children’s literature of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

Below, learn the context of children’s books through US history, which classic books you can read in the collection, how to navigate the site, and how you might respond to what you discover in your own stories.

Once upon a time… (a brief history of children’s books)

Oral traditions and fairy tales have existed long before print media was common. Passing down stories from parent or teacher to children over generations solidified societal and group norms, while also engaging with children’s imaginations and sense of wonder. The oldest stories were often warnings to children of what might happen if they’re naughty, if they tell lies, or if they don’t listen to adults, for example. Stories often rhymed or were in song form, so they were easy to remember and repeat.

In the eighteenth century, people began to see childhood as a distinct phase from adulthood, and recognized that children had unique needs. In middle-class England, it became more common to gift books to children, and for mothers to read to their children.

More and more, there was an emphasis on joy and exploration, with grand adventure stories becoming popular, but there were also books to supplement education and encourage good behavior. Publishers appeared in England, throughout Europe, and in America.

Many popular books were illustrated, although emphasis was always on the writing. Illustrations were usually uncredited, and earlier books only featured an image on the cover or near the beginning of the book. As visual literacy grew alongside the recognition that images could aid reading, they began to appear with each chapter or each short story—perhaps even more.

As you’ll see in the collection’s titles like, Baby’s Own Aesop, every poem is typeset into an illustrated frame.

Which books can I read in the collection?

If nothing else, this library is a place where you can read classic books aimed at children for free. Some notable titles include The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Huckleberry Finn, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Little Women, and Aesop’s Fables. For some fun nostalgia or historical research, it’s a great resource.

You can also dive deeper into certain topics to learn how past American society functioned, and what it expected from children in terms of behavior and attitude. There are books on etiquette, Christian stories, collections of poetry, fairy tales, biographies of interesting figures, and more.

How do I use the collection?

The collection is stored on the Internet Archive, and consists of nearly two thousand books scanned by the UCLA team.

You can sort by year (all the way back to 1821), specific sub-collection, creator, and language (a few titles are available in French and German). But perhaps the most interesting filter is "Topics and Subjects".

The historical context becomes apparent quickly: many of the books are aimed at improving behavior and ensuring children follow certain moral codes of the time. There are sections for "conduct of life", further separated into boys and girls, which someone interested in historical gender roles might find useful for research. You can also filter by positive traits explored in the books such as courage, kindness, truthfulness, and so on.

There’s no need to create an account or sign up for anything—just click the titles and start reading with the Internet Archive’s reader.

Using the collection for inspiration

Of course, the way we tell stories for children has evolved hugely in the last two hundred years. Moving away from the strong morals of fables and into a more imaginative, playful realm is just one significant shift. Modern stories for children are more daring in their content, and tend to explore the emotional journeys of characters in more depth.

But looking back at vintage or antique children’s books can be useful in many ways. Perhaps you’re looking to revive some old stylistic features and use them in a new way in your design or illustrative work. Perhaps you’re a writer, and want to see how books aimed at young people have phrased things or used certain tones of voice to communicate effectively (or not!) with the audience.

Most interestingly, perhaps it might inspire us to think about how we tell stories now, and start asking questions about the books we see on shelves today. What sort of lessons do we want children to learn in contemporary society? How should dark and difficult issues be addressed? Of course, there’s no perfect answer, but simply asking the questions can get us thinking deeply about the art we make for children.

One genre of story that is common and popular right now is the retelling—books for children and teens commonly use elements from historical stories that are then twisted and refreshed. Who knows, perhaps you’ll discover something in the UCLA library that inspires you to craft a retelling of your own.

Click here to access the full library of vintage children's books from UCLA.

To learn more about telling enchanting and meaningful stories for young people, explore our full list of children’s literature courses.

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- Children's Fiction: Write Compelling Adventure Stories, course by Ross Montgomery