The Library of Congress collection of children’s books and other materials relating to children.

A body of literature written expressly for children.

The ability of children to acquire and retain concrete and abstract knowledge and understanding to deal with new situations and acquire more knowledge.

A New York City association of children’s book publishers founded in 1945...

Membership organizations similar to adult book clubs but offering selected juvenile and young adult books to their members at prices below those of retail book stores.

An organization founded in 1853 by philanthropist Charles Loring Brace (1826–90) to provide homeless children in New York City with a lodging house and training in industrial skills.

One of the most influential studies in the modern history of English education and of considerable influence on American public school education.

A type of test that compares the child’s knowledge after instruction to what the child knew before.

A 1966 federal law “to safeguard the health and welfare of the Nation’s children.”

The use of minors (in the United States, children under the age of 18) to perform adult work on farms and in factories and mines.

An annual census by states and local school districts to locate and evaluate handicapped children under 18, who are either not being served or being served inadequately by their schools.

The progressive changes in the physical, mental, emotional, functional and behavioral characteristics of children as they mature.

A theory of education that adapts the curriculum to the needs of the child rather than forcing the child to adapt and learn a prescribed curriculum.

A legal doctrine that emerged from a series of U.S. Supreme Court decisions in church-state conflicts.

Organizations and individuals who legally represent or protect children against abuse, neglect or exploitation.

A catch-all crime defined in the U.S. Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (1974) as “the physical or mental injury...

An ill-defined adaptation of the conventional American school curriculum to meet the needs of Spanish-Mexican students and American students of Spanish- Mexican descent.

An outgrowth of ancient alchemy, chemistry entered modern school curricula in the 18th and early 19th centuries as part of the training required for medicine.

The most renowned of the early colonial teachers and the first to make teaching a full-time job rather than part-time adjunct of ministerial duties.

An organized student activity originally designed to rally vocal spectator support for secondary school and college sports teams.

An adult education program that grew into one of the most important educational movements in American history...

An autonomous public school created and operated by teachers, parents, foundations or profit-making businesses, independently of state and local school boards.

A precedent-setting case in 1874 that not only established the right of town officials to raise taxes to pay for a public high school...

A source of nearly $250 billion in revenues a year for educational institutions and a wide variety of other organizations...