The Discovery of America is a trilogy written by the German author and educator Joachim Heinrich Campe (1746–1818). It was originally published in 1781/82 as Die Entdekkung von Amerika – ein angenehmes und nützliches Lesebuch für Kinder und junge Leute and deals with the discovery, early exploration and conquest of America by focusing on one explorer in each volume: Christopher Columbus is treated first, followed by Hernán Cortés and finally Francisco Pizarro. The work is counted among the first books of specific children's literature, directly targeting children and adolescents as its main audience, and Campe is said to have "set the standard for German children's literature."[1] The trilogy is defined by its author's involvement in the German educational movement of philanthropinism and has been a great success, also being translated into several languages.[2][3]
- ^ Apgar, Richard B. (2008). "Taming Travel and Disciplining Reason: Enlightenment and Pedagogy in the Work of Joachim Heinrich Campe". Carolina Digital Repository. p. 4.
- ^ Campe, Joachim Heinrich (1817). Die Entdeckung von Amerika (8 ed.). Braunschweig: Schulbuchhandlung. p. XI.
- ^ Ewers, Hans-Heino (1996). "Joachim Heinrich Campe als Kinderliterat und als Jugendschriftsteller". In Pohlmann, Carola (ed.). Erfahrung schrieb's und reicht's der Jugend: Joachim Heinrich Campe als Kinder- und Jugendschriftsteller. Wiesbaden: Reichert. p. 13.