Berquin, Arnaud (1741-91). One of France's first writers of children's literature. He was known as ‘L'Ami des enfants’, this being the title of his popular serial publication (1782-3). The collection consists of little tales and dialogues, giving lessons in virtue, family affection, and manners; edifying and sentimental, with a personal touch and occasional moments of humour, it sold in great numbers throughout the 19th c. Berquin published other works in the same vein; when the Revolution came he turned to the peasants, preaching hard work and well-ordered family life in the periodical Bibliothèque des villages (1790).
[Peter France]
