SOURCE: "'The Juvenile Miscellany': The Creation of American Children's Literature," in The First Woman in the Republic: A Cultural Biography of Lydia Maria Child, Duke University Press, 1994, pp. 57-79.

With The First Woman in the Republic, Karcher published the first extensive analytical biography of Child. In the following chapter from this work, Karcher documents the cultural position of Child's Juvenile Miscellany, including its appeal to both young and adult readers and the cultural currents that shaped the periodical's direction.

"I know what that shout means among the children, " said Miss Amy; "the Miscellany has come. "

So I ran down stairs and saw Papa with the book in his hand, stooping down to Mary, who was stretching up her neck, and Emily, who was standing tip-toe to get a look at it; while little black Dinah showed her white teeth for joy. Fortunately, there were two numbers, and as...