ABSTRACT

The tradition of giving young people books as rewards or prizes to mark an achievement, and to reinforce a lesson or set of values in the process, is long and enduring.1 Isaac Watts, for instance, suggested that children who learned ten or so of the verses from his Divine Songs (1715) be given a copy of the book for themselves, and to the present day, the prizes given during annual end-of-year prize-giving events at schools largely consist of books.