The story of the history of children's literature is most often said to begin in London in the early 1740s with John Newbery's publication of A Little Pretty Pocket-Book. Newbery's pioneering work established what would become a flourishing trade in children's books, as writers looked to engage their child readers in a way that stimulated curiosity in the world around them and taught valuable lessons in morality and devotion. Science for children took a variety of forms and covered an array of scientific disciplines and themes. Natural history was particularly popular, with animals proving to be a useful tool for instruction. In drawing attention to the market forces of the book-buying public, Secord raises an important methodological question, for, as with any retrospective attempt to group and classify texts in generic terms, 'science for children' does need some qualification.