Abstract

Because they are aimed at a specific readership meant to be easily impressionable, children’s books have often been used as a means of propaganda. After a historical overview of publishing for children in Ireland, which will enable us to understand the relationships of this industry with a country as it was undergoing a decolonisation process, this paper will concentrate on a more contemporaneous aspect of children’s books.The last fifteen years or so have brought tremendous changes in Ireland. The quick economic growth has provided an increase of investments in various fields. This paper will seek to show how this new influx of money has influenced the children’s book industry. It will analyze the evolution of children’s books publishing since the 1990s, paying particular attention to the part played by the Arts Councilin the development of children’s books’ lists within various publishing houses, and to the status of children’s books author in Ireland at the beginning of the 21st century. It will purposely tackle the issue of the circulation of children’s books written by Irish authors in the rest of Europe, and the world. Finally, it will underline the repercussions of the economic growth on both the content and form of recently published books.