Campe, Joachim Heinrich

Joachim Heinrich Campe, German writer, 1746-1818

Joachim Heinrich Campe was a German writer, linguist, educator and publisher. He was a major representative of philanthropinism and the German Enlightenment. Campe is counted among the founding fathers of the modern genre of intentional or specific children’s and youth literature, along with the writers Christian Felix Weiße and Christian Gotthilf Salzmann. He created a series of works for children and adolescents that were each supposed to be educational, pleasant and directed at a specific age group. His publications ranged from alphabet books to a collection of translated and own travelogues and guidance or conduct books for boys and girls.