In the article, some conceptual points concerning the historical and geo-political correspondence of the children’s books to the educational and aesthetic criteria, are considered. The author examines the history of children’s books in Romania in two periods of development, according to the following stages of literacy of the Romanian population: up to the XXth century (initial literacy) and the XXth century (partial and full literacy). The structural basis of the analysis is claimed to be the religious-secular and rural-urban counterparts. For the first time the art of children’s book illustration is examined entirely, as a synthesis of classical European traditions in a special artistic reinterpretation. Particular attention is paid to the humorous aspect of the illustrations.