This text explores the contemporary response to the picture books of the three pioneer Victorian illustrators of children’s books: Walter Crane, Randolph Caldecott and Kate Greenaway. In the first chapter the author frames the horizons of expectation - the context of assumptions and values - that shaped the way their picture books were read and reviewed by their audience. Other chapters examine the critical reception to these books. Each chapter is organized by a brief chronicle of the individual renown, early career, a survey of reviews related to their children’s books, and a summary of reputation history over the last century.