The first American schoolbook, the New England Primer, appeared in Boston in about 1690, which was before Colonial Times. B ut it was used in American primary education for almost two hundred years.

It was more like a prayer book than a schoolbook

The most famous part of the New England Primer was the poetry with woodcuts art that illustrated the alphabet.

The children's prayer, "Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep", was first published in the New England Primer. Primers were usually very small books, They had plain paper covers and bindings glued over wooden covers.

The image shows one printed in Boston in 1777 and is the size of the original. It is made of paper, and has, 39 pages, 4 1/2 x 3 1/4 inches.