BY LAUREN AIMONETTE LIANG & XENIA HADJIOANNOU As the days of August are marching on and the beginning of the 2020-21 school year is approaching, it is becoming increasingly clear that this will be another challenging year for students and educators of all levels. SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is still looming large in our daily lives and our plans for working and learning with our students. In the absence of firm solutions for treatment and inoculation from the virus, and in the context of growing numbers of infections across the United States, schools are faced with complex and challenging decisions about how to pursue their mission in safe and academically robust ways. Our hope and intention here at the CLA Blog is to offer resources and support to educators as they plan for what is sure to be an extraordinary year of teaching and learning. We aspire to offer helpful ideas for sharing children’s literature with students through various instructional modes, as well as continue to maintain a focus on amplifying diverse voices, highlighting literary works representing diverse perspectives, and supporting an antiracist social justice agenda. We are grateful to various CLA groups and individual CLA members for volunteering to contribute posts to the CLA Blog over the coming weeks. New posts will be published every Tuesday. We are delighted to announce that in Fall 2020 the blog will feature:
Our thoughts are with you as you expertly handle the many new preparations, alongside frequent and often abrupt changes, to plans for this fall in your classrooms. We value the outstanding work that you do, and hope that you are able to stay safe during this challenging time. Lauren Aimonette Liang is an associate professor at the University of Utah and the current president of CLA. Xenia Hadjioannou is an associate professor at Penn State's Harrisburg campus and the webmaster of the CLA website. BY XENIA HADJIOANNOU & LAUREN AIMONETTE LIANG When the Novel Coronavirus upended our personal and professional lives way back in March, CLA created this biweekly blog “to help and support our members and the greater education community who are using children’s literature in their newly online or remote settings” (3/21/2020 Blogpost by Lauren Liang). Since then, we have been grateful for the generous willingness of CLA leaders and members to contribute timely and informative posts on various topics, ranging from annotated listings of online resources for children’s literature and related content, to curated book-lists, to recommendations for a wide array of literature response engagements. We have also been humbled by the positive responses to the CLA Blog and by its growing readership. Following the school-year cycle, the CLA blog will be going on hiatus for the summer break and will resume operations in early August as a weekly blog. We anticipate that the coming academic year will bear enduring challenges as a result of the continuing uncertainties and concerns precipitated by the COVID-19 pandemic. We aim to be a helpful resource in responding to these shifting educational contexts. We also hope that the coming academic year will be a pivotal time for honest, critical conversations about racism and the injustices it births and sustains, and for engagements valorizing the lived experience of minoritized communities. As our nation and the world mourns for the death of George Floyd, we stand in solidarity with efforts to expose and counter racism and systems of oppression, and aspire to meaningfully contribute to them. We remain in awe of the dedication, instructional agility, and deep professional knowledge of our teachers and librarians. We look forward to joining together with you in August back in this space. Contributing to the Blog
CLA Members: Interested in writing a post for the CLA blog? Please email Lauren Aimonette Liang. We welcome posts written this summer for fall publication, and are especially interested in posts from CLA members teaching in K-12 classrooms.
In response to the recent events surrounding the death of George Floyd, NCTE's Presidential Team has released a letter taking a stance against racism. Below we, the Children's Literature Assembly of NCTE, provide this important letter in its entirety.
This statement was written by the leaders of the NCTE Presidential Team. The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) denounces all forms of racial violence and brutality. We grieve with the family and friends of George Floyd and with all who are suffering during these devastating times. As we seek justice, we stand in solidarity with demonstrations and protests that raise awareness of, and that call for action against, systemic racism in this country. Because we treasure our First Amendment rights, we also denounce the arrest and mistreatment of journalists, especially journalists of Color, who work tirelessly to keep the world informed about what is happening in our various communities. Injustices and acts of brutality are real. In fact, they are revolting. Racist acts keep recurring, and systems of oppression continue to exist, proving the need for systemic and structural change. That change can begin with protests, but ultimately it must happen through action. As educators, we are poised to lead the way through our teaching. NCTE’s vision and long-held commitment is “to apply the power of language and literacy to actively pursue justice and equity for all students and the educators who serve them.” As literacy educators, we are concerned for our students and their families. We pledge to continue our efforts to create equity inside classrooms. We celebrate theGary B., et al. v. Whitmer, et al. settlement: students in Detroit and elsewhere “have a fundamental right to education.” And we applaud the New Mexico Yazzie/Martinez decision “to provide all students with a uniform and sufficient education . . . .” Equity in classrooms for teachers of English and our students is paramount. It is through education that we believe we can make a lasting difference. This includes educating about the right to vote. As Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has advised, “ . . . if you want change in America, go and register to vote. Show up at the polls.” 
We cannot stop there. As literacy educators, our aim is to help students and communities to imagine a better, more humane world and to take the steps to achieve it. As advocated by NCTE’s Statement on Anti-Racism to Support Teaching and Learning, we must be active, both collectively and individually, in “counteracting racism and other forms of bigotry in teaching materials, methods, and programs for the teaching and learning of English and the language arts.”
As the nation’s oldest organization of preK through graduate school literacy educators, NCTE has a rich history of deriving expertise and advocacy from its members’ professional research, practice, and knowledge. We are stronger by looking to one another for wisdom. Some of our NCTE members have already begun to speak on recent events, such as the Early Childhood Education Assembly, which recently released its powerful Call to Action Countering Anti-Blackness in Society & Schools. We are grateful for this work, and we know that other NCTE members are also finding ways to address these issues and to provide resources. NCTE’s publications serve as important resources that can guide our thoughts and actions during this time, and we recommend them to you. The following materials may also be helpful:
Also, we remind members that NCTE continues to offer opportunities such as the online Member Gatherings and author-led talks as ways to ensure that we support, encourage, and uplift each other. Know that we are committed to motivating action, working for educational equity, and standing in solidarity, together. Leah Zuidema, President Alfredo Celedón Luján, President-Elect Valerie Kinloch, Vice President Franki Sibberson, Past President Emily Kirkpatrick, Executive Director Editors' Note
Many organizations, newspapers, book creators, literacy scholars, teachers and bookstores have created compelling antiracist booklists for different age groups, which are widely available on social media and on websites and blogs. We encourage our members and other readers to explore and use these lists with the children in their lives.
Image by Orna Wachman from Pixabay
BY GRACE ENRIQUEZ & DENISE DÁVILA
In the emergency shift to remote learning, educators and parents sought and found a plethora of video read-alouds and digital libraries of children’s books. This heartened us, as these resources offered access to reading material that many children wouldn’t be able to obtain otherwise.
Now that the school year is winding down, and the initial rush to cobble together online books has abated, we take a moment to reflect on the range of online books and resources available for children. Specifically, as educators committed to social justice, we wondered where we could turn to (a) continue sharing children’s literature with our students to support our goals of diversity, inclusion, and equity, and (b) learn more about recently published youth literature created by and for members of minoritized groups. It wasn’t surprising that what is currently available online reflects the massive gap in books about, for, and by diverse communities and underscores the greater need for more diverse books for children overall. In an attempt to close that gap and promote understanding about why diverse books matter--especially now during this global pandemic and in light of the systemic racism, police brutality, and health disparities that our country is currently facing--we have curated a list of online professional guides, blogs, conversations, and other resources. WEBSITES, BLOGS, & PODCASTS - IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER
Grace Enriquez is a Professor of Language and Literacy at Lesley University and a past recipient of the CLA Research Award.
Denise Dávila is an Assistant Professor of Language and Literacy Studies at the University of Texas, Austin and a CLA member.
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
BY MARY KATE SABLESKI & JACKIE ARNOLD Why is this happening? What will happen next? When will this be over? Children and adults alike are asking these questions right now. But no one has certain answers. And keeping consistency and calm in place for our young people amidst constantly changing news is a challenge. Sharing a story can be a helpful hand for parents to help children process the closures and mandates that we are all struggling to understand. In this blog post, we share four books to read with children during these uncertain times.
All four of these books can be found on YouTube in a read aloud format. So, snuggle up with your loved ones, share a story, and, possibly, feel just a bit better about these uncertain times. Mary Kate Sableski and Jackie Arnold are CLA Board Members and Master Class 2020 Co-Chairs. Previously published in the Dayton Daily News (March 30, 2020)
BY KATHRYN CAPRINO
Teachers have been thinking about how to incorporate mindfulness into the elementary school classroom for a bit now. During the fall semester, I completed a study about how children’s picture books that featured mindfulness affected preservice teachers’ mindfulness and how they were thinking about incorporating mindfulness into their classrooms.
And the recent global pandemic has only underscored the importance of having children’s picture books that feature mindfulness. We, as parents, teachers, and teacher educators, need them for ourselves. And we need them for our students. In this post, I share a few contemporary picture books that feature mindfulness elements, and include electronic resources that complement each book - perfect during this time of remote learning. It is my hope that these titles might help us all get through these trying times and propel us into a more mindful approach to what normal looks like on the other side of all this.
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Quick side note: I had the opportunity of seeing a traveling Carle exhibit in Norfolk, Virginia, last summer. With pieces from The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art , the exhibit provided visitors with an opportunity to learn more about Carle’s artistic process and to see some of the most iconic images from his books. One of my favorites was one of his owls! I encourage all of you to visit the museum once things return to normal. You can ask your students to take a virtual tour of the museum.
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Tomie dePaola's Quiet
Tomie dePaola’s passing in March was upsetting to so many of us. His Quiet has a poignant message for all (both during the quarantine and after): “Let’s not be so busy.” Taking readers along on a walk with a grandfather and his grandchildren, Quiet begs us to contemplate and admire birds, dragonflies, and other natural elements that we see. This book could inspire many walks with the intention of finding objects or creatures that amaze. If you want to hear Tomie dePaola talk about what he wants readers to gain from Quiet, you can view the video below.
Susan Verde and Peter H. Reynolds' I am Peace: A Book of Mindfulness
This book starts with a young person feeling as though they are on a boat without an anchor. The book then shows how one can breathe and take actions to reach a sense of peace that can then be shared with others. The gorgeous, colorful illustrations complement the calming text, perfect for a read-aloud. If you want to hear Susan Verde read her book or have your students engage with it during this time of remote learning, you can watch the video below.
Mariam Gates' Good Morning Yoga
This is the perfect book to start out the day! Clear, kid-friendly directions and colorful illustrations help young children - and adults - progress through a series of yoga poses. If you want to hear Mariam Gates read her book or have your students and their parents engage with it during this time of remote learning, view the video below.
Kira Willey and Anni Betts' Breathe Like a Bear
Kira Willey and Anni Betts’ Breathe Like a Bear offers thirty exercises for kids, including breathing like a bear, pretending to hold a cup of hot chocolate, and stretching like a kitty cat. Breathe Like a Bear is broken up into five major sections: Be calm, focus, imagine, make some energy, and relax. The way the book is arranged makes it perfect for those moments when you just want a short, poignant mindfulness activity. Kira Wiley’s website offers information for free and fee-based yoga events for children.
It is my hope that these five titles will be added to your physical or electronic libraries, especially during this time when it seems that all of us could benefit from mindfulness practice.
Want to hear a little about my process for selecting texts? My recommendations are informed by Shapiro, Carlson, Astin, & Freedman’s (2006) three mindfulness axioms: intention, attention, and attitude.
- Intention relates to having a personal vision.
- Attention relates to focusing on moments in our lives.
- And attitude relates to the approach one takes to attention.
Reference
Shapiro, S. L. Carlson, L. E., Astin, J.A., & Freedman, B. (2006). Mechanisms of mindfulness.
Journal of Clinical Psychology, 62(3), 373-388.
Shapiro, S. L. Carlson, L. E., Astin, J.A., & Freedman, B. (2006). Mechanisms of mindfulness.
Journal of Clinical Psychology, 62(3), 373-388.
Kathryn Caprino is a CLA member and is an Assistant Professor of PK-12 New Literacies at Elizabethtown College. She blogs frequently at Katie Reviews Books
(Re)Connecting & Staying Connected: Sharing Our Lives Through Family Stories & Oral Storytelling
5/21/2020
BY SELENA E. VAN HORN
Some of the most beautiful stories will not come from books but from the voices of our families and communities. Oral storytelling and oral histories are passed from generation to generation, told during times of struggle and celebration. Many of our cultural, linguistic, religious, and community identities are shared through these stories. Below are a few picturebooks where authors have shared the crafts and values of oral storytelling.
Connecting with Picturebooks
Mark Gonzales’ Yo Soy Muslim
“Dear little one,
…know you are wondrous. A child of crescent moons, a builder of mosques, a descendant of brilliance, an ancestor in training.”
This story is written as a letter from a father to a daughter celebrating their shared multiple, intersecting identities of race, language, and religion. He passes on his teaching and pride so that it will multiply for generations.
Dan Yaccarino reads All the Way to America: The Story of a Big Italian Family and a Little Shovel
“Work hard...and remember to enjoy life…
And never forget your family”
Yaccarino tells his family’s history from his great-grandfather to his own children through the passing of a family heirloom (a little shovel). He shares the value of family relationships (near and far) and treasuring the little things in life.
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Jacqueline Woodson’s The Day You Begin
inspired by a poem in her book Brown Girl Dreaming
“There are many reasons to feel different. Maybe it's how you look or talk, or where you're from; maybe it's what you eat, or something just as random. It's not easy to take those first steps into a place where nobody really knows you yet, but somehow you do it.”
Woodson shares how the very things that may make us feel different are the things that make us special. While in some locations or groups we may be individual in our identities and traditions, in other spaces and groups, we may share how we look or talk, where we are from and/or what we eat. It is through our shared histories/storytelling that we learn the values of our families’/communities’ journeys and gain strength in sharing with others. When this happens and we decide to share, it is “The Day You Begin…”
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Recording and Transcribing Oral Stories
After sharing the above mentor texts on oral storytelling/histories, teachers can invite young storytellers to engage in their own oral history/storytelling projects. Some examples might include:
Oral histories/stories can be recorded and transcribed for multiple listening/reading opportunities. They can be shared with their teacher/class and shared with family/community as a treasure. Students might also consider starting their own podcast and/or oral journaling. Below are a few tools that offer free recording and transcription.
- Students interviewing family members about their shared traditions and/or histories
- Students recording a podcast with their siblings about a shared memory they have
- Students engaged in an individual oral storytelling of their choosing
Oral histories/stories can be recorded and transcribed for multiple listening/reading opportunities. They can be shared with their teacher/class and shared with family/community as a treasure. Students might also consider starting their own podcast and/or oral journaling. Below are a few tools that offer free recording and transcription.
Zoom for Education
Zoom is removing the 40 minute time limit on their Basic Free Account for K-12 schools affected by the COVID-19. This includes the ability to record and transcribe zoom sessions with lessons to allow students to learn how at their own pace.
Otter.ai
The Basic, free account syncs with Zoom cloud recordings and allows up to 600 minutes (recording and transcription) for free (max. 40 min. sessions) each month.
Voice Memo App by Apple
This free app for iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, or Mac allows you to record, edit, and share recordings; however, it does not offer transcription capabilities.
Recording oral stories can be a documentation of a moment in time and/or an on-going form of reflection and connection. For teachers and parents interested in oral stories, check out the StoryCorps Podcast.
Selena E. Van Horn is a CLA/IDE Committee Member.
BY EVELYN B. FREEMAN
 USBBY Logo from https://www.usbby.org/ | The Outstanding International Books List (OIB) is a wonderful resource for international children's and young adult books. Sponsored by The United States Board on Books for Young People (USBBY) annually since 2006, the OIB highlights excellence in books originally published outside of the United States and subsequently published in the U.S., as well as books published in another country that are regularly distributed in the U.S. Typically 39-42 books are named on the award list appropriate for grades preK-12. An article about the list appears in the February issue of School Library Journal. For information about the lists, a downloadable bookmark for each of the lists, and link to the SLJ articles, visit the OIB webpage. |
International books open the world to your students. During this time when children everywhere are experiencing the global pandemic, sharing and experiencing stories across cultures help guide young readers towards realizing the similarities that unite us while recognizing and valuing our unique differences.
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When I served on the 2019 Outstanding International Books Committee, one book on the list was Farmer Falgu Goes to the Market by Chitra Soundar and illustrated by Kanika Nair (Karadi Tales, 2014; first U.S. printing 2018). Set in India, this humorous picture book recounts the disastrous trip Farmer Falgu makes to market with his oxen-pulled cart laden with food. Descriptive language introduces children to onomatopoeia. Farmer Falgu’s resourcefulness in turning his ruined cargo of goods into delicious omelets is a clever take on the moral: how to make lemonade out of lemons. With bold, vivid illustrations, this positive, upbeat, and funny story would be a joyful book to read aloud online to children.
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By Chitra Soundar & Kanika Nair, Publisher: Karadi Tales
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Deanna Day-Wiff, a member of the 2020 OIB Committee, who teaches at Washington State University-Vancouver Campus, has shared books with her teacher education students. Deanna describes examples of how she used two of the books from the 2020 list.
Deanna writes:
Deanna writes:
By Wendy Meddour & Daniel Egnéus, Publisher: Dial Books
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Lubna and Pebble by Wendy Meddour and illustrated by Daniel Egnéus (Dial, 2019) is a beautiful picture book for primary and intermediate grades. The first page says, “Lubna’s best friend was a pebble. It was shiny and smooth and gray.” The illustrations depict Lubna’s huge eyes admiring her small pebble. All children will be able to relate to caring for an object—maybe a blanket or stuffed animal. Lubna found her pebble on the beach the night her family arrived at the world of tents. I used this particular book to demonstrate how to make connections and discuss visual literacy because all of the elements of art are easily found in the bright and colorful illustrations from texture, color, lines, perspective, and more. |
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A Sky Without Lines by Krystia Basil and Illustrated by Laura Borràs (minedition, 2019) is about a family that is separated by a border. Arturo and his mother live on one side and his father and brother live on the other side. The brothers dream about seeing and playing with each other again but the border makes this impossible. I used this picture book to demonstrate how to ask questions while reading, “Why do fences exist between countries?” “How do families who live between countries visit and see each other?” “Are there other types of fences, lines or borders?” |
By Krystia Basil & Laura Borràs, Publisher: minedition
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USBBY is an organization devoted to building bridges of international understanding through children’s and young adult books. It serves as the U.S. national section of the International Board on Books for Young People, with headquarters in Basel, Switzerland. The National Council of Teachers of English is a patron organization of USBBY and appoints two NCTE members, who are usually active members of CLA, to the USBBY Board. To learn more about the organizition, visit USBBY's website.
Evelyn B. Freeman is Professor Emerita at The Ohio State University and a former CLA President.
BY ASHLEY A. ATKINSON
As we enter another week of sheltering in place and remote learning, it is clear that COVID19 will continue to impact our educational practices for the foreseeable future. As I talk to friends and colleagues still in the classroom, they share some beautiful moments of success that should be celebrated. However, I also hear stories highlighting the difficulty of continuing to maintain student engagement. During this time of stress on a global level, we, as educators, have to reach deep into our toolboxes to find new ways to engage with our students and their families.
One silver lining that has stemmed from COVID19 is the influx of resources provided by authors and illustrators to assist parents and teachers in engaging with literacy learning at home. I have seen several blog posts, including Lora M. Dewalt's Post on this blog @Instagram’s #KidLit Community, that highlight amazing opportunities to engage with authors. In today’s post, I am going to focus on the illustrators.
Visual images are an important aspect of meaning making for young children. Often in the classroom, we focus on the words authors pen and less on ways in which the illustrator is a crucial part of the story. Larry Sipe in his book, Storytime: Young Children's Literary Understanding in the Classroom, highlighted the interplay and interconnectedness between images and text, what he called synergy. The synergistic relationship of illustrations and text makes clear the greater impact when viewed together. Giving students a chance to engage and create both text and illustrations honors this relationship and expands the possibilities for how children make meaning.
One silver lining that has stemmed from COVID19 is the influx of resources provided by authors and illustrators to assist parents and teachers in engaging with literacy learning at home. I have seen several blog posts, including Lora M. Dewalt's Post on this blog @Instagram’s #KidLit Community, that highlight amazing opportunities to engage with authors. In today’s post, I am going to focus on the illustrators.
Visual images are an important aspect of meaning making for young children. Often in the classroom, we focus on the words authors pen and less on ways in which the illustrator is a crucial part of the story. Larry Sipe in his book, Storytime: Young Children's Literary Understanding in the Classroom, highlighted the interplay and interconnectedness between images and text, what he called synergy. The synergistic relationship of illustrations and text makes clear the greater impact when viewed together. Giving students a chance to engage and create both text and illustrations honors this relationship and expands the possibilities for how children make meaning.
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A perfect example of this powerful union is Drawn Together, written by Minh Lê and illustrated by Dan Santat. This picturebook starts with panels where images begin the story. Throughout the story as the words and images collide, they both become more impactful and moving, highlighting their synergistic relationship. Watch the video to the right as Dan Santat shares his process for creating the art in this text.
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Resources for Creation
As we attempt to engage our students in rich reading and writing from afar, we can encourage families to create together. Below I have shared some new resources created by some amazing picturebook illustrators to facilitate this creation process.
Mo Lunch DoodlesYou may be familiar with Mo Willems as the well-known author and illustrator of the Elephant and Piggie book series, but did you know he is also the Kennedy Center Education Artist-in-Residence at Home? In partnership with the Kennedy Center, he has created 15 episodes of Lunch Doodles with Mo Willems. In his own words, Mo Willems says, “You might be isolated, but you’re not alone. You are an art maker. Let’s make some together.” The series offers downloadable activities that focus on his creative process as well as some “how to draw” activities. In an effort to isolate together, students can tag their artwork on social media with #MoLunchDoodles. What a great way for students to see how a single image can be the seed that grows into a whole picturebook! How to Draw DisneyDisney is offering its own how to draw series which allows students to create their own stories around some of their favorite characters.
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Dav Pilkey at HomeAnother great resource comes from Dav Pilkey, author and illustrator of Captain Underpants and Dog Man. He is working in conjunction with Scholastic and the Library of Congress to offer weekly video lessons that focus on a chance to read, to draw, to create, and to engage with other multimodal fun. What is great about this resource is that it offers a chance for families to have conversations around books and create art together. Ready- Set- DrawKidlit.tv, a great resource on its own, has a subpage called Ready-Set-Draw that includes how to draw characters from several current children’s picturebooks. This is a great resource to pair with read-aloud videos and book talks #KidsDailyDebbieOhiLastly, Debbie Ridpath Ohi offers daily creation challenges via her twitter that allows another way for students to work together while apart. Each day offers an art creation project that can be down with things around the house. Some recent challenges... broken crayon story/art, creating a dog character, and laundry art! Check out other children’s responses by searching for her tag #KidsDailyDebbieOhi. |
These resources can offer entry into discussions of the images within picturebooks or a great springboard into students creating their own stories. They also create opportunities for students and families to engage with literacy in a new way. I hope you enjoy using these resources to help your students and families have a little fun as they imagine and create together.
Ashley A. Atkinson is a member of the CLA student committee. She is a doctoral candidate in Literacy and English Language Arts at North Carolina State University.
BY THOMAS CRISP, MARY NAPOLI, VIVIAN YENIKA-AGBAW, & ANGIE ZAPATA
Changing the Stories We Share: Transforming the Children’s Literature Landscape
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Stories matter. Many stories matter. Stories have been used to dispossess and malign. But stories can also be used to empower and to humanize. Stories can break the dignity of a people, but stories can also repair that broken dignity.
—Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (2009) Stories summon us to wisdom, strength, and delight and make the richness of imagination available to all of us in order to envision a better world and to take action that makes a difference. Stories have the power to direct and change our lives and world--if we provide the time and space necessary for their role in meaning making, life making, and world making. —Kathy G. Short (2012, p. 17) |
AS PROFESSORS OF EDUCATION, literacy, and children’s and young adult literature, we value the unique position that the Journal of Children’s Literature (JCL) occupies in the field, bridging theory and practice by publishing research-based and theoretical manuscripts that have immediate implications for the ways in which children’s books are shared in elementary and middle-grade classrooms and discussed in communities outside of the classroom.
With the November 2015 approval of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) “Resolution on the Need for Diverse Children’s and Young Adult Books,” JCL is committed to the recognition of diverse voices; to the support of emerging Indigenous, Black, and People of Color (IBPoC) scholars and researchers; and to excellence in interdisciplinary research and scholarship in the field of children’s literature. Therefore, we welcome submissions that center literature studies in relation to issues of social justice and equity, representations of populations that have been historically marginalized or underrepresented in children’s texts and culture, and the intersections between popular culture and identity.
Our team shares a commitment both to children’s literature and the field of education. We understand how children’s texts contribute to learning and the development of critical literacies and also serve as powerful cultural artifacts that inform the ways readers view and understand themselves and the world in which they live. We believe that all of us concerned with children’s texts (e.g., teachers, teacher educators, librarians, researchers) must attend to the content of children’s books as literary, cultural, and political objects.
With the November 2015 approval of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) “Resolution on the Need for Diverse Children’s and Young Adult Books,” JCL is committed to the recognition of diverse voices; to the support of emerging Indigenous, Black, and People of Color (IBPoC) scholars and researchers; and to excellence in interdisciplinary research and scholarship in the field of children’s literature. Therefore, we welcome submissions that center literature studies in relation to issues of social justice and equity, representations of populations that have been historically marginalized or underrepresented in children’s texts and culture, and the intersections between popular culture and identity.
Our team shares a commitment both to children’s literature and the field of education. We understand how children’s texts contribute to learning and the development of critical literacies and also serve as powerful cultural artifacts that inform the ways readers view and understand themselves and the world in which they live. We believe that all of us concerned with children’s texts (e.g., teachers, teacher educators, librarians, researchers) must attend to the content of children’s books as literary, cultural, and political objects.
About Our Team
Generally speaking, our professional work is grounded in theories of reader response, critical multiculturalism, and culturally responsive and sustaining pedagogies, and is informed by research and scholarship in education, literary, and cultural studies. Here and elsewhere, the co-editors are listed alphabetically. We are, however, a team of co-editors with shared responsibilities. The order of editors’ names does not indicate any sort of rank.
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THOMAS CRISP, PHD
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF LITERACY, GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY Thomas Crisp is an associate professor of literacy and children’s literature in the Department of Early Childhood Education in the College of Education at Georgia State University. His research and scholarship center primarily on topics related to justice and the representation of populations that have been traditionally marginalized and underrepresented in children’s media and culture (with particular concern toward gender and sexual identities). His involvement with the Children’s Literature Assembly (CLA) includes serving as communications co-chair; chair and co-chair of the Master Class; chair and co-chair of the Awards Committee; co-chair of the Committee on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion; and a member of the board of directors. He also coauthored the CLA’s position statement on the importance of critical selection and teaching of diverse children’s literature. In addition to his work with CLA and NCTE, he currently serves as the vice president/president-elect of the Children’s Literature Association VIVIAN YENIKA-AGBAW, PHD
PROFESSOR OF EDUCATION, PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY, UNIVERSITY PARK Vivian Yenika-Agbaw is a professor of literature and literacy in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at Pennsylvania State University, University Park. Her research and scholarship center on children’s and young adult literature and are informed by theories of critical multiculturalism, postcolonialism, and reader response. She publishes and presents primarily on topics related to social justice and the representation of populations that have been historically marginalized and underrepresented in children’s texts and culture (with particular concern toward race, class, gender, and disabilities). She has been a member of the CLA since 2009 and a member of NCTE for over 20 years, serving in various capacities. She has reviewed book manuscripts for NCTE; served as a member of the Notable Books for a Global Society committee; chaired the College Luncheon Committee at the NCTE annual conference in Philadelphia; reviewed students’ essays for NCTE’s National Awards; served as the vice president for colleges for the Pennsylvania Council of Teachers of English Language Arts (PCTELA); served as the Assembly on Adolescent Literature (ALAN) of NCTE state representative for young adult literature; and served on the NCTE Commission on Media. She served recently on the International Research Society for Children’s Literature Board. |
MARY NAPOLI, PHD
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF READING, PENN STATE HARRISBURG Mary Napoli is an associate professor of reading in the School of Behavioral Sciences and Education, where she teaches both undergraduate and graduate literacy courses, including children’s and adolescent literature. She is currently the professor-in-charge of the master of education in literacy education and K–12 reading specialist certification graduate program. Her research and scholarship are informed by theories of critical multiculturalism and reader response. Mary has been a member of NCTE since 2001 and a member of the CLA since 2003, serving both in various capacities. She has been a member of several professional committees, including the Jane Addams Children’s Book Award committee, Notable Children’s Books in the Language Arts committee, and the NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children committee. ANGIE ZAPATA , PHD
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF LEARNING, TEACHING, AND CURRICULUM, UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI Angie Zapata is an associate professor of language and literacy for social transformation (LLST) in the Department of Learning, Teaching and Curriculum at the University of Missouri. She is a longtime elementary teacher of bilingual and multilingual children; a teacher educator of undergraduate students preparing to be teachers of language and literacy in diverse, elementary settings; and an advisor to doctoral students in LLST. She teaches undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral courses focused on language, literacy, identity, and literature for children and youth in both online and face-to-face settings. The research methodologies she employs are oriented toward bridging the gap between theories of humanizing pedagogies and ethical classroom practice through collaborative teacher–researcher inquiry in literature-based and transling-ual contexts. She has been a long-standing member of the NCTE and the CLA; served on the Charlotte Huck Children’s Book Award Committee; served as co-chair of the Committee on Equity and Inclusion and as a member of CLA’s board of directors; and coauthored the Interna-tional Literacy Association Statement on Expanding the Literature Canon and the CLA position statement on the importance of critical selection and teaching of diverse children’s literature. |
Our Work with JCL
Like so many other readers, our understanding of the field of children’s literature has been shaped and informed by the articles published in JCL, selected, refined, and coordinated by editorial teams including, most recently, Donna Adomat, Karla Möller, and Angela Wiseman; Jonda McNair, Miriam Martinez, and Sharon O’Neal; and Cyndi Giorgis, April Bedford, and Jennifer Fabbi. During our time as editors, we hope to carry on the tradition of excellence cultivated by these and all other editors of the Journal of Children’s Literature.
Our team is committed to building upon the work of previous editors by bringing together master teachers, recognized scholars and researchers, and emerging voices (e.g., new scholars, doctoral students) across disciplines as contributors to JCL. We recognize that under the guidance of previous editorial teams, the theoretical content of JCLhas increased. We view this shift as particularly important for teachers and teacher educators in the current context of high-stakes testing (e.g., the edTPA), educational initiatives (e.g., the Common Core State Standards), and the “deprofessionalization” of teachers and the teaching profession. Through JCL, we want to foreground the attention to reader response, critical literacies, critical multiculturalism, and social justice.
We will continue to center scholarship and research and explore how theory can guide the ways in which researchers, teachers, teacher educators, and librarians view and explore children’s literature. We plan to make JCL relevant to both educators and scholars by publishing practical yet scholarly pieces that allow readers to think deeply about children’s literature (including visual and multimodal texts) and how it can directly influence the lives of children in their classrooms. To this end, during our tenure as editors, JCL will include the following features:
Our team is committed to building upon the work of previous editors by bringing together master teachers, recognized scholars and researchers, and emerging voices (e.g., new scholars, doctoral students) across disciplines as contributors to JCL. We recognize that under the guidance of previous editorial teams, the theoretical content of JCLhas increased. We view this shift as particularly important for teachers and teacher educators in the current context of high-stakes testing (e.g., the edTPA), educational initiatives (e.g., the Common Core State Standards), and the “deprofessionalization” of teachers and the teaching profession. Through JCL, we want to foreground the attention to reader response, critical literacies, critical multiculturalism, and social justice.
We will continue to center scholarship and research and explore how theory can guide the ways in which researchers, teachers, teacher educators, and librarians view and explore children’s literature. We plan to make JCL relevant to both educators and scholars by publishing practical yet scholarly pieces that allow readers to think deeply about children’s literature (including visual and multimodal texts) and how it can directly influence the lives of children in their classrooms. To this end, during our tenure as editors, JCL will include the following features:
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PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLES
Each issue of JCL will feature up to four research-based, scholarly articles that explore contemporary issues in the fields of education and children’s literature. These articles will address topics of interest to elementary and middle-grade teachers, scholars and researchers of children’s literature, teacher educators, and librarians. TEACHERS’ VOICES
EDITED BY SUZANNE M. KNEZEK AND PAUL RICKS The Teachers’ Voices column is a space that privileges the research of educators in all their myriad settings, highlighting both the realities of classroom learning situations and the important work that occurs elsewhere (e.g., in libraries, in community centers, in correctional facilities, online, at home). ADDITIONAL FEATURES
In addition, we will continue featuring reports, articles, and forums relevant to the Children’s Literature Assembly. These will include interviews and commentaries with authors and illustrators, the Notables list, the Master Class article, and more. |
CRITICAL CONVERSATIONS
WRITTEN/EDITED BY EDITH CAMPBELL The Critical Conversations column is a space that encourages spirited debates on children’s texts (contemporary and classic). It also affords contributors an opportunity to critically examine texts for biases and to recognize innovations that might expand or complicate the ways educators see, think, and talk about children’s texts in and out of the classroom. PODCAST
This issue of JCL marks the first time the journal is published in an online-only format. Moving online provides a number of affordances, one of which is our ability to offer a podcast focused on current issues relevant to the field of children’s literature. The podcast will consist primarily of lively conversations between a small group of individuals with a range of perspectives and expertise as scholars or creators of children’s literature. |
Finally, as we transition the journal online, our team is committed to making all past issues of JCL available to members of the Children’s Literature Assembly. We are currently scanning all past issues of JCL and its predecessors (e.g., Ripples) and will be making those available in the Members Only section of the Children’s Literature Assembly website. We are grateful to CLA historian Dr. Amy McClure for entrusting us with the assembly’s copies of these archival materials. We are also indebted to Dr. Evie Freeman, who provided us with her personal copies of JCL for use in our scanning.
Additional Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the following individuals and institutions for their support of our work with the Journal of Children’s Literature:
- Donna Adomat, Karla Möller, and Angela Wiseman, who generously and tirelessly answered our questions, provided materials, and met with us as we transitioned into this role
- Jennifer Graff, Lauren Liang, Ruth Lowery, and the CLA board for entrusting us with this journal‡‡.
- Xenia Hadjioannou for creating the online format for the journal and working with us as we scanned issues, created calls for manuscripts, and so much more
- Laura May for her insights and advice on creating a podcast
- Our editorial assistants, Abigail Snyder (Georgia State University)and Jolynn Sullivan (Penn State Harrisburg)
- Our university department chairs and deans for their support, including release time, equipment, and student assistants
- Our editorial review board members for their commit-ment to the journal and insightful feedback on manuscripts
References
Adichie, C. N. (2009, July). Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: The danger of a single story [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story/transcript
Short, K. G. (2012). Story as world making. Language Arts, 90(1), 9–17.
Short, K. G. (2012). Story as world making. Language Arts, 90(1), 9–17.
Editorial Note to CLA Members
CLA Members can use their CLA online account credentials to access the Spring 2020 JCL issue (VOLUME 46, ISSUE 1) and our growing collection of JCL's past issues.
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