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President's Message for the Fall 2024 Issue of the Journal of Children's Literature

11/19/2024

 

By Xenia Hadjioannou

As I am writing this letter, it is early fall in Pennsylvania. Though short sleeves are still in order, the leaves are beginning to turn, signaling changes that are just around the corner. By the time the editorial process of this fall issue of the Journal of Children’s Literature is completed, copyediting and design are finalized, and the finished journal is published on the CLA website, weeks will have gone by, and we will be a breath away from the 2024 NCTE Convention in Boston, Massachusetts.

The 2024 annual NCTE Convention will mark a significant anniversary for CLA, as fifty years prior, during the 1974 NCTE Convention in New Orleans, Louisiana, “a plan was made to form a Children’s Literature Assembly” (Gleason, 1975, p. 4) and a formal proposal was submitted to NCTE for its establishment. The proposal was accepted in 1975, and the assembly began its work as a formalized group. However, as journal issues take significant time and require a lot of hard, dedicated work by many people to develop and bring to the public, so did establishing the Children’s Literature Assembly. As Amy McClure (2015), our CLA historian, notes in an article commemorating and reflecting upon CLA’s forty years, the formation of the assembly was decades in the making. She adds,
It is a story that transcends geography, professional role, age, ethnicity, and gender (Kromann-Kelly, 1986). It is also a story of passionate commitment, hard work, stimulating ideas, and determination— all for the purpose of ensuring that both teachers and librarians have the knowledge and dedication to share high-quality, intellectually engaging, culturally responsive, and pleasurable books with children. (p. 69)
In recognition and appreciation of the dedicated commitment of the many people who have contributed to CLA both prior and since its establishment, in NCTE 2024, we will kick off a year of celebrations of CLA’s fifty years and of reflective engagements with our assembly’s past and future. Visit the CLA Booth in the Exhibit Hall (Booth #235), which is hosted by the Ways and Means Committee, to catch a glimpse of the amazing artwork included in this year’s Art Auction and to browse the commemorative fundraising items we have created for CLA’s fiftieth. Also, save spots on your conference schedules for the CLA-sponsored events: the Notables Session during which members of the Notables Committee and book creators will talk about books on the 2024 Notables list; the CLA Expert Class, which will explore biographies and their rich potential in the classroom; and the CLA Breakfast, which will feature Lesa Cline-Ransome and James Ransome as keynote speakers.

In February, join us for the inaugural installment of the Children’s Literature Assembly Online Research Conference CLA is cosponsoring with the Mary Frances Early College of Education at the University of Georgia. The conference, which aims to be a forum for researchers of children’s literature to share their work and exchange ideas, is supported by the CLA Endowment Fund. Save the date for Friday, February 21, 2025, and visit the CLA website for conference information and updates.

In concluding my fourth and last President’s Letter for the Journal of Children’s Literature, I wanted to take a moment to express my gratitude to all who have been part of CLA’s journey along, and before, its fifty years of existence. CLA has remained a thriving organization because of the passion and dedication of everyone who has been a member, everyone who has contributed to our programming in any way, everyone who has read and learned from JCL, and everyone who has attended our events and returned to their classrooms, libraries, and homes and made sure that great books made it into the
hands of children.

In gratitude,

Xenia Hadjioannou
CLA President
References
Gleason, G. (1975, March). Reprise. CLA Newsletter, 1(1), 1–4.

McClure, A. (2015). The Children’s Literature Assembly: 40 years of passionate commitment to children and their books. Journal of Children’s Literature, 41(2), 69–76.
Xenia Hadjioannou is associate professor of language and literacy education at the Berks campus of Penn State University. She is president of the Children’s Literature Assembly of NCTE and NCTE representative to the USBBY Board.

CLA @NCTE 2024

Notables Session
CLA Art Auction
Expert Class
50th anniversary commemorative items
2024 CLA Breakfast
Membership raffle

Attending NCTE 2024: Reflections from the Recipients of the Vivian Yenika-Agbaw Student Conference Grant

11/11/2024

 

By Amber Moore and Joshua Palange

EDITORIAL NOTE

Children's literature scholarship and teaching praxis are at the heart of the Children's Literature Assembly. Undergraduate and graduate students who engage with children's literature are vital contributors to conversations in the field and to our future as a disciplinary community. To facilitate student participation in the assembly, CLA offers discounted memberships to students and has established the CLA Student Committee. The committee is exclusively composed of CLA student members and contributes substantively to CLA programming and other work. Each year, the CLA student committee organizes webinars whose recordings are available in the members-only section of the CLA website, recommends student representatives to standing CLA committees, and contributes volunteers to CLA's activities at the annual NCTE Conference.

Recognizing the significance of attending and presenting at national conferences for our student members' careers and aware of the financial burden conference attendance can pose, CLA has created the Vivian Yenika Agbaw Student Conference Grant. Named after the late Vivian Yenika-Agbaw, notable children's literature scholar and editor of the Journal of Children's Literature, the grants help defray registration and travel costs for the NCTE conference. They are managed by the CLA student committee and are awarded yearly dependent on available funding.

This year's grant recipients are Amber Moore, Ph.D. student at North Carolina State University, and Josh Palange, Master's in Library Science student at the University of Southern Mississippi. Below you will find their reflective notes on their upcoming travel to Boston for the 2024 NCTE Conference.

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2024 Student Conference Grant Recipients: Amber Moore & Josh Palange

At the Intersection of Gratitude and Hope

Boston, Massachusetts, "The Walking City." When NCTE announced their conference location this year, my heart leaped. Walking has always been my meditation, my way of processing the world one step at a time. That was until October 17th, when a car struck me in a crosswalk while walking my dog. While he emerged unscathed , I found myself navigating an unexpected landscape of fear and, surprisingly, profound gratitude.
 
There's a particular kind of fear that settles into your bones after an accident – the kind that makes you flinch at passing headlights and hold your breath at every intersection or car honking. But there's also a particular kind of healing that happens when you're surrounded by a community of literature teachers, those who understand that every human story carries both shadow and light.
 
This isn't a story about toxic positivity or rushing past the hard parts. Instead, it's about the way words and people can hold us when we're broken, how literacy becomes a bridge back to ourselves and each other. It feels fitting that NCTE's theme this year is "Heart, Hope, and Humanity" – three things I've found in abundance in my academic family. And so, I’d like to use this word-count to express my thanks to those who have had a pivotal role in reigniting my excitement to attend the conference this year.
 
To Dr. Angela Wiseman: You've taught me that vulnerability isn't just about being seen – it's about creating spaces where others feel brave enough to be seen too. Your brilliance is matched only by your compassion, and you've shown me how to wear both with grace.
 
To Dr. Crystal Chen Lee: You embody what it means to create belonging. Your heart-centered approach to scholarship reminds me daily that academic work is, at its core, human work.
 
To Samantha Duke: In letting me step back, you've helped me step forward. You've shown me that control isn't always about holding on – sometimes it's about trusting enough to let go.
 
To Callie Hammond: In your understanding, I've found reflection. In your friendship, I've found refuge.
 
As I prepare to walk the streets of Boston (more cautiously now, but still determined), I'm reminded of why we teach literature in the first place. We teach it because stories help us make sense of our wounds and our wonders. We teach it because every student carries within them a universe of potential, waiting to be recognized and realized.

When we dream about change, we're really dreaming about connection – the kind I've found in this community of literacy teachers and readers of the world who rallied around me. They remind me that education at its best is an act of hope, a belief that through words and understanding, we can build something better than what we inherited.

So thank you to these women, these scholars, these keepers of stories and hope. Through you, I've learned that our strongest moments often come not in our independence, but in the gentle acceptance of our interconnectedness. I cannot wait to walk the streets of Boston with you!

Amber Moore

NCTE Scheduled Sessions:
  • Current Conversations about Young Adult Literature in the Classroom- "Turning Pages, Nurturing Hearts: YA Literature as Shepherds through Grief, Loss and Mourning." with Dr. Angela Wiseman | Nov. 22, 9:30-10:45
  • "Preserving Dignity through Memory and Critical Literacy with Honor to the Japanese American Experience during WWII-Era Incarceration" with Dr. Crystal Chen Lee, Dr. Cathlin Goulding of the Yuri Education Project, and author, Emily Inouye Huey | Nov. 24 10:30-11:45

A Note of Thanks

Going to NCTE this year is really special. I've just recently transitioned careers toward librarianship, (I graduate with my MLIS in December!) after working as a children's writer and an English educator for several years, so I'm excited to look at the conference from a different perspective and lens. It's also special to have the opportunity to hear Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson speak at the conference, among other social justice activists. We live in a trying time, and staying organized and always striving for equity in our stewardship is important.

I'm thankful for The Vivian Yenika-Agbaw Student Conference Grant which is giving me the opportunity to attend, I can't wait to explore the conference and the great city of Boston.

Josh Palange


CLA @ NCTECLA @NCTE

2024 Notables Session
Expert Class session
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Cards and Tote bags celebrating CLA's 50th will be availabe at NCTE 2024

Get Ready for the CLA Art Auction-November 22-24

11/5/2024

 

By Ally Hauptman on behalf of CLA's Ways and Means Committee

As the NCTE Conference approaches, we want to give you every detail about the CLA Art Auction, so you are ready to bid and acquire an amazing piece of art! Every year we work with publishers and illustrators to collect original pieces of artwork from children’s books or rare prints for purchase through the auction. 

The auction is important because CLA uses the funds raised to support the major goals of the organization:
  • Promoting the use of high-quality children’s books in classrooms (PreK-8) 
  • Supporting research focused on children’s literature
Now more than ever it is essential to recognize and get quality children’s literature in the hands of students and teachers.  We feel our work in this area is critical, not only for the literacy growth of children but also for the continued love of language and story.

This auction spans starts Friday, November 22 at 10 AM EST and concludes on Sunday, November 24 at 8:45 AM EST at the end of the 2024 CLA Breakfast. These beautiful pieces will be on display at the CLA Booth (Booth #235) and then at the CLA Breakfast on Sunday morning.

2024 CLA Art Auction Preview

 Visit our Art Auction page for a better view of the stunning pieces of artwork that could be yours and to read their individual descriptions!
Now that you have seen the pieces and know what you want, let’s talk about how you can bid! You can find detailed information about our auction procedures in our Bidding FAQs or see below for directions on how to bid and get started on November 22nd.

How to Bid
  1. To get to the CLA 32Auctions page follow the URL www.32auctions.com/CLA2024  or use the QR Code. 
  2. If you do not already have a 32Auctions account, follow the Create an Account link to establish one.
  3. Click on "View All Items" to see all the pieces of art available
    • Use the heart icon to add items to your watch-list.
  4. Click on an artwork that interests you and type in a bid that is higher than the previous one by at least $10.
  5. Revisit the platform during the bidding time frame and make new bids as you see fit.

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www.32auctions.com/CLA2024

Each year, the CLA Auction is made possible thanks to the generous support of publishers, book creators, and other children's literature people who donate art for the auction.

Thank You!

Amy Beaudoin @ Simon & Schuster
Avery Cook @ Nosy Crow
Elissa Gershowitz @ Hornbook
Anne Irza-Leggat @ Candlewick Press
Mimi Rankin @ HarperCollins
Donna Spurlock @ Charlesbridge
Jennifer Steinhagen @ Sourcebooks

Sarah S. Brannen
Lesa Cline-Ransome
Rob Dunlavey

James Ransome
* Listed alphabetically.
Ally Hauptman is Assistant Dean for Teacher Education and the lead faculty for Instructional Practice at Lipscomb University. She is a member of CLA's Ways and Means committee and serves of the award committee for CLA's Notable Children’s Books in the Language Arts.

CLA at NCTE 2024

CLA is celebrating its 50 years. Fundraising celebratory items available at NCTE 2024
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2024 CLA Breakfast Preview: Meet the Ransomes

10/15/2024

 

by Jeanne Gilliam Fain & Susan Polos (2024 CLA Breakfast Co-Chairs)

Every year, the Children's Literature Assembly hosts the CLA Breakfast during the annual NCTE Conference. This year, we are delighted to feature as keynote speakers award-winning author Lesa-Cline Ransome and award-winning illustrator James Ransome.

Lesa Cline-Ransome and James Ransome are significant and prolific figures in the world of children’s literature. Lesa has written over 25 picture books, five middle grade or YA novels, biographies, a collective biography, and she has contributed to several anthologies. James Ransome has illustrated over 70
picture books, often, but not always, partnering with Lesa. James Ransome was named the winner of the 2023 Children’s Literature Legacy Award; he has previously won the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award and the Illustrator Honors Award. Lesa has won Coretta Scott King Author Honor Awards, the Scott O’Dell Award, and other honors.

James and Lesa’s most recent collaborations include Fighting with Love: the Legacy of John Lewis (2024) and They Call Me Teach: Lessons in Freedom (2024). Fighting with Love is a nonfiction picture book chronicling the life of civil rights hero John Lewis, from his childhood through his work in government and in resistance. They Call Me Teach: Lessons in Freedom captures an important historical truth: the risks taken by enslaved people to teach each other to read and write. Lesa Cline-Ransome’s most recent chapter book is One Big Open Sky (2024), a verse novel told in three intergenerational perspectives telling of the Black homesteader movement, another aspect of history seldom shared in textbooks.
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Lesa Cline-Ransome
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James Ransome
Fighting with Love Cover
Lesa and James value the stories that we need to know from history. They often ask each other the questions, “Have you heard this?” or “Did you know this?” and these questions often lead them to write about stories and “the humanity of people whose stories have never been told.” You won’t want to miss Lesa and James as they provide us with incredible insights into their work during the 2024 CLA Breakfast on Sunday, November 24th, starting at 7 am ET  (Room 210A, Convention Center, Level 2).
Here’s an excerpt from our interview with them:

Lesa: Our newest, the book that came out this month, is John Lewis: Fighting With Love. I said to James after he finished the illustrations, and I never say this because I have to live with James, so what I don’t want is for James to get a head so big he can’t come into the house, “This book is outstanding.” He’ll tell you, I very rarely say that. I say, “James, it’s beautiful. Good job,” but rarely, “outstanding.”   Every time I look at this book I find something else to love. It is a balance of writing and illustration and the way they seamlessly came together. It is the story of Congressman John Lewis, who James and I have both loved and admired. James pitched this to our editor several years ago. Was I involved? Nope.  Because sometimes James just pitches a project to an editor and the next thing that I know I am writing with him.
 
James: Well, I always discuss them with you. Well except the time with Game Changers: The Story of Venus and Serena Williams. I’d been asking, begging Lesa, I think after she wrote Satchel Paige, that was the book I asked her to write…
Lesa and James are a powerful author and illustrator team. Their banter is real and genuine. Separately and together, they embrace the power of writing, illustrating, and sharing critical stories with their readers. We came away feeling excited for the CLA Breakfast where we know Lesa and James will share their extraordinary expertise along with their unique and important perspectives. They understand the responsibility of stories that add to our understanding of history.
2024 CLA Breakfast

Special Thanks To

Simon & Schuster for sponsoring Lesa and James' participation and donating books for the breakfast.
Simon & Schuster logo
Candlewick and Holiday House for donating books for the breakfast.
Candlewick press logo
Holiday House Logo
Jeanne Gilliam Fain is a professor in the College of Education at Lipscomb University and she is the Director of MLL/ELL program. Her scholarship agenda includes a focus on Literacy, Literature, and Language Study in K-12 classrooms. She served as chair of the Notable in Children’s Language Arts Award and she currently serves as current chair of the Notable Books for a Global Society. She is 2024 co-chair of the CLA Breakfast Committee.

Susan Polos is the middle school librarian at Greenwich Country Day School (Greenwich, CT). She has served on the Coretta Scott King, Newbery, and Pura Belpré book award juries. Currently, she serves Assistant Chair of the Outstanding International Books Committee for the United States Board on Books for Young People (USBBY), is a co-chair of the Breakfast Committee for the Children's Literature Assembly, and is a member of the Archives and History Committee of the Coretta Scott King Book Award Community. 

CLA at NCTE 2024

For further details about the breakfast and other CLA sessions and activities during NCTE 2024, visit our CLA@NCTE page.

2024 CLA Breakfast with Lesa Cline-Ransome and James Ransome

10/8/2024

 

by Jeanne Gilliam Fain & Susan Polos (2024 CLA Breakfast Co-Chairs)

We invite you to join us for our annual Children’s Literature Assembly Breakfast at the 2024 NCTE Convention, featuring the award-winning author Lesa Cline-Ransome and the award-winning illustrator James Ransome. Our breakfast is on Sunday, November 24th, starting at 7 am (ET) and takes place in Convention Center, Level 2 in Room 210A. 

The CLA breakfast is an event that you will not want to miss. We will present awards, have an art auction and book raffle, and then Lesa Cline-Ransome and James Ransome will speak and sign books afterwards! You need a ticket to attend the CLA breakfast. If you have already registered for the NCTE Conference but would like to purchase a ticket, the easiest way to do this is to call NCTE directly at (877) 369-6283. 

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Lesa Cline-Ransome and James Ransome are significant and prolific figures in the world of children’s literature. Lesa has written over 25 picture books, five middle grade or YA novels, biographies, a collective biography, and she has contributed to several anthologies. James Ransome has illustrated over 70 picture books, often, but not always, partnering with Lesa. James Ransome was named the winner of the 2023 Children’s Literature Legacy Award; he has previously won the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award and the Illustrator Honors Award. Lesa has won Coretta Scott King Author Honor Awards, the Scott O’Dell Award, and other honors. 

Lesa and James value the stories that we need to know from history. They both often ask the questions, “Have you heard this?” or “Did you know this?” and these questions often lead them to write about, as Lesa states, “the humanity of people whose stories have never been told.” They will enlighten and inspire you with the powerful stories behind their work.

If you regularly attend the CLA Breakfasts at NCTE, you know what a wonderful experience they are! But if you haven’t, we welcome you to join us! It’s a positive opportunity to meet other people who are passionate about children’s literature, hear about an amazing author and an illustrator, purchase raffle tickets for wonderful books, and, if you are so inclined, bid on art from children’s illustrators! We hope to see you there!


Jeanne Gilliam Fain is a professor in the College of Education at Lipscomb University and she is the Director of MLL/ELL program. Her scholarship agenda includes a focus on Literacy, Literature, and Language Study in K-12 classrooms. She served as chair of the Notable in Children’s Language Arts Award and she currently serves as current chair of the Notable Books for a Global Society. She is 2024 co-chair of the CLA Breakfast Committee.

Susan Polos is the middle school librarian at Greenwich Country Day School (Greenwich, CT). She has served on the Coretta Scott King, Newbery, and Pura Belpré book award juries. Currently, she serves Assistant Chair of the Outstanding International Books Committee for the United States Board on Books for Young People (USBBY), is a co-chair of the Breakfast Committee for the Children's Literature Assembly, and is a member of the Archives and History Committee of the Coretta Scott King Book Award Community. 

CLA @ NCTE 2024

Visit our CLA@NCTE page for details.
Notables Session
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CLA Art Auction

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CLA members, don't forget to vote in our CLA Board of Directors elections.
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Shining the Light on Authentic Native Voices in Children's Literature at the Upcoming NCTE Conference

11/13/2022

 

by Andrea M. Page

The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) November conference is here! With so many fantastic sessions to attend, I’d like to shine a light on several Indigenous/First Nation/Native creatives who will be presenting at this year’s conference.

Did you know that according to the Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC), of the estimated 3427 books published in 2021 in the U.S. by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) authors, only 60 books, or 0.017% were written by Native authors? An additional 74 books about Indigenous people and their culture were written by non-Natives. The numbers are slowly rising since the first detailed set of data released by the CCBC in 2002, when only six Native authors published books, yet at that time, 64 books were published about Indigenous people and/or culture written by non-Natives.

Educators know how important it is to recognize and appreciate diversity in children’s literature, and ensure children have access to books and characters that represent authentic voices. No group is more diverse than Indigenous cultures across the globe. In the United States alone, there are nearly 600 federally recognized tribes, all with similar traditions and values but very different cultures based on their geographic locations. Each tribe has its own worldview.
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         Fall is a time of harvest and celebration.
After the hard work of planting seeds,
                       BIPOC voices are important, new ideas seed new experiences
laboring and growing,
                       Authentic Indigenous voices are taking root and thriving
and reaping the harvest,
                      Fresh Native Creatives, values, culture, and humor are plenty
it is a time to feast and celebrate.
Teachers, Librarians, and other attendees, whose goal is to enlighten readers and reflect with open minds on a variety of worldviews…join these Native Creatives who will be presenting at NCTE. Let’s shine the light on their authentic voices and celebrate together. Hope to see you there!
THURSDAY

Darcie Little Badger

A.28 Shining a Light on Rural YA Literature: Presenting the Winners of the Whippoorwill Award for Rural Young Adult Literature
Thursday, 09:30 - 10:45

Carole Lindstrom
B.04 Birds Aren’t Real: Literature as Truth and Light in Dark Times
Thursday, 11:00 - 12:15

FRIDAY

Traci Sorell
E.31 Possibilities of Poetry: Excavating and Exploring Identity in the Elementary Classroom
Friday, 09:30 - 10:45

Angeline Boulley
F.06 Constellations and Not a Single Star: Shining and Rising Native Voices on Collaboration and Writing Truths
Friday, 11:00 - 12:15

Carole Lindstrom
F.06 Constellations and Not a Single Star: Shining and Rising Native Voices on Collaboration and Writing Truths
Friday, 11:00 - 12:15

Traci Sorell
F.06 Constellations and Not a Single Star: Shining and Rising Native Voices on Collaboration and Writing Truths
Friday, 11:00 - 12:15

Laurel Goodluck
F.06 Constellations and Not a Single Star: Shining and Rising Native Voices on Collaboration and Writing Truths
Friday, 11:00 - 12:15

Traci Sorell
G.04 Bring the Light In: Children’s Literature for Truth Telling
Friday, 12:30 - 13:45

Monique Gray Smith
H.04 Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants with Adapter Monique Gray Smith
Friday, 14:00 - 15:15

Angeline Boulley
HI.01 High School Matters—Learning Liberated: Reading, Writing, and Discussion Grounded in Multimodal Pedagogies
Friday, 14:00 - 16:45

Traci Sorell
H.34 Teaching with the 2022 Charlotte Huck and Orbis Pictus Award Books ROOM 204-A 
14:00-15:15

SATURDAY

Traci Sorell
K.10 #DisruptTexts Now More Than Ever
Saturday, 11:00 - 12:15

Angeline Boulley
K.37 Teaching Young Adult Literature: Creating Space to Pursue Light and to Dream
Saturday, 11:00 - 12:15

Joy Harjo
L.30 #TeachLivingPoets and US Poet Laureate Joy Harjo Present Living Nations, Living Words, and Teaching Native Nations Poets
Saturday, 12:30 - 13:45

Traci Sorell
M.14 Connecting through Story: The Transformative Power of Daily Picture Book Read-Alouds
Saturday, 14:45 - 16:00

Arigon Starr
M.14 Connecting through Story: The Transformative Power of Daily Picture Book Read-Alouds
Saturday, 14:45 - 16:00

Jen Ferguson
N.08 Countering Harmful Media Narratives with Young Adult Literature
Saturday, 16:15 - 17:30

NCTE 2022 Native Authors
 
Darcie Little Badger (Lipan Apache). Author of  Elatsoe and A Snake Falls to Earth.
Website: darcielittlebadger.wordpress.com
 
Carole Lindstrom (Anishinabe/Metis, tribally enrolled with the Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe)
Author of Girls Dance, Boys Fiddle, and We are Water Protectors.
Website: carolelindstrom.com
 
Traci Sorell
(Cherokee Nation citizen)
Author of We are Grateful: Otsaliheliga, At the Mountain’s Base, Powwow Day, Classified: The Secret Career of Mary Golda Ross, Cherokee Aerospace Engineer, and Contenders: Two Native Baseball Players, One World Series
Website: tracisorell.com

Monique Gray Smith (Cree, Lakota and Scottish)
Author of My Heart Fills With Happiness, You Hold Me Up, When we are Kind, Lucy and Lola and I Hope, Tilly: A Story of Hope and Resilience, Braiding Sweetgrass, and Tilly and the Crazy Eights
Website: moniquegraysmith.com
 
Angeline Boulley (enrolled member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians) Author of Firekeeper's Daughter and Warrior Girl Unearthed.  
Website:  angelineboulley.com
 
Laurel Goodluck (Mandan and Hidatsa from the prairies of North Dakota, and Tsimshian from a rainforest in Alaska). Author of Forever Coursins. Fortcoming books: Rock your Mocs and Too Much
Website: laurelgoodluck.com
 
Joy Harjo (mem­ber of the Mvskoke Nation and belongs to Oce Vpofv (Hick­o­ry Ground)). 
Author of An Amer­i­can Sun­rise, The Good Luck Cat and For a Girl Becom­ing.
Website: joyharjo.com
 
Arigon Starr (enrolled member of the Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma) .
Illustrator of Super Indian and Tales of the Mighty Code Talkers  
Website  arigonstarr.com
 
Jen Ferguson (Michif/Métis)
Author of The Summer of Bitter and Sweet
Website: jenfergusonwrites.com
Resource:
Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC)
https://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/literature-resources/ccbc-diversity-statistics/books-by-and-or-about-poc-2018/
Andrea Page (Hunkpapa Lakota / German) is a children’s author, educator, and Board Member of the Children’s Literature Assembly of the NCTE. Her debut middle grade book, SIOUX CODE TALKERS OF WORLD WAR II, is the story of seven Native American Code Talkers’ military service in the Pacific Theater. Andrea lives with her husband in Rochester, New York. Visit her website at WriterAndreaPage.com.

You may also be interested in

NCTE 2022 Sessions Sponsored by CLA
  • The 2022 Notable Children's Books in the Language Arts
  • CLA Master Class
  • CLA Breakfast
A listing of NCTE 2022 Sessions of Interest for CLA Members Assembled by members of CLA’s DEI Committee

2022 CLA Breakfast

10/31/2022

 

by Angela Wiseman & Ally Hauptman (2022 Co-Chairs)

We invite you to join us for our annual Children’s Literature Assembly Breakfast at the 2022 NCTE Convention featuring the award-winning author-illustrator Jerry Craft! Our breakfast is on Sunday November 20th, starting at 7am (PST) and takes place in Ballroom D at the Anaheim Convention Center.

The CLA breakfast is not to be missed! As you have seen in other blog posts, we will present awards, have an art auction and book raffle, and then Jerry Craft will speak and sign books afterwards! You need a ticket to the CLA Breakfast to attend. If you have already registered for the NCTE conference, but would like to purchase a ticket to the breakfast, the easiest way to do this is to call NCTE directly at (877) 369-6283.
2022 CLA Breakfast at NCTE on 11/20/22 @ 7 am
We would like to present some background on the esteemed, award-winning author-illustrator, Jerry Craft. As Publishers Weekly described in a book review about New Kid, Jerry Craft masterfully creates realistic stories that feature real life characters, “deftly weaving discussions of race, socioeconomics, colorism, and solidarity into an accessible narrative.”

We were first introduced to his work when we read New Kid, which was published in 2019. New Kid is part of a trilogy; Class Act is the second book and the third will be released in the near future. This fantastic book about Jordan Banks describes his experiences dealing with life as an adolescent while attending a private school where he doesn’t always fit in. He’s one of the only students of Color at this school and experiences prejudice and racism as he realizes how both race and socioeconomic factors impact the way people treat each other. Jerry Craft is motivated to show realistic portrayals of children in his books, but he also really wants children, particularly children of Color,  to see themselves in his stories.
Before Jordan Banks, Jerry Craft wrote the comic strip Mama’s Boyz, which features the Porter family. It depicts the experience of Pauline Porter, a mother who is single-parent to two teenaged sons named Tyrell and Yusuf. While depicting real life experiences of a family, it was important that he had characters that he could imagine his own sons reading and relating to. If you visit his website, the first thing you see next to his profile and books is a quote that says “I make the books I wish I had when I was a kid.”
Mama's Boyz comic strip sample
(Image from https://www.lambiek.net/artists/c/craft-jerry.htm)
If you regularly attend the CLA Breakfasts at NCTE, you know what a wonderful experience they are! But if you haven’t, we welcome you to join us! It’s a great opportunity to meet other people who are passionate about children’s literature, hear an amazing author-illustrator, purchase raffle tickets for wonderful books, and possibly bid on art from children’s illustrators! We hope to see you there!

Angela Wiseman and Ally Hauptman

​Ally Hauptman is a CLA Board Member and co-chair of the 2022 CLA Breakfast Committee. She is an associate professor at Lipscomb University in Nashville, TN.

Angela Wiseman is a CLA Board Member and is co-chair of the 2022 CLA Breakfast Committee. She is an associate professor of literacy education at North Carolina State University.

Children’s Literature Assembly Art Auction at the 2022 NCTE Conference

10/18/2022

 

by Peggy Rice and Ally Hauptman representing the Ways and Means Committee

Each year at the NCTE Conference, the Children’s Literature Assembly hosts a breakfast. It is one of our favorite events of the conference because we get to listen to an author speak about their work and we get to see the gorgeous artwork available in the silent auction. This year our speaker is Jerry Craft, Newbery winner and author of New Kid and Class Act. Jerry is also contributing a piece of art to the auction! 

The Ways and Means Committee spends a better part of the year communicating with children’s picture book authors/illustrators about donating artwork to support the major goals of our organization. CLA is committed to promoting high quality children’s books in classrooms and supporting research focused on the importance of children’s literature. 

Ways and Means Committee

Raven Cromwell
Michelle Hasty
Ally Hauptman
Mary Lee Hahn
Rachelle Kuehl
Marion Rocco
Peggy Rice
We are excited to share with you some of the artwork we have received and will be available for purchase through the auction this year. There are more pieces coming, so there will be a second blog coming soon! Without further ado, we invite you to view these beautiful contributions by Kevin Henkes, Grant Snider, Juliet Menéndez, Ellen Heck, Bonnie Lui, Alaina Chau, Amanda Calatzis, Brandon James Scott, Dan Yaccarino, and Elizabeth Erazo Baez. As an added bonus this year, each piece of art will be auctioned off with the book in which it appears!

Elizabeth Erazo Baez

Elizabeth Erazo Baez, talented artist, illustrator, curator and art teacher, is  of Puerto Rican heritage.  Impacted by her experiences growing up in Puerto Rico, she uses bright Caribbean colors and creates lush, tropical views, depicting the cultural lifestyle.
Art for Auction: Elizabeth has contributed three, expressive 11 x 14 pieces, with matting, from Alicia and the Hurricane: A Story of Puerto Rico,  a bilingual picture book written by Leslea Newman (2022). Each illustration includes an image of the coqui, a tree frog that is native to the island and beloved by the main character, Alicia. 


Amanda Calatzis

Amanda Calatzis, talented author-illustrator, incorporates light into her illustrations to convey warmth.
Picture
Art for Auction: This 17 x 11 inch, uplifting illustration is from Mr. Roger’s Gift of Music by Donna Cangelosi (2022), a picture book biography, that celebrates the power of music in his life. It depicts Mr. Rogers and the flow of music in his home.


Alina Chau

Alina Chau, a talented animator, author-illustrator  grew up in Hong Kong in an Indonesian-Chinese family. Her work is inspired by her unique Southeast Asian heritage. In 2018, a book she illustrated, The Nian Monster by Andrea Wang, received a Picture Book Honor by the Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA)

Art for Auction:  This 14 x 10 inch watercolor illustration is from Bonnie’s Rocket by Emmeline Lee (2022), a historical fiction picture book inspired by the experiences of the author’s grandfather with the Apollo 11 space mission. It depicts Bonnie, whose father is an engineer for the Apollo 11 space mission, conceptualizing a rocket that she designs, builds and tests.

Picture

Ellen Heck

Ellen Heck, is a talented printmaker who explores identity in her work.

Picture
Art for Auction:  This 10 x 8 inch piece includes eye-catching black and white scratchboard images from A is for Bee: An Alphabet Book in Translation (2022), her lavishly illustrated debut multilingual alphabet picture book that was inspired by reading Lithuanian alphabet books to her son. Throughout the book, she has included hidden letter forms to create a seek and find element for readers.


Kevin Henkes

Kevin Henkes, is an award-winning, prolific author-illustrator of picture books and novels.  He received the 2020 Children’s Literature Legacy Award for his significant and lasting contributions as an American author-illustrator, publishing books in the United States.  His award-winning works include Kitten’s Full Moon, winner of the 2005 Caldecott and The Year of Billy Miller, the 2014 recipient of a Newbery Honor.
Picture
Art for Auction:  This  9.5 x 4 inch illustration of pastel colored, expressive elephants is from A Parade of Elephants (2018), which is an ALA Notable Book. This delightful book for preschoolers focuses on a day-long march of five elephants and includes opportunities for counting, as well as exploration of opposites.


Bonnie Lui

Bonnie Lui, is a talented illustrator of picture books for children who is also a background painter for Dreamworks and WB. In 2021, she published her first children’s book that she authored and illustrated, “ABC of Feelings.”

Picture
Art for Auction:  This 4 x 6 inch otherworldly illustration from So Not Ghoul by Karen Yin (2022), depicts the main character, Mimi, who is a Chinese-American ghost girl haunting a new American school.  In this playful ghost story, Mimi embraces her bicultural identity.    


Juliet Menéndez

Juliet Menéndez, a talented Guatemalan American author-illustrator, is a former bilingual teacher in New York City. While teaching, she noticed a need for children’s books depicting Latinas.
Art for Auction: This  framed 18 x 23 inch gorgeous illustration is from Juliet’s first children’s book, Latinitas: Celebrating 40 Big Dreamers (2021), a collected biography of influential Latinas who followed their dreams. It depicts Rigoberta Menchu Tum, the 1992 winner of the Nobel Peace prize, in recognition of her work as an advocate of Indian Rights and ethno-cultural reconciliation. Other Latinas included in the collection include Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor and Evelyn Miralles, NASA’s first virtual reality engineer.
Picture

Brandon James Scott

Brandon James Scott, is a critically acclaimed Canadian, creative director working in animation and an author-illustrator of children’s books. He  created the award-winning animated series, Justin Time.

Picture
Art for Auction: This 20 x 20 inch humorous illustration from A Bear, A Bee, and a Honey Tree by Daniel Bernstrom (2022) captures the high energy of the hungry bear and the angry bee. Brandon’s expressive illustrations delight young readers while inspiring them to write poetry

Grant Snider

Grant Snider, is a talented author-illustrator of children’s picture books and creator of comics that have appeared in publications such as The New Yorker and The New York Times Book Review.

Art for Auction: This  14 x 11 inch brightly colored illustration from One Boy Watching  (2022) depicts the boy on his daily bus ride.  Grant’s use of color invites young readers to engage with the outside world through observation.
Picture

Dan Yaccarino

Dan Yaccarino, is an acclaimed author-illustrator of children’s books and creator of animated series based on his books, such as Doug Unplugs (AppleTV) and Oswald (Nickelodeon).

Picture
Art for Auction: This 20 x 20 inch graphic style illustration is from City Under the City  (2022). It depicts Bix and her rat friend heading home from the City Under the City with books that they have discovered on their adventure. The charming illustrations and Bix’s appreciation for books inspire young readers to move away from a screen and read a book.

Peggy Rice is an associate professor in the Department of Elementary Education at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. She is a member of the Ways and Means Committee for CLA.

Ally Hauptman is an associate professor at Lipscomb University. She is the chair of the Ways and Means Committee for CLA and a serving CLA board member.

To be able to participate in this year's CLA Art Auction, don't forget to prepurchase your tickets for the 2022 Children's Literature Assembly Breakfast featuring Jerry Craft. Tickets are available through the registration portal for NCTE2022.
CLA invites you to its 2022 Breakfast featuring Jerry Craft. Purchase tickets at https://convention.ncte.org/registration/

And the Children’s Literature Assembly Breakfast Speaker is…

5/24/2022

 

By Angela Wiseman and Ally Hauptman, Breakfast Committee co-chairs

We are so happy to announce the CLA Breakfast Speaker for 2022 - it’s Jerry Craft!

Mark your calendars now! This will be such a fantastic session, taking place November 20, 2022 in Anaheim, CA.

Jerry Craft is an author and illustrator of many books, but most recently has published the graphic novel trilogy New Kid, Class Act, and an additional book that continues Jordan Bank’s experiences that will be coming out shortly! Craft has won multiple awards, including a Newbery Award, a Kirkus Book Award, and a Coretta Scott King Award for his book New Kid. 

We have a breakfast speaker interview that is coming out in the Journal of Children’s Literature in the fall, but we wanted to share our top 10 reasons why you should attend the CLA Breakfast at the NCTE Conference!
10. You will get a Jerry Craft book to add to your collection!

9. After the breakfast, Jerry will be signing books - so you can get your book autographed!

8. He is going to share his creative process with you, including the way his life has shaped his stories.

7. This may be your only opportunity to hear from a graphic novelist who has earned a Newbery Award - he is the first and only person to do this!

6.The passion Jerry Craft has for illustrating and authoring books that represent children of Color and inspiring others to read wonderful books is powerful - you won’t want to miss it!

5. Jerry Craft wants to show Black boy joy and realities of his own lived experiences. You can find out how his stories do this!

4. Jerry Craft is known as the “hardest working author” ever. His story and journey are inspiring!

3. His books are translated into 13 languages! 

2. Jerry Craft has brilliant ideas about how to use his books in the classroom!

1. His books are full of “Easter eggs” - hidden jokes, cultural references, and fun facts. You will have to reread all his books after you hear about them!

Jerry Craft Photo
Jerry Craft

New Kid Cover
Class Act cover
Phote of Jarry Craft and Breaktfast co-chairs
​Ally Hauptman is a CLA Board Member and co-chair of the 2022 CLA Breakfast Committee. She is an associate professor at Lipscomb University in Nashville, TN.

Angela Wiseman is a CLA Board Member and is co-chair of the 2022 CLA Breakfast Committee. She is an associate professor of literacy education at North Carolina State University.

Gearing Up for NCTE2022 & Winter Hiatus

12/14/2021

 

by Xenia Hadjioannou, Lauren Liang, Liz Thackeray Nelson (Editors of the CLA Blog)

Link to the call for proposal for NCTE 2022
During the Closing Session of the 2021 NCTE Convention,  María E. Fránquiz, Program Chair for the 2022 conference, announced the theme of the 2022 Annual NCTE Convention: ¡Sueños! Pursuing the Light. With this call for proposals, María is inviting us "to think of ways that we can pursue and bring light to each other, to our profession, and our organization." The full clip of her announcement is provided below.
Clip from the Closing Session at NCTE 2021: María Fránquiz announcing the theme for NCTE 2022
Published with permission | Transcript

Out of the Darkness Grows the Light

In her announcement, María Fránquiz discussed drawing inspiration from the work of Sister Mary Corita Kent, "a social justice advocate, artist educator, designer and poet" and shared Kent's poem from the 1977 serigraph titled out of the darkness.

María also referenced a recently published children's biography of Corita Kent written by Matthew Burgess and illustrated by Kara Kramer: Make Meatballs Sing: The Life and Art of Corita Kent. The biography, which was composed in close collaboration with the Corita Center and includes reproductions of her work, was recently selected as one of the 2022 Orbis Pictus recommended books.

Cover of Make Meatballs Sing

out of the darkness
Corita Kent, 1977

out of the darkness
of one moment
grows the light
of another moment
perhaps in some distant time
if not in the next moment
love the darkness
An image of the out of darkness cerigraph as well as comprehensive collection of Corita Kent’s artwork can be found on the website of The Corita Art Center.

Golden Line Strategy

Another children's title María Fránquiz connected to the 2022 NCTE Conference theme of ¡Sueños! Pursuing the Light is a picturebook by Yuyi Morales published as Bright Star in English and Lucero in Spanish. In this book, a young fawn explores a border territory, gently guided and encouraged by a maternal voice.

Using the golden line strategy, María pulled out the line:
"No matter where you are, you are a bright star inside our hearts."

"Dondequiera que estés, eres un lucero en nuestros corazones."

In reflecting on the excerpt, María commented, "For me, this line embodies, the belief of light within each person, child or adult. It is repeated in different forms in the story. The message offers protection to children because it presents the possibility of a caring person or community somewhere. This line radiates hope and love. I think that line also ties nicely with the lighthouse logo that incorporates our theme for the 2022 Convention. With the moon, and the stars brightly shining and the constellation beyond the lighthouses of our different parts of the world."
If you are interested in learning more about the golden line strategy, check out our post From the 2020 Notable Children’s Books in the Language Arts in which Jeanne Fain, the 2020 Notables Committee Chair, describes the strategy and offers ideas and recommendations for practice.

Submitting Proposals for NCTE 2022

  • Call for Proposals
  • Proposal submission online form for NCTE 2022.
  • Proposals are due by 11:59 p.m. ET, Tuesday, January 18, 2022.
  • For any questions, please email [email protected].
Lucero cover
Bright Star Cover
Hiatus Announcement & Wishes for the new year. We will be back in January
Xenia Hadjioannou is Associate Professor of Language and Literacy Education at the Harrisburg Campus of Penn State. She is Vice President of CLA and co-editor of the CLA Blog.

Lauren Aimonette Liang is Associate Professor at the Deparment of Educational Psychology of the University of Utah. She is Past President of CLA and co-editor of the CLA Blog.

Liz Thackeray Nelson is a doctoral candidate at the University of Utah. She is co-chair of CLA's membership committee and co-editor of the CLA Blog.
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