ABOUT THE JOURNAL
The Journal of Children's Literature is a refereed journal devoted to teaching and scholarship for the field of children's literature. It is the product of the Children's Literature Assembly of NCTE and is published twice annually.
To join CLA and subscribe to the Journal of Children's Literature, visit our Membership Page or click on the membership links below. |
Journal MissionThe Journal of Children’s Literature, a refereed publication of the Children’s Literature Assembly of the National Council of Teachers of English, explores issues of current concern to scholars in the field of children’s literature, librarians, and classroom teachers—preschool through middle school. As a peer-reviewed professional publication, the Journal of Children’s Literature features research-based and scholarly articles that explore contemporary issues that are of interest to elementary and middle grade teachers, scholars and researchers of children’s literature, teacher educators, and librarians. It also recognizes the diversity of methodologies and theories and seeks critical perspectives on issues related to race/ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality, dis/ability, language and other similar topics in children’s literature
We value the unique position 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 literature is shared in elementary and middle grade classrooms, and discussed in communities outside the classroom. With the November 2015 approval of NCTE’s “Resolution on the Need for Diverse Children’s and Young Adult Books, JCL is committed to the recognition of diverse voices, the support of emerging IBPOC scholars and researchers, and to excellence in interdisciplinary research and scholarship in the field of children’s literature. We therefore welcome submissions that center literature studies in relation to issues of social justice, and equity, the representations of populations that have been historically marginalized or under-represented in children’s texts and culture, as well as the intersections between popular culture and identity. JCL Editors
Last Issue: Fall 2025
We are living in a time when children’s literature is making headlines more than perhaps ever before. To meet this moment, supporters of readers and reading need to be organized, educated, and vocal. That means the field of children’s literature needs clear, accessible, high quality, published research. Journals that publish such research have the potential to supply accurate, meaningful knowledge and data related to literature for young people for the public, while also illustrating the broader possible questions, perspectives, and conclusions scholars of this literature might come to through their studies, regardless of media headlines. In other words, we envision a theory-into-practice focus where research into and analysis of literature is valued, especially where it’s presented in or alongside connections to reading, readers, and teaching practice to support practitioners. |
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Join/Renew Online CONTACT JCL'S EDITORS JOURNAL METRICS Acceptance Rate: 8-10% Indexed in EBSCO, ERIC ADVERTISING INQUIRIESAdvertising inquiries may be addressed to: JCL Editors at [email protected]
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MANUSCRIPT GUIDELINES
Manuscripts should not exceed 25 double-spaced, typed pages (inclusive of references and tables, but exclusive of any images). Use APA (7th edition) format. Please submit a single document which includes tables, graphs, and images at the end of the document. A separate cover page should include the author’s name, mailing address, telephone number, email address, and school/professional affiliation and an abstract of approximately 50-150 words. The author’s name or any reference that would enable a reviewer to know who the author is should not appear on the manuscript. If the manuscript contains samples of student work, photographs of students, charts, diagrams, or other visuals, include scans upon submission; originals will be requested upon acceptance. Permission must be secured for samples of student work, photographs of students, and any copyrighted work.
If the submission is to a themed issue, please indicate in the cover letter the themed issue for which the manuscript is being submitted. Manuscripts will not be sent out for peer review until all information is provided. We also ask that the author’s positionality be a part of the manuscript in some way so readers have a deeper understanding of the context in which the scholar is thinking and writing. Each submitted manuscript will be screened by the editorial team. Any manuscript that is selected for peer review will be reviewed by at least two members of the editorial board. Decisions will be made within 8–12 weeks of publication of the journal issue for which the submission was made. Only electronic submissions will be accepted.
Manuscripts submitted to the Journal of Children’s Literature should not be under review for publication elsewhere. In addition, manuscripts should not have been previously published in another journal.
Please submit manuscripts via email to [email protected].
If the submission is to a themed issue, please indicate in the cover letter the themed issue for which the manuscript is being submitted. Manuscripts will not be sent out for peer review until all information is provided. We also ask that the author’s positionality be a part of the manuscript in some way so readers have a deeper understanding of the context in which the scholar is thinking and writing. Each submitted manuscript will be screened by the editorial team. Any manuscript that is selected for peer review will be reviewed by at least two members of the editorial board. Decisions will be made within 8–12 weeks of publication of the journal issue for which the submission was made. Only electronic submissions will be accepted.
Manuscripts submitted to the Journal of Children’s Literature should not be under review for publication elsewhere. In addition, manuscripts should not have been previously published in another journal.
Please submit manuscripts via email to [email protected].
MANUSCRIPT GUIDELINES (For 2026 Issues)
Manuscripts should not exceed 25 double-spaced, typed pages (inclusive of references and tables, but exclusive of any images). Use APA (7th edition) format. Please submit a single file which includes tables, graphs, and images embedded at the end of the document. If accepted for publication, we will request them as separate files. A separate cover page should include the title, the name(s) of the author(s), email address(es), school/professional affiliation(s), and an abstract of approximately 50-150 words. If the submission is for a themed issue, please indicate in the cover page the themed issue for which the manuscript is being submitted.
The manuscript should be fully blinded, free of all authors’ names. Citations of authors’ works should appear as “(Author, DATE)” in the text and be listed at the top of the reference list. The author(s) must secure permission to include samples of student work, photographs of students, and any copyrighted work.
After the issue submission deadline, all submitted manuscripts will first be screened by the editorial team. Incomplete submissions will not be sent out for peer review. Any manuscript that is selected for peer review will be reviewed by at least two reviewers. Final decisions will be made approximately 8-12 weeks prior to issue publication.
Manuscripts submitted to the Journal of Children’s Literature should not be under review for publication elsewhere. In addition, manuscripts should not have been previously published in another journal.
Please submit manuscripts via email to [email protected]. Only electronic submissions will be accepted.
The manuscript should be fully blinded, free of all authors’ names. Citations of authors’ works should appear as “(Author, DATE)” in the text and be listed at the top of the reference list. The author(s) must secure permission to include samples of student work, photographs of students, and any copyrighted work.
After the issue submission deadline, all submitted manuscripts will first be screened by the editorial team. Incomplete submissions will not be sent out for peer review. Any manuscript that is selected for peer review will be reviewed by at least two reviewers. Final decisions will be made approximately 8-12 weeks prior to issue publication.
Manuscripts submitted to the Journal of Children’s Literature should not be under review for publication elsewhere. In addition, manuscripts should not have been previously published in another journal.
Please submit manuscripts via email to [email protected]. Only electronic submissions will be accepted.
Calls for Manuscripts
spring 2026: Open Theme
(Manuscripts due August 15, 2025)
(Manuscripts due August 15, 2025)
The Open Theme of the Journal of Children’s Literature Spring 2026 issue reflects the incoming editorial team’s focus on expansive inclusivity, a framework that honors and welcomes a variety of topics, stances, approaches, orientations, and perspectives from those invested in children’s literature from empirical, theoretical, and pedagogical perspectives. Submissions might consider such questions as:
We are especially interested in illuminating scholarship that contributes to timely, important conversations in the field.
For any questions, please contact [email protected].
- What patterns do you see in children’s literature across time and in the present that are worth illuminating and can inform theory, policy, and practice?
- What are some urgent, vital issues relating to children’s literature you are experiencing in your work, inside or outside of classroom spaces, right now? How are you working to navigate troubled waters in the spirit of making “good trouble”?
- In what ways can children’s literature speak to and/or raise critical awareness about significant human concerns?
- How might young readers be (re)centered in our understandings of children’s literature, as well as our teaching and research around it?
- What are the ideological messages embedded in and emanating from children’s literature?
We are especially interested in illuminating scholarship that contributes to timely, important conversations in the field.
For any questions, please contact [email protected].
SCHOLAR'S COMMENTARY FROM THE
Spring 2022 Issue
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CRITICAL CONVERSATIONS FROM THE
SPRING 2022 Issue
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SAMPLE ARTICLES Far Apart, Close in Heart: Exploring Representations of Familial Incarceration in Children’s Picturebooks
By RHIANNON M. MATON, BREEANNA DEXTER, NICOLETTE McKEON, EMILY URIAS-VELASQUEZ, & BREANNA WASHINGTON 
Journal of Children’s Literature, 48(2), pp. 19–32, 2022
Elementary Literacy Teachers Change the Underlying Story Through Transformative Read-Aloud Curricula
By SABA KHAN VLACH 
Journal of Children’s Literature, 48(1), pp. 33-44, 2022
be who you are: Exploring representations of transgender children In Picturebooks
by A. Crawley 
Journal of Children’s Literature, 43(2), pp. 28–41, 2017
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JCL COLUMNS2017 cla master class: Diverse nonfiction
children's literature in the university classroom by T. Crisp, A. Knezek & R. gardner 
2016 CLA Master class: Diverse children's
literature at the university by L. LianG, L. Parsons & T. Crisp 
2016 cla workshop: Diversity 2.0: Advocating for more than just diverse faces
By M. Koss & D. Johnson 
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