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
First Issue (Spring 2023)
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 iterature 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 JCL@childrensliteratureassembly.org
Full cover $250 Full page $195 1/2 page. $135 Island 1/2 page $135 SPECIAL CONTENT
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Fall 2023 Teaching & Reading in Liminal Spaces (Due January 15, 2023 )
Liminal spaces are often the places where magic occurs in children’s literature. Think about the many doorways, wardrobes, rabbit holes, and tesseracts we encounter, a litany of spaces that shift characters and readers and even time itself into areas of the upside down, the underneath, the spaces between floors (and possible lives) on an elevator. Additionally, consider the turn of the page in picturebooks, the gutters between panels in graphic novels, and even the unseen actions that drive plot in all types of texts. What is happening in those liminalities, those spaces, those areas betwixt and between? What effect do they have?
Too often, binaries codified and promoted in texts and classrooms protect only the majority and the status quo. They are neither healthy nor useful for students, teachers, and readers who do not bend to the status quo within their identities or in the spaces they occupy. Binaries are common and accepted – mostly because they are simple, easy, and comfortable for most. Liminal spaces are complex, difficult, and conflicted spaces because of the questions they create and the binaries they question. Anzaldúa (2009) provides us with the idea of nepantla, torn between two worlds. Liminality is both of and not of these separate identities, as well as in the meandering inbetween. There is pain, pleasure, struggle, and contentment in those spaces. How does such liminality play out in real life and real reading, especially in the classroom and with what effects?
To that end, we ask authors to wonder about questions related to liminal spaces in and with children’s literature such as:
Too often, binaries codified and promoted in texts and classrooms protect only the majority and the status quo. They are neither healthy nor useful for students, teachers, and readers who do not bend to the status quo within their identities or in the spaces they occupy. Binaries are common and accepted – mostly because they are simple, easy, and comfortable for most. Liminal spaces are complex, difficult, and conflicted spaces because of the questions they create and the binaries they question. Anzaldúa (2009) provides us with the idea of nepantla, torn between two worlds. Liminality is both of and not of these separate identities, as well as in the meandering inbetween. There is pain, pleasure, struggle, and contentment in those spaces. How does such liminality play out in real life and real reading, especially in the classroom and with what effects?
To that end, we ask authors to wonder about questions related to liminal spaces in and with children’s literature such as:
- How can attending to and acknowledging liminal spaces help teachers name, recognize, and negotiate the complexities of identity?
- With whom and in what “non-elementary spaces” can children’s literature be used, centered, and explored?
- Who decides which books are for which ages and why? What happens if we disrupt those assumptions?
- What textual features invite reading and comprehension that stretches beyond the boundaries of the page itself?
- How do innovative methodologies and analyses shift our understanding about children’s literature and its readers?
- What roles can children’s literature play in non-instructional, casual interactions among students and teachers to inform how we understand literature, each other, and the worlds we occupy?
MANUSCRIPT GUIDELINES
Manuscripts should not exceed 20 double-spaced, typed pages (excluding references and tables). 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, fax 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 and photographs of students.)
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.
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.
Fall 2023 Teachers’ Voices: An Edited Column of Literature-Based Classroom Research (DUE JANUARY 15, 2023)
Teachers’ Voices: An Edited Column of Literature-Based Classroom Research
DUE: JANUARY 15, 2023
The editorial team envisions Teachers’ Voices as a space that privileges the research of educators in all their myriad settings and diverse methods of inquiry highlighting both the realities of classroom learning situations and the important work that occurs elsewhere (e.g., libraries, community centers, correctional facilities, online, at home). Additionally, ours is a collective aim to feature marginalized and minoritized voices so that diverse experiences and inquiries can flourish. Thus, those submitting articles for this section should consider the following:
Manuscripts should not exceed 3,750 words (excluding references and tables). For all other
submission requirements, please see the “Manuscript Guidelines” for the Journal of Children’s Literature. For more information, please contact Dr. Suzanne Knezek at knezek@umich.edu or Dr. Paul Ricks at paul_ricks@byu.edu.
DUE: JANUARY 15, 2023
The editorial team envisions Teachers’ Voices as a space that privileges the research of educators in all their myriad settings and diverse methods of inquiry highlighting both the realities of classroom learning situations and the important work that occurs elsewhere (e.g., libraries, community centers, correctional facilities, online, at home). Additionally, ours is a collective aim to feature marginalized and minoritized voices so that diverse experiences and inquiries can flourish. Thus, those submitting articles for this section should consider the following:
- Research that features educators as lead authors or principal investigators is encouraged.
- Submissions written by teachers who work with or identify as members of minoritized populations are welcomed.
- We embrace underrepresented voices in qualitative research (action research, self-study, narrative inquiry, etc.).
- We welcome articles that speak to what “works,” but we also think it is of the utmost importance to share what does not “work” and why.
Manuscripts should not exceed 3,750 words (excluding references and tables). For all other
submission requirements, please see the “Manuscript Guidelines” for the Journal of Children’s Literature. For more information, please contact Dr. Suzanne Knezek at knezek@umich.edu or Dr. Paul Ricks at paul_ricks@byu.edu.
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 The gendered portrayal of inanimate characters
in children's books by T. Berry & J. Wilkins 
Journal of Children’s Literature, 43(2), pp. 4–15, 2017
Beyond Sanctioned Activism in Carl Hiaasen's
Flush: Sacrifice zones in realistic fiction by A. Panos 
Journal of Children’s Literature, 43(1), pp. 6–15, 2017
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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