The Children's Literature Association (ChLA) is a non-profit association, based in the United States, of scholars, critics, professors, students, librarians, teachers, and institutions dedicated to studying children's literature.Margaret W. Denman-West, ''Children's Literature: A Guide to Information Sources''. (Libraries Unlimited, 1998), 121. . Begun in the 1970s to generate interest in children's literature as an academic discipline and to provide a place for those studying children's literature to share ideas, the association sponsors an annual conference, two scholarly journals, and a series of awards. The association has also published a series of essays, ''Touchstones,'' attempting to establish a

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

of children's literature.

History

In order to stimulate an interest in children's literature among humanities scholars, ChLA was formed in 1972 by Anne Devereaux Jordan, then teaching at Western Michigan University, and her colleague, Jon Stott. Later that year, Devereaux contacted Francelia Butler of the University of Connecticut, who had founded the journal ''Children's Literature'' in 1971, inviting her to combine her efforts with theirs. Butler, Jordan, and Stott all felt the need to bring scholars who were interested in children's literature together to "help raise the status of children's literature." As Butler wrote in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' in 1973, "To many humanists...in languages, philosophy, psychology, sociology, anthropology, or history, the most embarrassing literature to study is not about autoeroticism or cunnilingus. On such works scholars pride themselves on their broadmindedness. What truly embarrasses them is literature for their own children—'kiddy lit,' they call it."Carol Gay
"ChLA: 1973-1983"
Children's Literature Association. Retrieved 15 January 2019. On 20 August 1973, Jordan, Stott, Butler, Bennet Brockman, Glenn Sadler, and John Graham had a meeting to formally found the association, and unite the association and the journal (final board member, Rodney Morissett was unable to attend). As a result, the Children's Literature Association had its first conference the following March. The Board of Directors approved a constitution at this conference. Initially, the organization numbered 200; membership doubled the following year. Jordan served as the Executive Secretary and conference organizer of the organization until spring of 1976. The association's work quickly began to raise the profile of children's literature as its representatives were invited to speak at major events on education and children's literature. Marilyn Fain Apseloff became the organization's second president, succeeding Stott in 1979. That year, Apseloff represented ChLA at the First White House Conference on Library and Information Sciences where she spoke on the importance of literature for children. Her speech read, in part: “Libraries are crucial to meet our goals, to meet what should be the country's goals: a heightened awareness of children's literature so that we can make book lovers of children, and a determination to educate their parents to realize the importance of good books for children. Therefore, I urge you on behalf of children everywhere to keep their needs in the forefront of your deliberations: after all, our future is in their hands.”

''Touchstones''

In his 1978 presidential address, Stott asked the membership to establish a

, "which would provide common texts for shared dialogue and curricula and presumably position the field within canonical strata of academic privilege".Anne H. Lundin, ''Constructing the Canon of Children’s Literature: Beyond Library Walls and Ivory Towers''. (London: Routledge, 2004), 65. . By 1980, a committee whose responsibility it was to formulate this canon, which consisted of two English professors, two librarians from a public school and one librarian from a public library, presented a panel discussion on the issues surrounding the development of the canon. The committee members had a variety of different views on the structure of the canon, for example, whether the list should reflect "literary excellence and/or historic significance". The librarians in particular suggested popular titles, arguing that the association must listen to the opinions of child readers. Scholar Perry Nodelman responded to the panel in the following ''Children’s Literature Association Quarterly'' issue, describing the process as "an undemocratic but praiseworthy endeavor" where "some books ''are'' more important than others". He also explained how providing a rationale for the list was crucial.Lundin, 66. The final list was published in 1982–83 as a pamphlet and consisted of 63 titles. It met with a hostile reception, so a revised version was presented as a series of " touchstones" (inspired by

Matthew Arnold Matthew Arnold (24 December 1822 – 15 April 1888) was an English poet and cultural critic who worked as an inspector of schools. He was the son of Thomas Arnold, the celebrated headmaster of Rugby School, and brother to both Tom Arnold, lite ...

's description of a work as a benchmark). Nodelman edited the revised project, entitled '' Touchstones'', and defended this method in his introduction, explaining that teachers need a set of books to go to when teaching a course for the first time and these books are those "beside which we may place other children's books in order to make judgments about their excellence". He explains that "a touchstone has to be unconventional enough to draw attention to itself, to cause controversy, perhaps to encourage imitators." He contends that the list is a way to "open discussion" about children's literature. Each of the titles in the series includes a scholarly essay that aims to provide "a clearer, deeper sense of the best in children's books, and all the strength and joy to be drawn from them".Lundin, 67. The essays grapple with the question of why the particular work is canonical using a range of critical approaches:

feminist criticism Feminist literary criticism is literary criticism informed by feminist theory, or more broadly, by the politics of feminism. It uses the principles and ideology of feminism to critique the language of literature. This school of thought seeks to an ...

reader-response criticism Reader-response criticism is a school of literary theory that focuses on the reader (or "audience An audience is a group of people who participate in a show or encounter a work of art, literature (in which they are called "readers"), theatre ...

, archetypal studies, and

rhetorical criticism Rhetorical criticism analyzes the symbolic artifacts of discourse—the words, phrases, images, gestures, performances, texts, films, etc. that people use to communicate. Rhetorical analysis shows how the artifacts work, how well they work, and how ...

, among others. The three volumes are divided by genre: fiction, fairy tales, fables, myths, legends, poetry, and picture books. The texts span a little over 100 years, beginning with ''

Little Women ''Little Women'' is a coming-of-age novel written by American novelist Louisa May Alcott (1832–1888). Alcott wrote the book, originally published in two volumes in 1868 and 1869, at the request of her publisher. The story follows the lives ...

'' (1869) and ending with ''

The Borrowers Avenged ''The Borrowers Avenged'' is a children's fantasy novel by Mary Norton, published in 1982 by Viking Kestrel in the UK and Harcourt in the US. It was the last of five books in a series that is usually called ''The Borrowers'', inaugurated by '' ...

'' (1982), with the majority in the twentieth century.

Journals

ChLA supports two peer-reviewed scholarly journals published by the Johns Hopkins University Press:

''Children's Literature Association Quarterly''

ChLA publishes the ''

Children's Literature Association Quarterly ''Children's Literature Association Quarterly'' is a quarterly academic journal established in 1975 and an official publication of the Children's Literature Association. It is published by the Johns Hopkins University Press. The journal promotes ...

'' four times a year. The journal addresses a wide range of topics related to children's literature, with some issues devoted to special topics, such as "mothers and daughters in children’s literature."

''Children's Literature''

Together with the

Modern Language Association The Modern Language Association of America, often referred to as the Modern Language Association (MLA), is widely considered the principal professional association in the United States for scholars of language and literature. The MLA aims to "st ...

's Division on Children's Literature, ChLA publishes ''

Children's Literature Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader. Children's ...

.'' Published annually, "the journal seeks to publish theoretically based articles that demonstrate an awareness of key issues and criticism in children’s literature."

Awards

Phoenix Award

Each year, ChLA awards the

Phoenix Award The Phoenix Award annually recognizes one English-language children's book published twenty years earlier that did not then win a major literary award. It is named for the mythical bird phoenix that is reborn from its own ashes, signifying the ...

to a book first published in English 20 years prior to the award that did not receive any major awards when it was published.

Anne Devereaux Jordan Award

Recognizes significant contributions in scholarship and/or service to the field of children's literature. The award is considered annually and is given when warranted.

Book Award

Awarded annually by the ChLA to recognize outstanding book-length contributions to children's literature history, scholarship, and criticism.Book Award
Children's Literature Association. Retrieved 5 January 2019.

Edited Book Award

Awarded annually by the ChLA to recognize the contributions of an outstanding edited collection of essays to children's literature history, scholarship, and criticism.Edited Book Award
Children's Literature Association. Retrieved 5 January 2019.

Article Award

Awarded annually by the ChLA to recognize an outstanding article focusing on a literary, historical, theoretical, or cultural examination of children's texts and/or children's culture. Winning articles provide new insight to the field, making a distinct or significant scholarly contribution to the understanding of children's literature.

Graduate Student Essay Award

Awarded annually by the ChLA to one Ph.D. student and one M.A. student for outstanding essays on children's literature. The essays "should demonstrate familiarity with previous scholarship and they should contain original, distinctive ideas." Winners receive $200 and a complimentary year's membership to the Association.

Carol Gay Award

Awarded annually by the ChLA to an outstanding paper on children's literature written by an undergraduate. Nominations must be submitted by a faculty member on behalf of the undergraduate. Winners receive $200 and a complimentary year's membership to the Association.Carol Gay Award
Children's Literature Association. Retrieved 5 January 2019.

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Professional associations based in the United States Children's literature organizations 1972 establishments in the United States