The Center for the Study of Children's Literature is an academic program at

Simmons University Simmons University (previously Simmons College) is a private university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1899 by clothing manufacturer John Simmons. In 2018, it reorganized its structure and changed its name to a ...

specializing in the critical, academic study of

children's literature Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. In addition to conventional literary genres, modern children's literature is classified by the intended age of the reade ...

. The program was founded in 1977, and was the first program in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

to offer a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in the field. Currently, the program offers a
MA
in Children's Literature, an MFA in Writing for Children, and two dual degrees (MA/MFA, and MA/MS in Library Services to Children). It also offers an Institute to the children's literature academic community in alternate summers. Guest speakers in previous years have included such notables as

Louis Sachar Louis Sachar ( ; born March 20, 1954) is an American young-adult mystery-comedy author. He is best known for the ''Wayside School (book series), Wayside School'' series and the novel ''Holes (novel), Holes''. ''Holes'' won the 1998 U.S. Nationa ...

Maurice Sendak Maurice Bernard Sendak (; June 10, 1928 – May 8, 2012) was an American author and illustrator of children's books. Born to Polish-Jewish parents, his childhood was impacted by the death of many of his family members during the Holocaust. Send ...

Robert Cormier Robert Edmund Cormier (January 17, 1925 – November 2, 2000) was an American writer and journalist, known for his deeply pessimistic novels, many of which were written for young adults. Recurring themes include abuse, mental illness, violence, ...

Daniel Handler Daniel Handler (born February 28, 1970) is an American author, musician, screenwriter, television writer, and television producer. He is best known for his children's book series ''A Series of Unfortunate Events'' and '' All the Wrong Question ...

, and

Lois Lowry Lois Ann Lowry (; née Hammersberg; born March 20, 1937) is an American writer. She is the author of many books for children and young adults, including '' The Giver Quartet'', '' Number the Stars'', the Anastasia series, and '' Rabble Starkey''. ...

. In 1986, a collection of speeches from the summer institute was published as ''Innocence and Experience: Essays and Conversations on Children's Literature'', edited by

Gregory Maguire Gregory Maguire (born June 9, 1954) is an American novelist. He is the author of ''Wicked (Maguire novel), Wicked'', ''Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister'', and several dozen other novels for adults and children. Many of Maguire's adult novels are ...

and Barbara Harrison. The ''

Lion and the Unicorn The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the tip of its tail. It is se ...

Poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

Award is presented at the institute. The program is currently directed by Cathryn Mercier, a reviewer for the ''

Horn Book Magazine ''The Horn Book Magazine'', founded in Boston in 1924, is the oldest bimonthly magazine dedicated to reviewing children's literature. It began as a "suggestive purchase list" prepared by Bertha Mahony and Elinor Whitney Field, proprietors of t ...

'' and co-author, with Susan Bloom, of ''Presenting

Avi Avi is a given name, usually masculine, often a diminutive of Avram (given name), Avram, Avraham, etc. It is sometimes feminine and a diminutive of the Hebrew spelling of Abigail (name), Abigail. People with the given name include: * Avi (author ...

'' (1997). Previous directors include Susan Bloom,

, and Barbara Harrison.

Notable alumni

(MA 1978), author of ''

Wicked Wicked may refer to: Books * ''Wicked'' (Maguire novel), a 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire that inspired the musical of the same name * ''Wicked'', a 1997 novel series collaboration between Australian children's authors Paul Jennings and Morris ...

'' *

Kit Pearson Kathleen Margaret "Kit" Pearson (born April 30, 1947) is a Canadian writer and winner of numerous literature awards. Pearson wrote the linked novels ''The Sky Is Falling (Pearson novel), The Sky Is Falling'' (1989), ''Looking at the Moon'' (1991 ...

(MA 1981), best-selling Canadian author of '' The Sky is Falling'', ''

Awake and Dreaming ''Awake and Dreaming'' is a children's novel by Canadian author Kit Pearson and illustrator Margot Zemach. It was first published in 1996. The book follows an impoverished, introverted nine-year-old girl named Theo Caffrey, who dreams of living ...

'' among others *Elena Abos (1999), Spanish translator of ''

Holes A hole is an opening in or through a particular medium, usually a solid body. Holes occur through natural and artificial processes, and may be useful for various purposes, or may represent a problem needing to be addressed in many fields of en ...

'', as well as the works of

Diana Wynne Jones Diana Wynne Jones (16 August 1934 – 26 March 2011) was a British novelist, poet, academic, literary critic, and short story writer. She principally wrote fantasy and speculative fiction novels for children and young adults. Although usually d ...

Margaret Mahy Margaret Mahy (21 March 1936 – 23 July 2012) was a New Zealand author of children's and young adult books. Many of her story plots have strong supernatural elements but her writing concentrates on the themes of human relationships and growi ...

, and

Jack Gantos Jack Gantos (born July 2, 1951) is an American author of children's books. He is best known for the fictional characters Rotten Ralph and Joey Pigza. Rotten Ralph is a cat who stars in twenty picture books written by Gantos and illustrated by ...

. Also writes articles for the ''

'' *Susan Rich (2003), editor at

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...

who persuaded

to take on his

Lemony Snicket Lemony Snicket is the pen name of American author Daniel Handler and a fictional character of his creation. Handler has published various children's books under the name, including ''A Series of Unfortunate Events'', which has sold over 60 millio ...

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

and write for children * Kristin Cashore (MA 2003), author of '' Graceling'' * Mackenzi Lee (MFA 2014), author of ''The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue''
Breanna J. McDaniel
(MA 2014), author of the Coretta Scott King Illustration Award winning ''Go Forth and Tell: The Life of Augusta Baker, Librarian and Master Storyteller''
Gabe Cole Novoa
(MFA 2019), New York Times bestselling author of speculative fiction featuring marginalized characters grappling with identity
Sasha Lamb
(MA/MS 2020), author of ''The Forbidden Book'' (Arthur A. Levine-Levine Querido, 2024), winner of the Sydney Taylor Book Award silver medal in the young adult category *A number of judges for the

Newbery Medal The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished contr ...

, the

Caldecott Medal The Randolph Caldecott Medal, frequently shortened to just the Caldecott, annually recognizes the preceding year's "most distinguished American picture book for children". It is awarded to the illustrator by the Association for Library Service ...

, and the

Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and financial center of New England, a region of the Northeastern United States. It has an area of and a ...

Notable faculty

Nancy Bond Nancy Barbara Bond (born January 8, 1945) is an American author of children's literature. In 1977 her first book, '' A String in the Harp'', was fantasy novel with an element of folklore, set in West Wales. It received a Newbery honor and the Wel ...

Anita Silvey Anita Silvey is an American author, editor, and literary critic in the genre of children’s literature. Born in 1947 in Bridgeport, Connecticut, Silvey has served as Editor-in-Chief of ''The Horn Book Magazine'' and as vice-president at Hou ...

External links

Simmons College Center for the Study of Children's Literature
{{Authority control Children's literature organizations Simmons University