Children's Literature Lecture Award facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Children's Literature Lecture Award |
|
|---|---|
| Presented by | Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association |
| Country | United States |
| First awarded | 1970 |
The Children's Literature Lecture Award is a special yearly event. It celebrates amazing people who have made a big difference in the world of children's literature. This award used to be called the May Hill Arbuthnot Lecture from 1970 to 2020.
It is organized by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC). This group is part of the American Library Association. Being chosen for this award means someone has done a lot for children's books throughout their career.
The person who receives the award is called the "lecturer." They write a special paper about children's literature. This paper is then shared as the Children's Literature Lecture. It is also published in the ALSC's magazine, Children & Libraries.
This lecture series started in 1969. It was created to honor a famous educator named May Hill Arbuthnot. She helped create the well-known "Dick and Jane" reading books. She also wrote important books about children's literature. May Hill Arbuthnot loved bringing children and books together. The award was renamed the "Children's Literature Lecture Award" in January 2020.
Who Can Be a Lecturer?
The person chosen to give the lecture can be many things. They might be an author, a critic, a librarian, a historian, or a teacher of children's literature. They can be from any country in the world.
A special committee chooses one person from a list of nominees. This decision is made about 15 to 18 months before the lecture happens.
After the lecturer is chosen, different places can apply to host the event. These places include library schools or children's library systems. A few months later, the same committee picks the best place to host the lecture.
Past Lectures
Many talented people have given the Children's Literature Lecture. Here is a list of some of the past lecturers and their topics.
| Year | Lecturer | Title | Host | City, State |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Rita Williams-Garcia | “A Funny Thing About Memory” | Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| 2023 | Bryan Collier | "Dreamwalker" | Dayton Metro Library University of Dayton |
Dayton, Ohio |
| 2022 | No lecturer selected due to delays in lectures caused by COVID-19 | |||
| 2021 | Rudine Sims Bishop | Due to "unforeseen circumstances," no lecture was given. Instead, a "virtual celebration of Dr. Bishop’s work and her impact on the field of children’s literature" was hosted by ALSC. | Hosted virtually due to the Covid-19 pandemic | |
| 2020 | Neil Gaiman | Sacramento Public Library | Sacramento, California | |
| 2019 | Debbie Reese | "An Indigenous Critique of Whiteness in Children's Literature" | University of Wisconsin–Madison | Madison, Wisconsin |
| 2018 | Naomi Shihab Nye | "REFRESHMENTS WILL BE SERVED - Our Lives of Reading & Writing" | Western Washington University Whatcom County Library System |
Bellingham, Washington |
| 2017 | Jacqueline Woodson | "What Gets Left Behind: Stories From The Great Migration" | South Carolina State Library The city of Columbia, South Carolina |
Columbia, South Carolina |
| 2016 | Pat Mora | "Bookjoy! ¡Alegría en los libros!" | Santa Barbara Public Library System | Santa Barbara, California |
| 2015 | Brian Selznick | "Love Is a Dangerous Angel: Thoughts on Queerness and Family in Children's Books" | DC Public Library | Washington, DC |
| 2014 | Andrea Davis Pinkney | "Rejoice the Legacy" (YouTube recording. Pinkney appears 12:15 minutes in.) |
Children's Literature Research Collections University of Minnesota Libraries |
Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| 2013 | Michael Morpurgo | "War Boy to War Horse" [1] |
Nazareth College Youth Services Section of the New York Library Association |
Rochester, New York |
| 2012 | Peter Sís | "Reading in the Dark" (MUOhio recording) |
Miami University | Oxford, Ohio |
| 2011 | Lois Lowry | "Unleaving: The Staying Power of Gold" [2] (brief YouTube recording) |
St. Louis County Library | Ladue, Missouri |
| 2010 | Kathleen T. Horning | "Can Children's Books Save the World? Advocates for Diversity in Children's Books and Libraries" | Riverside County Library System | Riverside, California |
| 2009 | Walter Dean Myers | "The Geography of the Heart" | Langston Hughes Library at the Children's Defense Fund Alex Haley Farm | Clinton, Tennessee |
| 2008 | David Macaulay | "Thirteen Studios" (YouTube recording) |
South Central Library System | Madison, Wisconsin |
| 2007 | Kevin Henkes | "Books As Shelter: Going Home Again and Again" | McConnell Center for the Study of Youth Literature, University of Kentucky SLIS | Lexington, Kentucky |
| 2006 | Russell Freedman | "The Past Isn't Past: How History Speaks, and What It Says to the Next Generation" | Williamsburg Regional Library The Library of Virginia Virginia Foundation for the Humanities |
Williamsburg, Virginia |
| 2005 | Richard Jackson | "Mutuality" | Free Library of Philadelphia Julia R. Masterman Laboratory and Demonstration School |
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| 2004 | Ursula K. Le Guin | "Cheek by Jowl: Animals in Children's Literature" | Maricopa County Library District Arizona State University Arizona Center for the Book |
Phoenix, Arizona |
| 2003 | Maurice Sendak | "Descent into Limbo" | Cambridge Public Library Children's Literature, Inc. |
Cambridge, Massachusetts |
| 2002 | Philip Pullman | "So She Went Into the Garden" | Le Frak Hall, Queens College Graduate School of Library and Information Studies | Flushing, New York |
| 2001 | Susan Cooper | "Time and Again" | Scottish Rite Center Multnomah County Library |
Portland, Oregon |
| 2000 | Hazel Rochman | "A Stranger Comes to Town" | Thomas J. Dodd Research Center at the University of Connecticut | Storrs, Connecticut |
| 1999 | Lillian N. Gerhardt | "Editorial License: On Library Selection Connections" | San Jose State University School of Library and Information Science | San Jose, California |
| 1998 | Susan Hirschman | "Instead of a Lecture" | Richland County Public Library College of Library and Information Science at the university of South Carolina |
Columbia, South Carolina |
| 1997 | Katherine Paterson | "In Search of Wonder" | Northern State University | Aberdeen, South Dakota |
| 1996 | Zena Sutherland | "A Life in Review" | Dallas Public Library | Dallas, Texas |
| 1995 | Leonard Everett Fisher | "Imaginings and Images" | University of Wisconsin | Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| 1994 | Margaret K. McElderry | "Across the Years, Across the Seas: Notes from an Errant Editor" | Coronado Public Library | Coronado, California |
| 1993 | Virginia Hamilton | "Everything of Value: Moral Realism in the Literature for Children" | Virginia Center for the Book | Richmond, Virginia |
| 1992 | Charlotte S. Huck | "Developing Lifetime Readers" | Montana Library Association annual conference | Bozeman, Montana |
| 1991 | Iona Opie | "The Nature and Function of Children's Lore" | Library of Congress | Washington, DC |
| 1990 | Ashley Bryan | "A Tender Bridge" | New Orleans Public Library | New Orleans, Louisiana |
| 1989 | Margaret Mahy | "A Dissolving Ghost: Possible Operations of Truth in Children's Books and the Lives of Children" | University of Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| 1988 | John Bierhorst | "Pushing up the Sun a Little" | University of Oklahoma | Norman, Oklahoma |
| 1987 | James Archibald Houston | "A Primitive View of the World" | Northern Illinois University | DeKalb, Illinois |
| 1986 | Aidan Chambers | "All of a Tremble to See His Danger" | University of Arkansas | Little Rock, Arkansas |
| 1985 | Patricia Wrightson | "Stones into Pools" | Indiana University Stone Hills Area Library Services Authority |
Bloomington, Indiana |
| 1984 | Fritz Eichenberg | "Bell, Book and Candle" | Minneapolis Public Library and Information Center | Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| 1983 | Leland B. Jacobs | "Children and the Voices of Literature" | Center for the Study of Literature for Young People at the University of Georgia | Athens, Georgia |
| 1982 | Dorothy Butler | "From Books to Buttons: Reflections From the Thirties to the Eighties" | Florida State University | Orlando, Florida |
| 1981 | Virginia Betancourt | "Information: A Necessity for Survival: Strategies for the Promotion of Children's Books in a Developing Country" | Texas Woman's University | Denton, Texas |
| 1980 | Horst Kunze | "German Children's Literature From Its Beginning to the Nineteenth Century: A Historical Perspective" | University of Wisconsin | Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| 1979 | Sheila Egoff | "Beyond the Garden Wall: Some Observations on Current Trends in Children's Literature" | University of South Carolina | Columbia, South Carolina |
| 1978 | Uriel Ofek | "Tom and Laura from Right to Left: American Children's Books Experienced by Young Hebrew Readers" | Boston Public Library | Boston, Massachusetts |
| 1977 | Shigeo Watanabe | "One of the Dozens" | Boise State University | Boise, Idaho |
| 1976 | Jean Fritz | "The Education of an American" | Los Angeles Public Library | Los Angeles, California |
| 1975 | Mollie Hunter | "Talent Is Not Enough" | Drexel University | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| 1974 | Ivan Southall | "Real Adventure Belongs To Us" | University of Washington | Seattle, Washington |
| 1973 | Bettina Hürlimann | "Fortunate Moments in Children's Books" | University of Missouri | Kansas City, Missouri |
| 1972 | Mary Ørvig | "One World in Children's Books" | University of Chicago | Chicago, Illinois |
| 1971 | John Rowe Townsend | "Standards of Criticism for Children's Literature" | Atlanta Memorial Arts Center | Atlanta, Georgia |
| 1970 | Margery Fisher | "Rights and Wrongs" | Case Western Reserve University | Cleveland, Ohio |
Interesting Facts
- The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee has hosted the lecture two times.
- Two lecture titles have mentioned The Secret Garden. This is a famous 1911 novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett.
See also
- Jean E. Coleman Library Outreach Lecture
- Alice G. Smith Lecture
All content from Kiddle encyclopedia articles (including the article images and facts) can be freely used under Attribution-ShareAlike license, unless stated otherwise. Cite this article:
Children's Literature Lecture Award Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.