Children & Youth Studies Caucus. Logo by Megan Montague Cash

Two Calls for Papers: American Studies Association 2024

BOTH DEADLINES EXTENDED: Friday, 2 February 2024 TWO Calls for Papers: American Studies Association 2024 (Baltimore, November 14-17) 1: Children as Medical Subjects This Children and Youth Studies Caucus-sponsored panel seeks papers that consider the role of children and childhood in histories of medicine. From experiments across medical, scientific, and social scientific disciplines to issues of

Defend the Right to Read: Resources for Opposing Book Bans

Here are some resources for supporting public libraries and defending everyone’s right to read freely. I assembled them for the “Censoring Children’s Literature” class I taught last semester, and am sharing them now in connection with the Modern Language Association panel “Drag Queens, Stories about Black People, and Other Dangers,” held in the Liberty Room

CHILDREN’S LITERATURE, COMICS/GRAPHIC NOVELS, AND CHILDHOOD STUDIES AT MLA 2024

Here are all of the 2024 MLA sessions devoted to Children’s Literature, Comics/Graphic Novels, or Childhood Studies. The conference will be held this year in person in Philadelphia — and on-line, as noted below. I’ll be there! I’m chairing one on-line session and one in-person session. If you’ll be there, too, stop by and say

Best Music of 2023

Yes, it’s the post you have all been waiting for! Or possibly not. I mean, hey, I’m not a professional music critic. But I do listen to a lot of new music. Since our musical landscape feels both more happily eclectic and more fragmented (where do you find new music?), I thought you might enjoy

From Harold's ABC: Harold eating a "cut of cake"

The Neverending Crayon; or, Happy Crockett Johnson’s Birthday!

Happy Crockett Johnson’s Birthday! Were he among the living, he would turn 117 today. (Spoiler alert: he died 48 years ago.) I had hoped to be able to offer an Official Announcement of some forthcoming Crockett Johnson projects. Instead, I can offer one unofficial announcement, one teaser, and one expectation. Unofficial, but hopeful: Barnaby Vol.

Gloria Hardman (1941-2023). Four photos of Gloria in: 1941, mid-1950s, 1987, and 2017.

The Gloria Hardman Fan Club: Proceedings of Our September Meeting

Yesterday, select members of the Gloria Hardman Fan Club gathered in Concord Massachusetts to pay tribute to the object (subject?) of our fandom. In the interests of sharing lessons from a life well-lived, we are pleased to present the proceedings, in full, via this video, expertly livestreamed by Mr. Dan Seminatore. The event begins at

Why Are People Afraid of Multicultural Children’s Books? (Geschichte der Gegenwart)

Why are people afraid of multicultural children’s books?  To answer that question, I look back to the roots of American censorship — which, as you doubtless know, has been enjoying a renaissance lately.  My piece makes its debut today in Geschichte der Gegenwart, a Swiss publication the title of which means History of the Present. That’s