Journals Week: List of Children's Literature Journals

While I have kept the focus on folklore journals this week, I don't want to omit the other slant--literary analysis--and the associated study of children's literature. This is where one can often find articles studying fairy tales as well as their interpretations by modern authors and illustrators. This is the focus I planned for myself before sidetracking to a degree in information science instead.

I have rarely attended a child lit conference in which fairy tales were not mentioned or even represented in at least a few papers. Fairy tale tropes are used throughout the literature even if the source tales are debatable as children's literature. I've also read excellent papers about fairy tales with a women's studies or history slant, so those journals may rarely have fairy tale related articles, too. Thankfully we have computers and databases which help us search several disciplines for pertinent information.

Another point is that several of these journals--especially the review oriented ones--sometimes include interviews with authors and illustrators who often discuss their research in the folklore and fairy tale influences of their stories.

If you are interested in the field of children's literature, you should have a passing acquaintance with several of the journals listed below:

The ALAN Review: Publication of the the Assembly on Literature for Adolescents. The Assembly publishes The ALAN Review three times each year (fall, winter, and spring) with a current circulation of 2,500. The journal contains articles on YA literature and its teaching, interviews with authors, reports on publishing trends, current research on YA literature, a section of reviews of new books, and ALAN membership news. An Electronic Archive of Past Issues is available.

The Journal of Children's Literature: A refereed journal devoted to teaching and scholarship in the field of children's literature. It is the product of the Children's Literature Assembly of NCTE and is published twice annually.

The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books: Primarily a review source, the Bulletin provides concise summaries and critical evaluations of children's books, including information on content, reading level, strengths and weaknesses, and quality of format. It also has suggestions for curricular use. This one has a teacher and librarian slant, obviously.

The Lion and the Unicorn: A theme- and genre-centered journal of international scope committed to a serious, ongoing discussion of literature for children. The journal's coverage includes the state of the publishing industry, regional authors, comparative studies of significant books and genres, new developments in theory, the art of illustration, the mass media, and popular culture. It has become noted for its interviews with authors, editors, and other important contributors to the field. Published by Johns Hopkins University Press.

The Looking Glass: The Looking Glass: New Perspectives on Children's Books is an electronic journal about children's literature. The site was launched April 2, 1997 -- International Children's Book Day. As our name suggests, we combine an interest in the traditional with an eye to the modern. Our readers and contributors are academics, librarians, teachers, parents and anyone else fascinated by the world of children's literature. This journal is published by a small group of volunteers. Our expertise includes writing, editing, teaching, publishing, librarianship -- all the various aspects of children's books and literature.

Children's Literature Journal: Children’s Literature is the annual journal of the Modern Language Association Division on Children’s Literature and of the Children’s Literature Association. (Visit the website to see some other publications by ChLA that I'm not listing here.) It was founded in 1972 by the late Francelia Butler and is now edited at Hollins by Julie Pfeiffer, with R. H. W. Dillard serving as editor-in-chief. Students in the Hollins graduate program in children’s literature have the opportunity to work closely with the editors, who are both members of our faculty. (Hollins College has one of the top programs in the world for creative writing in children's literature as well as scholarship. Follow that link and see Ruth Sanderson's illustration for Twelve Dancing Princesses used as an image.)

Horn Book: Independent, opinionated, and stylish, The Horn Book Magazine has long been essential for everyone who cares about children's and young adult literature. Our articles are lively, our reviews are insightful, our editorials are always sharp. We have gathered current and archival material to give you a taste of what we've been offering since 1924. Dig in.

VOYA: Voices of Youth Advocates: Owned by Scarecrow Press, part of the Rowman and Littlefield Publishing Group, VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocates) is a bimonthly journal addressing librarians, educators, and other professionals who work with young adults. The only magazine devoted exclusively to the informational needs of teenagers, it was founded in 1978 by librarians and renowned intellectual freedom advocates Dorothy M. Broderick and Mary K. Chelton "to identify the social myths that keep us from serving young people and replace them with knowledge."

Bookbird: A Journal of International Children's Literature: Bookbird aims to communicate new ideas to the whole community of readers interested in children's books. From 2009 Bookbird will be open to any topic in the field of international children's literature. The editors will also include themed issues and will post calls for manuscripts on the IBBY website. Bookbird will include News of IBBY projects and events that are highlighted in the Focus IBBY column. Other regular features include coverage of children's literature studies and children's literature awards around the world. Bookbird also pays special attention to reading promotion projects worldwide.

And I am sure I have forgotten some, so I will end with the disclaimer that this is not meant to be comprehensive, only a starting point. I didn't include the usual suspects of Publishers Weekly and Booklist and School Library Journal either. They are, of course, primarily review sources, but not with just a children's lit focus. I depend on them to help me know about new releases though.

Edited: Ha! Yes, there is a list on Wikipedia--Children's literature periodicals--of course. It's not as descriptive of each source, but it includes some I forgot.

Reminder: Please read Call for Contributions: Graduate Programs Information and send me an email if you have a contribution.