Newsletter Archive

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Fall 2001

Contents

• The Kerlan Awards in Children’s Literature, 1975-2001 Publication Party
• From the Curator
• Book Week
• Recent Visitors
• Exhibits
• 2002 Kerlan Award
• CLRC Volunteers
• Coming Events
• Submissions
• Kerlan Essay Award Recap
• Kerlan Friends Board
• Gifts to CLRC
• Kerlan Friends Memberships
• In Memoriam
• Recent Acquisitions
• Resources for Teachers
• Former CLRC Staff
• Cards for Sale

To celebrate the publication of The Kerlan Awards in Children’s Literature, 1975-2001, the Kerlan Friends will be hosting a publication party on Saturday, October 27th, 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Andersen Library, Room 120. The Kerlan Awards in Children’s Literature, 1975-2001 is a collection of speeches by the Kerlan Awards winners (or by close associates, for posthumous awards) given at the annual Award Luncheon. It is a quarter century of reflections of writers, artists, and scholars who are among the best in children’s literature. Kerlan Friends are invited to a continental breakfast, a presentation ceremony, and the opportunity to purchase the book, which will sell for $17.95 plus tax. Editor Ruth Berman, contributors to the book and past Kerlan Award winners, Kerlan Friends President Karen Bihrle, and representatives of the publisher Pogo Press will participate in the festivities.

Some of the stages of manuscript included in the illustrations are: handwritten manuscripts, typed manuscripts, and manuscripts with blanks yet to be filled in or marked with printing layout instructions. Some of the stages of artwork are: studies of scenes that could be used, preliminary versions of scenes, finished drawings, or finished but unused, and even an example of a sketch added as an inscription to the Collection copy after publication and a drawing of Irvin Kerlan done especially for him.” - Ruth Berman

Contributors and Kerlan Award winners will be available to autograph copies of  The Kerlan Awards in Children’s Literature, 1975-2001. Examples of work of some winners will be displayed at the breakfast party.

To order this Kerlan Awards book, you can purchase a copy at the Kerlan Collection (please call for time of availability) or click on the order form. To RSVP for the publication party, please call 612-624-4576.

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From The Curator

The Kerlan Awards in Children's Literature 1975-2001 (Pogo Press) debuts this fall, edited by Ruth Berman, a member of the Kerlan Friends Board. She collected the acceptance speeches, scoured the Kerlan Collection for appropriate images, and pursued permissions from the speaker, the estate, or the holder of copyright. Similar to Virginia Puzak and Shirley Braddock for the 25th anniversary, Grace Kurtz and Phyllis Mattill are in the midst of planning a gala celebration for October 27.

In the mid eighties, Judith A. Brooks led a delegation to the Bologna Children's Book Fair in Italy to extend understanding about the Kerlan Collection internationally. Moira Harris (co-publisher with her husband John of the newest publication previously mentioned above) served as the guest curator and created the published catalog for the Bologna exhibit entitled An American Sampler.  Later in that decade exhibits traveled to Canada, Sweden and Japan. International visitors arrived to use the collection; Kerlan Friends Rebecca Rapport and Norma Gaffron, among others, entertained Japanese groups in their homes.

The Minnesota State Fair Senior and Kids Day on August 30, 2001 provided another opportunity to share information. Displays featured facsimiles of Wanda Gag's Millions of Cats and Gustaf Tenggren's The Poky Little Puppy art; volunteers read stories to the public at the University of Minnesota building.

The academic community benefits from information conveyed by presenters in class, at conferences and in publications. With the Kerlan Essay Award, the Kerlan Friends acknowledge with a certificate and monetary prize the best student paper from the previous year. This year Deb Kruse-Field received the Award for a paper written in conjunction with Professor Lee Galda's spring semester class. On site researchers locate finding aids for one hundred collections on the CLRC web site; off campus viewers await a short delay.

Staff and Kerlan Friends target different groups and organizations each year for outreach. They disseminate flyers, a newsletter, and network with organizations. For example, Minnesota colleges and university classes in children's literature, art, design, and other subjects were invited especially to visit the new Andersen Library in 2001. Minnesota Humanities Commission assisted the Kerlan Friends with several grants to develop cooperative undertakings with other state organizations and exchange information about strengths and holdings. The Minnesota Center for Book Arts and CLRC strategize currently for the future, as they are new neighbors.

Targeted talks to groups comprise another type of outreach. The Children's Book Guild of Washington, D.C., in which Dr. Irvin Kerlan was active, for example, will hear about their members who have contributed to the collection named for him at their September meeting. Among current members are recent donors Jane Leslie Conly, Lulu Delacre and Mary Downing Hahn. The Woman's Club of Minneapolis learned about Twin City authors and illustrators represented in the collection, including one of their now deceased members, Betty Bridgeman. For the Hubbs Lecture at the University of St. Thomas in the winter of 2001 with the theme "Imagination and Risk in Picture Books" keynote speaker Emily Arnold McCully  viewed an exhibit of her work and heard presentations based on Kerlan Collection holdings.

Outreach activities targeted specifically for the general public, the academic community  and other specific interested groups benefits the University's teaching and research mission by extending knowledge about and attracting visitors to the Kerlan Collection.

--Karen Nelson Hoyle, Curator

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Patricia Polacco Photo by Kenn Klein

The Annual Book Week program at the University of Minnesota, will include book displays, reviews and a featured speaker. The College of Education is pleased to sponsor Patricia Polacco as the 2001 Book Week speaker. We invite teachers, librarians, and all others who enjoy her books to join us for her dinner presentation on Tuesday, October 16th. The Book Week Dinner immediately follows the review of new books session. The book display and reviews are free and open to the public. Patricia Polacco is one of today’s best known and most loved picture book authors-artists. Among her many memorable titles are Pink and say, Chicken Sunday, Thunder calls, Uncle Vova’s tree, Rechenka's eggs, Meteor!, Thank you, Mr. Falker, and Babushka baba yaga. New titles include The butterfly, Betty doll, and Mr. Lincoln’s way. Patricia’s speech, “The Heroes of Life” will follow the dinner.

For dinner reservations, click here RSVP

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On June 21st, Chong Xiong, an undergraduate student, analyzed young adult literature with Asian-American female protagonists for her summer research project.

Will Weaver, author of many young adult novels, visited the Collection on June 26th. While he was here he inscribed some of his books and donated manuscript material for his book, Striking out.

Robin Boger visited the Collection to browse through the works of Maurice Sendak.

The CLRC Summer Forum speakers all visited the Kerlan Collection this summer. The speakers included children's book author Elizabeth Fitzgerald Howard; Sue McCleaf Nespeca; children's book author & illustrator Michelle Edwards; young Adult book specialist, Patrick Jones; award-winning author, Kate DiCamillo; and doctoral student, Keiko Hori.

Brian Horrigan, from the Minnesota Historical Society, researched biographies and autobiographies for boys circa 1915-1930 for an upcoming article and book.

Ted Hathaway, from the Society for American Baseball Research, analyzed baseball player Ty Cobb as a role model in contemporary juvenile periodicals.

Graduate student Joyce Randall examined CLRC holdings in Western female illustrators.

In July, graduate student Hala Sami visited the Collection to do research for her doctoral dissertation entitled "Wayward Girls and Wicked Women: The Writing and Re-writing of Fairy Tales."

Doris Dale, from Fountain Hills, Arizona, came to the Collection to research books by Ann Nolan Clark.

Professor Fred Erisman from Texas A & M spent a week in early August researching the "American Boys' Aviation" series books.

Local author Richard Mosher visited the Collection to inscribe his books on August 9th.

Bev Bauer from Roseville, MN and Janie Schomberg from Champaign, IL visited the Kerlan to view new acquisitions.

Torben Grøngaard Jeppesen, the Odense City Museum director, came to the Collection on June 22nd to explore possibilities for a future H. C. Andersen exhibit.

On July 26th, HarperCollins editor Ellen Stein visited the Collection.

Evan Guillaume, an undergraduate student, examined material concerning Scandinavian legends.

Keiko Hori, doctoral student at Keio University in Japan, visited the Hess Collection during the week of August 6-10. While she was here she researched Bertha Clay novels in the Hess Collection as well as being a speaker for the 24th Annual Children's Literature Summer Forums on Thursday, August 9th.

Rachelle Loven, Professor of Education at the University of Sioux Falls (SD) brought her class of twenty graduate students on a field trip.

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The Kerlan Collection at the Minnesota State Fair
The Kerlan Collection will be represented at the State Fair on Thursday August 30, 2001. "Reigning Cats and Dogs / University Libraries" Events such as readings from Millions of cats and The poky little puppy, and two prints from these titles will be shown. And the Poky Puppy will also be present “in person” from 9:00-10:00 a.m. on stage outside the U of MN building

Cedar Rapids Museum of Art
The Kerlan Collection was a participant in an exhibition hosted by the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, entitled “Down Under and Over Here: Children’s Book Illustration from Australia and America.” Between 1998-2000, this exhibition had a very successful tour and was seen all over the country.

Minnesota Children’s Authors & Illustrators in Red Wing
On Saturday, September 15th, the Kerlan Collection will exhibit material by Betsy Bowen, Patricia Calvert, Mary Casanova, John Coy, Jane Resh Thomas, Phyllis Root, and Michelle Edwards. For more information about this event, see Coming Events on page 5.

Exhibits on the web
The Kerlan Collection’s website has a new feature. We are now displaying photographs from some of our past exhibits. To view these exhibits, go to: our exhibits page

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The Kerlan Award committee invites nominations for the forthcoming Kerlan Award. The Kerlan Award nominations are due in our office or post-marked by October 15th and the award will be presented in the spring. You may suggest as many names as you wish, but list them in order of priority, with the highest recommendation first.

For more information, please call 612-624-4576.

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Lois Steer and Larry Peterson volunteered to the CLRC more than eighty hours between October, 2000 and June, 2001. Some of their many projects include working with the Girls & Boys series books, processing new acquisitions, and searching for subject headings.

If you would like to volunteer at the Kerlan Collection, please call 612-624-4576 for more information.

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Ruth Heller at the Andersen Library

Ruth Heller will give a slide presentation entitled "Drawing Power" on Tuesday, September 11 at 2:00 p.m. in Andersen Library Room 120 on the west bank of the University of Minnesota. A remarkable author and illustrator, she is a favorite in schools for her current 8-volume series on parts of speech. Titles such as Mine, all mine is about prounouns, while Many luscious lollipops is about adjectives; other intriguing titles introduce nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. She gave to the Kerlan Collection art for The Egyptian Cinderella, Kites sail high and How to hide a gray treefrog; some pieces will be on exhibit. Her work has been exhibited at the Bologna Children's Book Fair.

Ruth Heller earned a fine-arts degree from the University of California at Berkeley and completed two years of graduate work in design at the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland.

The event is co-sponsored by the Friends of the Library and the Children's Literature Research Collections, University of Minnesota and is free and open to the public. An autographing session will follow. For more information, call 612-624-4576 or find http://special.lib.umn.edu/clrc/

Second Annual Celebration of Minnesota Children’s Authors & Illustrators in Red Wing, MN
The mayor of Red Wing, along with the Red Wing City Council, has proclaimed the week of September 9 - 15, 2001 Children’s Reading Week in Red Wing. In honor of this proclamation the second annual Celebration of Minnesota Children’s Authors and Illustrators will take place at the Anderson Center on September 15, 2001 from 1 - 5 p.m. The event will feature book sales by the Red Balloon Book Shop of St. Paul, book signings and readings by authors, slide presentations and talks by illustrators, bookmaking workshops for both children and parents, and an extensive gallery display of book illustrations.

Nationally acclaimed children’s authors and illustrators who will make personal appearances will include: Betsy Bowen, Debra Frasier, Mary Casanova, Doug Wood, John Coy, Jane Resh Thomas, Warren Hanson, Lauren Stringer, Patricia Calvert, Phyllis Root, Michelle Edwards, Marie Olafsdotter, John Minczeski, and the 2000 Newbery Award Winner Kate DiCamillo.

The Kerlan Collection will have some material by Betsy Bowen, Patricia Calvert, Mary Casanova, John Coy, Jane Resh Thomas, Phyllis Root, and Michelle Edwards on display at this event.

This Red Wing event is free and open to the public. For more information or to sign up for one of the workshops, please call 651-388-2009.

Paula Danziger at the Andersen Library

Paula Danziger, children's and young adult author, will talk about "The Journey; Writing Life Past, Present and Future" on Friday, October 5, at 1:30 p.m. in Andersen Library Room 120 on the University of Minnesota's west bank. An autograph party and refreshments will follow her talk. Ms. Danziger taught English to junior high school students when she began to write for publication. Since then, she has given manuscript drafts for twenty-one titles, including The cat ate my gymsuit (1974), There’s a bat in bunk five (1980) and I, Amber Brown (1998) to the Kerlan Collection. The event is co-sponsored by the Friends of the Library and the Children's Literature Research

Collections, University of Minnesota Libraries and is free and open to the public. Ms. Danziger will speak at the Minnesota Soceity of Children's Book Authors and Illustrators conference following.

For more information or directions, go to our web site at: http://special.lib.umn.edu/clrc/ or telephone 612-624-4576.

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In evaluating the papers, judges will emphasize the formulation of a research topic that provides a contribution to knowledge and utilizes original resources, especially manuscripts and illustrations in the CLRC.  The writing style and organization of the paper are also important.
Call 612-624-4576 for specific instructions on submissions.

The deadline for entries is June 1, 2002.

The Ezra Jack Keats/Kerlan Memorial Fellowship
The Ezra Jack Keats/Kerlan Memorial Fellowship from the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation will provide $1500 to a "talented writer and/or illustrator of children's books who wishes to use the Kerlan Collection for the furtherance of his or her artistic development."  Special consideration will be given to someone who would find it difficult to finance a visit to the Kerlan Collection.

The Ezra Jack Keats Fellowship recipient will receive transportation cost and a per diem allotment.  Applications for 2002 must be received by Wednesday, May 1st, 2002.  For application materials, please send a business size self- addressed, $0.55 stamped envelope to:

Ezra Jack Keats/Kerlan Collection
Memorial Fellowship
113 Andersen Library
222 21st Avenue South
University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, MN 55455

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Deb Kruse-Field won the 2001 Kerlan Essay Award with her essay entitled “Inventing a voice: Karen Hesse’s creation of voice in The Music of Dolphins.”                 Julie Jensen presenting Deb Kruse-Field with the 2001 Kerlan Essay Award

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President: Karen M. Bihrle Secretary: Anne Gray Weber Board Members: Amy Baum Karen M. Bihrle John Coy Christine Dyrud Sheila Fitzgerald Norma Gaffron Adele Greenlee Nancy Hof

Kären Bihrle, President and Kerlan Board’s first Meeting of the 2001-2002 year on August 2, 2001.

 Committees
 Editor, Kerlan Award Publication:
 Ruth Berman

 Publication Party Co-Chairs:
 Grace Kurtz & Phyllis Mattill

 Publicity & Marketing Chair:
 Norma Gaffron

The Friends of the Kerlan Collection act as advocates for the Collection by encouraging use of and by financially supporting this rare and unique resource.

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The Kerlan Collection would also like to express thanks to  Patty Dygard (shown in the photo to the left)  for the generous donation of her late husband’s, Thomas J. Dygard, books and manuscripts. The Children’s Literature Research Collections would like to thank the following people for their generous financial  gifts: Harry G. Stubbs estate and Gloria Kortmeyer.

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Kerlan Friends Renewals & Gifts from May 15, 2001 - July 30, 2001
Doris Arnold, Elizabeth Askey, Barbara Bach, Elvi Bankey, Kathleen Baxter, Cornelia Ooms Beck, Martha Davis Beck, Jane Bergstrom, Ruth Berman,  Coreen Settner Blau, Carolyn Briese, Kent Brown, Karen Carlson, Gloria Kamen Charney, Judie Cilcain, Christine Cundall, Elizabeth DeGrote, Ruth Donhowe, Bruce Drewlow, Alice Duggan, Kelly Dupre, Robert Dykstra, Christine Dyrud, Irene Eelkema, Jean Elvekrog, Sheila Fitzgerald, Sarah French, Norma & Bernard Gaffron, Lee Galda-Pellegrini, Marlys Garmer, George Glotzbach, Bonnie Graves, Ronald Green, Adele Greenlee, Helen George, Phyllis Haensel, Donna Hageman, Kathleen Hall, Heidi Hammond, Barbara Hanson,  Pamela Harer, Lois Haynes, Loucile Heckman, Claudette Hegel, Nancy Hof, Karen Nelson Hoyle, Robert Hull, Yvonne Hunter, Rosalie Huston, Marjorie Jenkins, J. Vernon Jensen, May Jesseph, Mary Pat Johnson, Sally Kaiser, Zarm Keljik-Geisenhoff, Phyllis Kennemer, Verla Klassen, Gloria Kortmeyer, Beatrice Kotz, Geraldine Kozberg, Richard Krieb, Grace Kurtz, Mary Lanford, Joan Larson, Julia Leitzke, Molly Lynch, Renee Macomber, Phyllis Mattill, Maxine McCormick, Alice Neve, Joan O’Brien, Doris Pagel, Vicki Palmquist, Jane Paulsen, Walter Peik, Bette Peltola, June Peterson, Larry Peterson & Lois Steer, Mary Ann Peterson, Patricia Pond, Virginia Puzak, Rebecca Rapport, Judith Rys,  Anne Rae Sanderson, Carol Hanson Sibley, James Sidman, Patricia Snodgrass, Norma Sommerdorf, Edward Stanford, Jean Stevenson, Grace Stoebe, Grace Sulerud, David Swenson, Evelyn Swenson, Maria Theologides, Mary Topp, Lois Van Dyck, Mary Lou Voigt, Alene Warnock, Dianne Weaver, Anne Gray Weber, Maryann Weidt, John & Sandra White, Vivan Yenika-Agbaw.

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Tove Jansson, a Finnish author and artist whose tales for children about a family of trolls called the Moomins have been popular in many countries, died on June 27 in Helsinki. She was 86 and lived much of her later life on a rocky Finnish island.

The many honors she received include the Hans Christian Andersen Medal from the International Board on Books for Young People in 1966 for her contribution to children's literature.

The Kerlan Collection holds many of her books, some of which have been signed.
 

Margaret Sutton, author of the Judy Bolton series (1932-1967) died on June 21, in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, at the age of 98. The Kerlan Collection holds manuscript material for some of her books, including The writer and The whispered watchword and many published works.

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Burton, Virginia Lee: Block print on fabric produced by Folly Cove, donated by Mary Cosgrave.

Casanova, Mary: MS Curse of a winter moon; The hunter: a Chinese folktale

Deverell, Evangeline: MS Alan Singh or the land of magic

Dygard, Thomas: MS Backfield package; Forward pass; Game plan; Halfback tough; Infield hit; Outside shooter; Point spread; Quarterback walk-on; Rebound caper; The rebounder; River danger; The rookie arrives; Running scared; Running wild; Second stringer; Soccer duel; Tournament upstart; Wilderness peril; Winning kicker

Fiammenghi, Gioia: IL Slowpoke

Garden, Nancy: MS Holly’s secret

Godwin, Stephani: IL Roman eagle; The story of Joseph

Joosse, Barbara: MS Dead guys talk; Ghost wings; A houseful of Christmas

Lewin, Betsy: IL Snake alley band

Martin, Ann M.: MS Baby-sitters’ Island Adventure; Boy-crazy Stacey; Claudia and mean Janine; Claudia and the bad joke; Claudia and the great search; Claudia and the new girl; Claudia and the phantom phone calls; Dawn and the impossible three; Dawn’s wicked stepsister; The ghost at Dawn’s house; Good-bye Stacey, good-bye; Hello, Mallory; Jessi Ramsey, pet-sitter; Jessi’s baby-sitter; Jessi’s secret language; Little Miss Stoneybrook . . . and Dawn; Logan likes Mary Anne!; Kristy and the Mother’s Day surprise; Kristy and the secret of Susan; Kristy and the snobs; Kristy and the walking disaster; Kristy’s big day; Kristy’s great idea; Mallory and the trouble with twins; Mary Anne saves the day; Mary Anne and the great romance; Mallory and the mystery diary; Mary Anne and the search for Tigger; Mary Anne’s bad-luck mystery; Stacey’s mistake; The truth about Stacey; Welcome back, Stacey!

McCully, Emily Arnold: IL Good dog, bad dog; Joseph on the subway trains; The new friend; The orphan singer; Play & sing - it’s Christmas! A piano book of easy-to-play Carols; Whatever happened to Beverly Bigler’s birthday  MS The orphan singer

Murphy, Stuart J.: MS Animals on board; The best bug parade; The best vacation ever; Divide and ride; Every buddy counts; The penny pot

Napoli, Donna Jo: MS Daughter of Venice

Nygaard, Elizabeth: MS Snake alley band

Parker, Nancy Winslow: MS & IL The house I’ll build for the wrens; IL I’m not feeling well today; I’m taking a trip on my train

Scott-Snell, Edward: IL Alan Singh or the land of magic

Weaver, Will: MS Striking out
 

Sculptures by Nancy Willard, given to the Kerlan Collection in June

Willard, Nancy: Sculptures The good-night blessing book; The magic cornfield; Miscellaneous sculptures Woodson, Jacqueline: MS Hush Yolen, Jane: MS Odysseus in the serpent maze

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Authors & Illustrators featured in these portfolios are Anne Rockwell, Author/Illustrator; Charlotte Zolotow, Author; Myra Cohn Livingston, Poet; Karen Ritz, Illustrator; * Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, Author; * Marion Dane Bauer, Author; Marguerite Henry, Author; and * Katherine Paterson, Author.
Portfolios marked with an asterisk may be shipped by mail.

Audiovisual Kits
The audiovisual kits are available for loan at no charge to educators who are able to pick them up at the Kerlan Collection on Mondays or Tuesdays and return them on the following Friday between the hours of 9:00 A.M. and 4:00 P.M.

There are two different audiovisual kits. One features Ellen Raskin's drafts and sketches for Franklin Stein (1972), Charles Mikolaycak's drafts and sketches for Babushka (1984), Katherine Paterson's outline for Bridge to Terabithia (1977) and correspondence with her editor. The second kit features manuscript material for Carol Ryrie Brink's Caddie Woodlawn (1935).

For more information about any portfolio/kit, please contact a CLRC staff member at 612-624-4576.

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THE LITTLE HOUSE, illustrated by Virginia Lee Burton, is now available for purchase. This card set includes six full color cards to a pack and sells for $6.50 (plus tax in MN and  shipping & handling).

SNOWMAN SNIFFLES ARE BACK! This Kerlan note card has been so popular that it's been reprinted just in time for fall and winter sending. The illustration by N.M. Bodecker makes a great Christmas greeting or thank you note. Cards are eight to a pack, sell for $6.50 (plus tax in MN and  shipping & handling), and may be purchased at the Kerlan rooms, at Kerlan events, or on the Website at http://special.lib.umn.edu/clrc/

To view other items for sale, view our Items for Sale page.

The CLRC Kerlan Collection is an internationally recognized center of research in the field of children's literature. The Collection contains original materials, including manuscripts, artwork, galleys, and color proofs for more than 9,000 children's books. These materials represent eight decades of American children's books and selected books published in other countries. The Collection also includes more than 80,000 children's books.

This Fall Newsletter is co-sponsored by Kerlan Friends, CLRC, and a Minnesota Humanities Commission grant for networking

Editor: Karen Nelson Hoyle
Production Editor: Jennifer Hanson
Proof-reader: Dr. Edward B. Stanford

Children's Literature Research Collections University of Minnesota 113 Andersen Library 222 - 21st Avenue South Minneapolis, MN 55455 Telephone: 612-624-4576 FAX: 612-626-0377 E-mail: CLRC@tc.umn.edu
http://special.lib.umn.edu/clrc/
Please make an appointment during Fall semester

URL: http://special.lib.umn.edu/clrc/fall01.htm
Copyright 2001 by the Regents of the University of Minnesota, University Libraries
Send comments to clrc@tc.umn.edu.
Last revision:8/15/01
The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity educator and employer.