The Childrens’ Collection is centered around chronicling the growth, evolution, and development of imaginative literature written for children. Genres in this collection include novels, stories, poetry,periodicals, and songs, and can include materials written for children at all levels of literacy and reading comprehension. The overarching goal of the Childrens’ Collection is the creation of a research corpus that encompasses the keystone works of this genre and its related subgenres. Such a corpus will support the research interests of scholars of childrens’ literature in particular and of literature in general.
Works of childrens’ nonfiction, and secondary works of scholarship, are outside the scope of this collection.
The Childrens’ Collection consists almost entirely of published books, mostly in hardcover. First or early editions, signed editions, association copies, and editions of other significance are preferred for collecting. However, later editions or popular editions may be acquired as necessary and as opportunity permits. Materials collected may include works published at any time, in any region of the world, and in any language.
The vast majority of what the Western world defines as ‘children’s literature has its origins in pre-Renaissance fairy tales and folktales, and reached its first great height in the so-called “Golden Age” of literature for young people in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This era produced such important titles as Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland , The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, The Prince and the Pauper, Peter Pan, Little Women, A Little Princess, and the fairy tales of Hans Christian Andersen. The Childrens’ Collection is particularly strong in works from this era, written and published in English in the United States and in Great Britain.
The collection is strong in various editions of the Alice books by Lewis Carroll, from an early 1867 printing of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland to recently published editions with striking new illustrations.
Cushing Library will continue to acquire works by childrens’ authors of significance, with a focus on more modern authors such as Beverly Cleary, Roald Dahl, Maurice Sendak, and Dr. Seuss. The Library will also acquire titles of significant literary importance in the genre, including those that have won important industry awards such as the Newbury or Caldecott Awards.
Recognizing that the Collection is slanted almost entirely towards English-language works produced in the West primarily by white authors, the Library will prioritize the acquisition of works by non-white authors and works written outside North America and the United Kingdom. One of the ultimate goals of the Childrens’ Collection is to preserve works from people and cultures all over the world, so that stories from everywhere and anywhere may find their readers.
Kelsey Illustrators: The Kelsey Illustrators Collection contains a number of works for children, such as childrens’ classics illustrated by N.C. Wyeth and Howard Pyle.
Lit-Kipling: The Lit-Kipling Collection contains editions of Kipling’s works written for children, including The Jungle Books and Captains Courageous .
Maps: The Maps of Imaginary Places Collection (curated jointly by Maps and Science Fiction & Fantasy) contains a number of cartographic items related to works of childrens’ literature, including maps of Narnia, Oz, Hogwarts, Fairyland, and the Island of Sodor.
Peter Parley: The Parley-Penrod Collection is a small collection of childrens’ literature specializing in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, in English. Containing many of the same types of literature as the main Childrens’ Collection, it is a supplement to that collection. Because nothing is added to it, it should be considered a dead collection, but should be checked before acquiring any materials for Childrens’ toensure that there is no duplication.
Science Fiction & Fantasy: The SF&F Collection contains many titles that might be classified as childrens’ literature, including (but not limited to) classics like The Hobbit, The Chronicles of Narnia , The Chronicles of Prydain , the Harry Potter series, the ‘juveniles’ of Robert A. Heinlein, and the Tom Swift stories. Because of the overall importance of the SF&F Collection, childrens’ literature titles that are generally classified as “science fiction” or “fantasy” will be acquired for that collection and not for Childrens’. Deciding which is which can be subjective and will require consultation between the Curators for Science Fiction & Fantasy and the Childrens’ Collection.
Created: 7/16/2020
Curator: Jeremy Brett
Mailing Address:
Cushing Memorial Library & Archives
TAMU 5000
College Station, TX 77843-5000
Physical Address:
400 Spence St.
Main Campus near the Central Campus Garage
Phone:
979-845-1951