Arne Nixon Center Programs
September 15, 2016
Pura Belpré Award: Celebrating 20 Years
October 13, 2016
American Indians in Children’s Literature with Dr. Debbie Reese
De Colores: A Mosaic of Latino Children’s Literature
Rad Women Project
Donor News
Anonymous Donor Gifts Research Fellowships
Thanks for the Treasures! Author Donations
Canvas and Cordials Paint Party Fundraiser
Researching the Collection
Caldecott Medal and Honor Thesis
Non-Latin Script Book Grant
Happy 150th Birthday, Beatrix Potter!
Nonfi ction Booklist Website
The Arne Nixon Center is a unit within the Special Collections division of the Henry Madden Library
#28 The Magic Mirror
Th e Magic Mirror 2
Arne Nixon Center for the Study of
Children’s Literature
Th e Arne Nixon Center is one of the West Coast’s largest and most signifi cant
research centers for the study of children’s literature. With an emphasis on diversity,
the Center’s collection includes more than 60,000 books, original artwork, letters,
photographs, newspaper clippings, ceramics and other ephemera, including:
• Th e largest LGBTQ collection of books for young people in the United States.
• A World Languages collection of books in over 50 languages.
• Over 2,100 Spanish-language children’s books.
• Over 2,100 editions by, about and inspired by the works of Lewis Carroll.
• Th e Helen Monette Amestory collection of 6,000 books on cats.
• Archives for Leo Politi, Alma Flor Ada and F. Isabel Campoy, Margarita Engle,
Michael Cart, Steven Mooser and Robert San Souci.
www.arnenixoncenter.org
Th e Magic Mirror is published by
the Arne Nixon Center for the Study of
Children’s Literature
Curator
Jennifer Crow
Email: jcrow@csufresno.edu
Library Services Specialist
Jami Sanford
ANCA Board of Directors
President
Kari Johnson
First Vice President
Audry Hanson
Second Vice President
Judith Chibante Neal
Recording Secretary
Jennifer Crow
Directors
Cheryl Caldera, Dan Dunklee, Jessica
Galvan, Larisa Mercado-López, Denise
Sciandra, Ellis Vance
ANC Advisory Committee
Alma Flor Ada, Steven Mooser
ANC Governing Committee
Peter McDonald, Michael Cart,
Leonard Marcus
Public Aff airs Communications Specialist
Cindy Wathen-Kennedy
Editor
Jennifer Crow
Graphic Designers
David Celaya, Randy Zamorski
Photos by Margarita Engle, David Kennedy,
Arturo Mendoza, Jami Sanford and Cindy
Wathen-Kennedy.
Arne Nixon Center for the Study of
Children’s Literature
Henry Madden Library
California State University, Fresno
5200 N. Barton Ave. M/S ML34
Fresno, CA 93740-8014
559.278.8116
Th e Arne Nixon Center would like to give a roaring round of applause to
those Arne Nixon Center Advocates board members who are stepping
down to embark on new adventures. Special thanks to past president,
Kristene Scholefi eld, and directors, Cynthia MacDonald, Ruth Kallenberg
and Jessica Kaiser.
Your dedication and support over the years has been invaluable!
“Never say goodbye because goodbye means going away and going away
means forgetting.”
—J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan
Welcome our new board members:
Jessica Galvan and Larissa Mercado-López!
It is the function of some people to be a lamp and some to be a mirror.
—Arne Nixon
“” I have been very pleased to function as a mirror of others’ work.
”—On the cover:
Maybe Something Beautiful: How Art Transformed a Neighborhood
by F. Isabel Campoy and Theresa Howell, Illustration by Rafael López.
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Arne Nixon Center Programs
Join the Arne Nixon Center for a Pura Belpré Award 20th anniversary panel discussion on
Th ursday, September 15 from 4:00 to 6:30 p.m. in the Fresno State North Gym room 118.
Th e event is free and open to the public with light refreshments and a performance by children
guitarists from the Generaciones Project, a bilingual community based music group serving the
low income working class community of Fresno. Women’s International League for Peace and
Freedom (WILPF) and Centro Binacional para el Desarrollo Indígena Oaxaqueño (CBDIO) will
also participate. Pura Belpré award-winning books will be available for purchase and signing.
Sandra Ríos Balderrama will serve as the panel moderator. A literary and library activist, Ríos
Balderrama is co-founder of the Pura Belpré Award and the new Fresno chapter of REFORMA
(National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the
Spanish Speaking).
Panel members include:
• Margarita Engle and Rafael López. Engle won the 2016 Pura Belpré author award for her book,
Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings: A Memoir and López took the prize for his illustration
of Engle’s picture book, Drum Dream Girl.
• Alicia K. Long, former Pura Belpré Award selection committee member, multicultural literature
instructor at University of South Florida School of Information and librarian at State College of
Florida Library.
• Josefa Bustos Pelayo, multiple subject/dual immersion teacher at Jeff erson Charter Academy in Hanford, California.
Th e Pura Belpré Award, founded by REFORMA and co-sponsored with the Association for Library Service to Children (a division of
the American Library Association), is presented each year to the Latinx writer and illustrator whose work best portrays, affi rms and
celebrates the Latino cultural experience.
Th e Award was named in recognition of Pura Belpré, who was the fi rst Latina librarian employed in the New York Public Library
system. Using nimble storytelling techniques, including puppetry, Pura Belpré brought the Spanish language and her Puerto Rican
culture to story-time through the retelling of folklore from her beloved island. She enriched the lives of many children. Th e Pura
Belpré Award continues her legacy by fostering authors to create the best in Latino children’s literature.
Learn more about the Pura Belpré Award at: www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/belpremedal
Pura Belpré Award: Celebrating 20 Years of Latinx
Authors and Illustrators – September 15
Jennifer Crow, curator of the Arne Nixon Center, and Dr. Larissa
Mercado-López, professor of women’s studies, gave a spring
presentation on the many attributes of Latino literature for
young people. Th e free, public presentation titled “De Colores: A
Mosaic of Latino Children’s Literature” was sponsored by “Latino
Americans: 500 Years of History,” a grant funded by the National
Endowment for the Humanities and the American Library
Association.
Crow and Mercado-López took turns exploring themes in
Latino children’s literature. Th ey positioned them within the
context of themes and theories related to social justice, ethnic
studies and feminism. Th e pair also discussed recent statistics
on published materials by and about Latinos gathered yearly
by the Cooperative Children’s Book Center at the University of
Wisconsin-Madison. Th e presentation pointed out the need for
increased inclusion of Latino literature not only in libraries and
classrooms but in the publishing industry itself.
To enhance the discussion, Crow and Mercado-López provided
samples of works that best illustrate the Latinx experience.
Examples included prize-winning books that have received the
Tomás Rivera Mexican American Children’s Book Award, the
Américas Book Award for Children’s and Young Adult Literature
and the Pura Belpré Award.
De Colores: A Mosaic of Latino Children’s Literature
Th e presentation concluded with a call to action:
• Make a commitment to read, purchase and share books that
represent a wide range of diverse experiences, identities,
occupations, bodies, languages and visual representations
through illustration;
• Be conscience of what drives our own book purchasing habits;
• Support teachers in their choices to include diverse books in
their classrooms; and
• Trust that children are capable of reading about experiences
that challenge their own norms and beliefs.
Th e presentation is available on the Madden Library
YouTube channel at: http://tinyurl.com/DeColores500
April 21, 2016
Walking the Walk:
RAD Fresno State Women Talk
3 Th e Magic Mirror
Rad American Women
Upon hearing many complementary reviews and reading the book, Rad American Women A-Z:
Rebels, Trailblazers, and Visionaries Who Shaped Our History . . . and Our Future!, the Arne
Nixon Center’s curator, Jennifer Crow, invited the author, Kate Schatz, and illustrator, Miriam
Klein Stahl, to Fresno to talk about their new alphabet book. Th e book presents illustrations and
biographies for 26 radical and world-changing women from both past and current eras.
Schatz and Klein Stahl spent their day visiting Lane Elementary School, speaking with Fresno
State art instructor, Doug Hansen’s beginning illustration class and giving a presentation for the
Arne Nixon Center Advocates Annual Meeting. Th eir exhilarating talk discussed how these 26
“rad” women disavowed complacency and took action!
Rad Fresno State Women
Bringing the author and illustrator of Rad American Women A-Z to Fresno presented the perfect opportunity
for the Arne Nixon Center to collaborate with the campus. Crow, along with Dr. Larissa Mercado-López,
professor in the women’s studies program, and instructor Teresa Flores in the art and design department,
decided to honor 12 women from Fresno State. Th ese women have made an impact in learning practices, social
justice initiatives and greater perceptions that aff ect a mostly unaware student body.
Art students from Flores’ visual culture classes, who were studying theories of street art and spectacle, created
large wheat paste portraits of the Rad Fresno State Women to hang on campus walls where their visibility would
be undeniably present.
“Not only was it important to bring to light the stories and images of the Rad Fresno State Women,” said Flores,
“it was just as important to create opportunities for students to participate in the art production process.”
Students in Mercado-López’s Feminist Th eory class researched and wrote the Rad Fresno State Women’s biographies. Using QR code
technology, they linked the outdoor posters to a website they created, which posted the women’s biographies, the project statement
and a walking map of the exhibition. Mercado-López’s class also met with an early literacy class in the Kremen School of Education
to discuss ways to include feminist texts in the K-6 classroom.
Crow shepherded the project from beginning to end, researching and contacting the chosen women, acquiring approval from an
enthusiastic administration and actively promoting the project. Th e Arne Nixon Center was oft en a work area for the students.
Th e Fresno Art Museum (FAM) later requested an installation of the Rad Fresno State Women exhibition in their lobby. Mercado-
López, Flores and Crow were honored that their work was shown with FAM’s Frida Kahlo photography exhibition. In collaboration
with FAM, the three organized and presented a panel discussion, “Walking the Walk: Rad Fresno State Women Talk,” to honor and
give voice to the women that were the focus of the exhibition.
Th is project demonstrated the collaborative energy and infl uence that one great children’s book can create!
More information can be found at: www.radfresnowomen.wixsite.com/fresno
Rad Fresno State Women
• Judy Chicago—Founder of the feminist art movement originating at Fresno State
• Mary Carolyn Dobbs—Advocate for special education
• Lillian Faderman—Noted author, scholar and co-founder of the Women’s Studies Program at Fresno State
• Joy Goto—Pioneering chemist and researcher in neurodegenerative diseases teaching at Fresno State
• Gloria Hernandez—Community worker and paralegal for California Rural Legal Assistance
• Phyllis Irwin—Accomplished music professor and co-founder of the women’s studies program
at Fresno State
• Robin McGehee—Advocate for marriage equality and the LGBTQ community
• Diana Meehan—Writer, educator and co-founder of the Archer School for Girls
• Francine Oputa—Director of the Cross Cultural and Gender Center at Fresno State
• Jennifer Ruiz— Executive Director of the Fresno American Indian Health Project
• Sherley Anne Williams—Award-winning writer, poet and educator
• See Xiong—Writer and curator of Hmong women’s stories
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Anonymous Donor Gift s Research Fellowships
Donor News
Th e Arne Nixon Center is pleased to announce two new programs funded by an anonymous donor. Th e Arne Nixon Center will
award two Research Fellowships to support scholars from outside the Fresno/Clovis area engaged in graduate-level, post-doctoral
and independent research. Th e Fellowships have been created to encourage innovative and robust inquiry into the varied aspects
of children’s literature. Proposals will be chosen by committee and based on signifi cance to the study of children’s literature,
likelihood of publication or other dissemination of the work and relevance of the project to the Arne Nixon Center’s holdings.
Acknowledgement of the Arne Nixon Center in all published or otherwise disseminated material is required. Stipends up to $2,000
will be awarded this fall to those who meet the criteria.
A second gift from the same donor will result in an Artist-in-Residence program. A chosen young adult writer will be awarded
a $10,000 Fellowship to spend a week on the Fresno State campus working with students in English and education classes.
Folded into existing topic courses, the artist will work with students on the craft of writing and the use of fi ction in the
Common Core curriculum.
A culminating showcase of student work will cap off the week. During his or her stay, the
artist will visit two high schools and give a presentation to the public. Th e Artist-in-Residence
program begins spring 2017. Th rough the generosity of our donors, these exciting new
programs can now be off ered.
More information can be found at:
www.arnenixoncenter.org/research/fellowships
Many thanks to Alma Flor Ada and F. Isabel Campoy who donated two boxes of manuscripts, galleys, newsletters, classroom
activities and materials to add to their already extensive archive, which is now updated and complete. Th ese items have been
processed and added to their fi nding guide. Rediscovered from an earlier donation were some amazing videos, including a series
with Ada interviewing the late Paulo Friere, author of Pedagogy of the Oppressed and leader in the critical pedagogy movement.
Th ese papers are a true treasure to house in the Arne Nixon Center.
Th e Arne Nixon Center is grateful to Lin Oliver, writer, fi lm
producer, zeitgeist of humor and co-founder of the SCBWI (Society
of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) who donated fi ve
boxes of items for archiving. Th e materials include videos, book
manuscripts, story outlines, character and landscape designs, fi lm
screenplays and sketches.
Oliver is the author of the Who Shrunk Daniel Funk series and the
co-author with Henry Winkler of the bestselling Hank Zipzer series.
Her archive is up-to-date, and the completed fi nding guide can
be found on the Arne Nixon Center’s website. Stay tuned, more
manuscripts are to come!
Th e Arne Nixon Center was recently honored by a visit from
Anna Grossnickle Hines. Th e writer and illustrator of over 50
books, Hines brought 23 boxes of manuscripts, research materials,
correspondences and an array of original illustrations, including
those created from cloth. Th e Arne Nixon Center looks forward to
categorizing, rehousing and preserving this collection. Th ank you,
Anna Grossnickle Hines!
Learn more about donating to the Arne Nixon Center at:
www.arnenixoncenter.org/help/donations.shtml
Th anks for the Treasures! Author Donations
5 The Magic Mirror
Researching the Collection
Canvas and Cordials Paint Party Fundraiser
Birds of a Feather, Paint Together!
The Arne Nixon Center’s paint party fundraiser at On the Edge Café in Old Town Clovis was great fun and a huge success.
Settling down after enjoying tasty food and drink, the evening participants donned their green take-home aprons and painted their
empty canvases.
Jaipriya Kaur, an art teacher at Madera High School and the party’s instructor, asked the crowd to raise their glasses and take an oath
to relax, have fun and understand there are no mistakes. Taking the promise to heart, the painters happily mixed greens, oranges and
purples from the provided primary colors, and each painted their own version of a bird sitting on a branch. Giant umbrellas, a gentle
breeze and cold drinks kept painters focused on creating their masterpieces while soothing live music from Nick and Kat Acoustic
Duo played in the background. The finished art pieces were remarkably distinctive as each painter followed their creative instincts.
Thanks to all our painters whose donations will go to the Rafael López community mural project. With the help of the Arne Nixon
Center, international award-winning children’s book illustrator, Rafael López, will design and create a community mural in Fresno in
the spring of 2017. Stay tuned for more information on the mural as families and friends will be needed to help paint and beautify a
Fresno neighborhood.
Thank also goes to Julie Glenn and her staff at On the Edge Café for providing a welcoming venue with delicious food and drink and
to Nick and Kat Acoustic Duo for inspiring us with their tunes.
The Fresno Bee video coverage of this event can be viewed at: www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article85657187.html
Caldecott Medal and Honor Thesis
Who You Gonna Call?
That is exactly what Bay Area resident, Angela Moffett, wondered when she searched for a complete collection of
Caldecott Medal and Honor winning books. She needed to research all of them for her San Jose State’s iSchool master’s
thesis, and no one in the Bay Area had them all. So she called the Arne Nixon Center.
The Arne Nixon Center had most of the books, and with those that they borrowed from the Madden Library’s Teacher
Resource Center, they were only six shy of the complete set. The Arne Nixon Center was then able to attain the missing
titles through interlibrary loan. When Moffett found out that the Center could provide all of the Caldecott titles, she
quickly made an appointment to visit Fresno State.
Inspired by the “We Need Diverse Books” movement, Moffett’s thesis looks at the full range of Caldecott books to
determine how representations of populations have changed over time. Her many hours of study in the Arne Nixon
Center paid off. Moffett not only has her master’s degree, she presented her research at the Association of Children’s
Librarians of Northern California ACL Institute this summer where Kwame Alexander, Debbie Reese, Zetta Eliot and
Mitali Perkins were also guest speakers. Way to go, Angela!
To learn more about the Caldecott awards, go to:
www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/caldecottmedal/caldecottmedal
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When University of Minnesota doctoral candidate Lauren Causey needed to do research on nonfiction works depicting the
experiences of people of color, she traveled across the country to the Arne Nixon Center. Her research involved creating an annotated
bibliography that aligned to the Common Core state standards.
Her research helped her choose high-quality titles that are now compiled in a new Nonfiction Booklist website. The site, supported by
a Carnegie-Whitney Grant from the American Library Association, is created for educators and others interested in the best K-12
informational books for students. The bibliography can be searched by a number of filters, including age, subject and ethnicity. It
helps teachers create a realistic and inclusive curriculum. The website also provides information about the Arne Nixon Center and
two other collections that Causey used.
The Arne Nixon Center is proud to be included in this much-needed research on books of diversity for classroom use.
Visit the site at: www.nonfictionbooklist.com
Nonfiction Booklist Website
Diverse Nonfiction Literature for Young Readers
Non-Latin Script Book Grant
Thanks to a Madden Library research and development grant, assistance from the Library’s Special
Collections Resource Center and help from Julie Moore, the catalog librarian for special collections
and special formats, the Arne Nixon Center was able to hire three international students to transliterate
many of its non-Latin script books. Transliteration is the act of transcribing characters from one
alphabet into another.
Yan Li, a business student from China, Daisuke Yoshida, a criminology student from Japan and Megi
Hakobjanyan, originally from Armenia and last a dean’s medalist for the College of Social Science, were
hired for their excellent multilingual skills. The trio translated bibliographic information, summaries
and subject headings in Russian, Armenian, Japanese and Chinese.
The Arne Nixon Center also hired Kristin Baer to catalog the books. Baer is a Library intern from San
Jose State University’s iSchool (formerly known as the School of Library and Information Science) and
a Fresno State English department lecturer. She performed both copy and original cataloging, making
these books discoverable through the Library’s public online catalog.
The Arne Nixon Center’s World Languages Collection contains nearly 4,000 books in over 50 different languages, 2,500 of which are
written in Spanish. The Collection is often used by bilingual education credential students, international students and those enrolled in
language courses.
Happy 150th Birthday, Beatrix Potter!
“Once upon a time there were four little Rabbits, and their names were – Flopsy, Mopsy,
Cotton-tail, and Peter,” begins one of the most beloved stories in children’s literature. Beatrix
Potter, the author and illustrator of the Tale of Peter Rabbit, turned 150 years old on July 28th.
In honor of Potter’s 150th birthday, the Arne Nixon Center is featuring a display of books and
ephemera in its reading room.
For more information about Beatrix Potter, go to: www.peterrabbit.com
Arne Nixon Center
for the Study of Children’s Literature
Henry Madden Library
California State University, Fresno
5200 N. Barton Ave. M/S ML34
Fresno, CA 93740-8014
ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED
Dr. Debbie Reese Visits Fresno State — October 13th
American Indians in Children’s Literature
The Arne Nixon Center and Arne Nixon Center Advocates (ANCA) will sponsor two talks by Dr. Debbie
Reese on October 13, 2016. Dr. Reese is an educator, librarian and creator of the blog, “American Indians in
Children’s Literature.”
The afternoon talk is a presentation for teaching credential and Fresno State students focusing on the best
K-12 American Indian literature, curriculum and coordinated classroom activities.
The evening talk is the ANCA annual meeting and public lecture featuring Dr. Reese as the guest speaker.
The program begins at 6:30 p.m. in the Library, room 2206. A catered reception following Dr. Reese’s
presentation is at 7:30 p.m.
Many misconceptions remain about what American Indian literature and practices are best to use with
children, particularly in the classroom. Good intentioned people trying to be inclusive of Native peoples and cultures often choose
books that miss a greater understanding. Dr. Reese’s critical eye helps to enlighten non-native viewpoints and bring truthful,
positive representations of indigenous people to all children.
Dr. Debbie Reese is tribally enrolled at Nambe Pueblo in northern New Mexico and is a founding member of the Native American
House and American Indian Studies program at the University of Illinois. She is on the Literature Advisory Board for Reading is
Fundamental and the Advisory Board for Reach Out and Read American Indian/Alaska Native.
Dr. Reese’s visit coincides with the Madden Library’s traveling exhibition, Native Voices: Native Peoples’ Concepts of Health and
Illness. The exhibition is hosted by the Library’s Diversity Committee and is made possible through a grant from the National
Library of Medicine and the American Library Association.
Dr. Reese’s blog can be found at: www.americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com
For more information about the Native Voices exhibition, go to:
www.library.fresnostate.edu/content/native-voices-concepts-of-health-and-illness
