Children's Literature Research Center
Welcome!
Collection Description
The Children’s Literature Research Center at California State University, Long Beach is a new space dedicated to the critical study and scholarly exploration of children’s books. Rooted in É«ÖÐɫ’s academic excellence and a commitment to diverse exploration, the Center supports research on the texts, illustrations, publishing history, and cultural impact of literature written for young readers.
From picture books and early readers to middle-grade, and young adult literature, the Center offers collections and space to support interdisciplinary inquiry into how children’s literature has changed over time, and how it reflects and challenges our world. With unique collections such as the Clyde and Kathleen Foss Toy and Movable Books, and a deep collection of Children's and YA books representing Queer perspectives (strongly supported by the Arnold T. Schwab Endowment), the collection also features strengths in fairy tales and folklore, and award winners. Wordless books, graphic novels, books in World Languages as well as newer literature with a special focus on cultural representation round out our collection. We aim to cultivate meaningful research that deepens our understanding of literary traditions aimed at youth.
Available to faculty, students, and visiting scholars, the Children’s Literature Research Center is a gateway to inspired study of one of the most influential literary forms.
Collections of the Children's Literature Research Center
See all of the items in the collection, Titles may be located in the Rare Collection, the Circulating Collection, or ORCA storage.
The CLRC contains these subcollections:
Using the Collection
- É«ÖÐÉ« welcomes all users interested in Children's Literature.
- Children's Rare items are used for reference only and may not be checked out. Access to books that are in the Rare collection requires an appointment.
- Many of the titles have second copies in the circulating collection, which you can check out.
- The Children's Rare collection is intended for use by adults. Patrons are asked to keep kids away from the rare items.
- Please use only pencils, notebooks and laptops with the collection.
Frequently Asked Questions
The oldest original publication date is "" in 1760. While our copy is a reprint (1960) it shows much about the history of children's literature.
The oldest printed item is .published in 1860.
Set up an appointment to use the collection by contacting .
If you wish to donate items, please provide a list of titles and photographs of the items to and they will be considered.
You can donate money to the collection either by and indicating in the text field that you are donating to the Children's Collection, or contacting Cathy Outten.
É«ÖÐÉ« Childrens Literature Guides
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Research Projects
The Center invites undergraduate and graduate students to participate in research activities, with the potential for publication of their findings. The Center is interested in collaboration with faculty and students to develop independent study projects that are mutually beneficial. Some potential topics of research could include:
- Representations of childhood and agency in contemporary children’s literature
- The role of illustration in shaping narrative meaning in picturebooks
- Diversity, inclusion, and representation of marginalized identities in children’s texts (especially LGBTQ+ identities)
- Adaptations of classic fairy tales in modern children’s literature
- Censorship and challenges to children’s books
- The changing use of fantasy and imagination in children's literature
- Perspectives in global children’s literature in differing time eras
- Gender roles and identity formation in young adult fiction
- Ecocriticism and environmental themes in children’s literature
- Historical evolution of children’s literature across cultures and time periods
- Moral and ethical development through narrative in children’s texts and its evolution over time
- The history and development of pop-up and movable books in children’s publishing
- Engineering and paper mechanics in pop-up books as a form of narrative design
- The relationship between interactivity and reader engagement in pop-up books
- Preservation and archival challenges associated with pop-up and movable books
Collection Development
The Children's Collection has been developed over the years with purchases as well as several significant donations. Many of these donated items are included in the Children's Literature Research Collection:
- Isabel Patterson Founding Collection
- Kaye Anderson Children's Books
- Priscilla Griffin Nonfiction Picture Books
- Cathy Outten Childrens and Young Adult Literature
- Kaye West
- Catherine Ducharme Donation
- Gifts of the P. Victor Peterson Memorial
Harmful Language Statement
The É«ÖÐÉ« Library is committed to describing materials in ways that are respectful to all individuals and communities. Users of this special collection may encounter offensive or harmful language, images, or objects related to race, gender, sexuality, religion, or other identities. These terms and representations originate from the creators of the materials and are preserved to maintain the historical context in which the items were created.
É«ÖÐÉ« Library recognizes that some archival descriptions and source materials contain language that is racist, sexist, homophobic, ableist, euphemistic, or otherwise harmful and dehumanizing. While such content does not reflect the values of the Library, it may remain present as part of the historical record.
