Kiddie Lit: A Saga of Love

I have had a place in my heart for children's literature for a long time. I think it probably began when I was a child, since I read an inordinate amount. I distinctly remember one time when we were planning to be away from home for two weeks at a cabin somewhere when I was about 12, we had to make sure I got at least 15 books from the library. I remember being worried I wouldn't be able to take enough out.

I have maintained that love throughout my adulthood. I mostly keep up with what's new out there for kids. (Not in an academic way; in a pop culture kind of way.) I took a Children's Lit class one semester at Glendale Community College when I lived in LA. That was great, because we studied some of my favorites, including Harriet the Spy, my all time favorite book of any type and some new ones I'd not read before, such as Hatchet. I used to go to this amazing children's book store in LA called Storyopolis when I lived there. I bought a few picture books that came out around that time, too. One called No David! by David Shannon (I actually went to a book signing for that one.) I also began reading all the Series of Unfortunate Events -- Lemony Snicket books as well. One of my aunts bought me each book and sent them along as they came out. I love hanging out with friends' kids because it means I get to read to them. I went to the Eric Carle (of the Very Hungry Caterpillar fame) Museum in Western Mass. I know about Olivia, Maisy, Walter the Farting Dog, Eleanor, and others. I remember Ping and Mike Mulligan and Richard Scarry. I read Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants when it first came out and I was up on the Harry Potter way before most people. I love YA lit as much as picture books.

I have scared the ex (who, remember, has a two-year old) with my knowledge of children's books. It began the first week I met his daughter, when I sat on the floor and read to her, saying "Oooh, look! Sandra Boynton!" or "Yay, Eric Carle!" like a dork. He was amazed and a little scared. He is still a little scared. Just yesterday, he read me the list of books he'd just bought her, and I recognized one or two. He's one of the reasons this post is up, because he's switched from disturbed that I know this stuff to intrigued and convinced it's a message I should listen to.

I have kept some of my original copies of some books from when I was a child, including Harriet, which is a godsend because they have changed all the covers from the 60s, 70s and 80s and updated them. I guess that is a good idea, if we want kids today to be drawn to them, but it still makes me sad.

I love E.B. White, Judy Blume, Maurice Sendak (Little Bear was the first book I remember really being able to read myself), Louise Fitzhugh, Roald Dahl (oh Dahl!), Beverly Cleary, The Chocolate War, the Heidi books, Shel Silverstein, Alexander and the Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day (which I've been known to give to students when they are having a sucky time and has managed to maintain the cover I remember) and Oliver Butterworth. What? You've never heard of Butterworth?

This is worth a digression. I read The Enormous Egg in about the 5th grade. It was about this kid who finds and egg and hatches it and it's a dinosaur. I loved it. Loved it! I found out this author had written another book called The Trouble With Jenny's Ear, but the library didn't have it. Neither did the bookstore. (This was about 1985, so there wasn't an enormous bookstore on every corner and there was no Amazon and such.) I found out it was out of print. Somehow, my aunt and my mom managed to get me a copy. It was amazing. Jenny ends up with damage to her ear which leads to her ability to hear others' thoughts. (A quick search just found that it is available again in reprint from Amazon. I have my original hardcover copy (like the top photo) sans dust jacket (also like the top photo).

**UPDATE NOTE: 8/7/08 I just re-read Jenny's Ear this week. I still love it. And I forgot it's set in Massachusetts and they take a big trip into Boston and there's mention of all kinds of landmarks. As a Boston-area kid, I must have loved that! That's also one of the reasons I loved The Trumpet of the Swan.

Okay, back to the story. This obsession. Or passion. Or interest. Or whatever you want to call it.

I recently received info from Simmons, my alma mater, about a new dual degree program -- a combo master's program where you end up with a M.A. in Children's Literature and a M.S. in Library and Information Science. Simmons has the oldest Children's Lit master's program in the U.S. It also has the US News and World Report number 13 ranked Library and Info Science program in the country. This program was so intriguing to me when I read about it, I called for more info. Then I attended an information session in June about it. Then I set the whole notion aside since it's a 58 credit program with a price tag of $48,000.

Now I'm back to obsessed again. I talked to admissions today, and I could do up to 2 Children's Lit classes and 2 GSLIS classes before matriculating. They are called nondegree. They don't guarantee admission to the program after taking them, but they allow me to try it out and have time to do the application for fall 2009. No financial aid for these nondegree classes ($3500 each). I have a call into GSLIS to get all the info on their end.

I spoke directly with the director of the Children's Lit program as well (who is also an Associate Dean of the college and who totally took my call and spent 10 minutes with me only 2 days before she's leaving for 2 weeks on vacation). I gave her a 30 second summary of my story and asked which class I should take this fall as a first one. She asked if I had ever taken a survey course before. I didn't know what that meant. She asked if I'd taken Children's Lit before. I said I had, but only at a community college in Cali. She said, "When I say 'Where's Papa going with that ax?' does it mean anything to you?" And I quickly said "Sure, Charlotte's Web." And she said, "Okay. You're fine." She told me what class to take. Then she told me that if I take my vacation to Nova Scotia as planned in September for 2 weeks, I will probably fail the class by missing two sessions. She said to check with the professor teaching the course to confirm this. I thanked her and hung up. (I am awaiting response back from the professor teaching the course.)

So. Here I am. A list, if you will allow it.

- I think I would really like to pursue this degree.
- I think $48,000 for a grad degree is crazy.
- I am not entirely sure what I would do with this degree. I would love to run a children's library. I would love to be the children's buyer for an entire library system. I would love to do anything with school libraries, curriculum and teacher support for literature. I wouldn't mind working in children's publishing. The list goes on.
- I would love to be a student again.
- I am scared to work full time and go to school even part time.
- I do not have $3500 budgeted for this fall for a grad class, even with the ability to pay in 3 installments.
- When I think about learning deeply about children's literature, I get all excited.

So. I'm waiting to hear back from GSLIS Admissions. I'll talk with them about options, think about this some more, and perhaps enroll in CHL 414 with a thirty five hundred dollar price tag this fall. I'll forget about Nova Scotia and plan two shorter trips instead - to god knows where. I'll embark on a new adventure. I'll get two more master's degrees in 3 years. I'll combine my master's in education with its focus on counseling and development with these two new degrees, mix in my experience with events planning, organizational development, department management, resource management, human resource management, supervision, and perhaps come up with some amazing new career I haven't even figured out yet.

Holy crap. Am I as beserk as the hippos?