Literature for Young Children

Cyndi Giorgis is a Professor of Children's Literature at the University of Nevada Las Vegas where she teaches courses in children's literature, visual literacy, multicultural literature, and literature for young children. She is a former primary grade classroom teacher and school librarian. She has served on the Newbery, Caldecott, and Geisel Award committees and is a former editor of The Reading Teacher's Children's Book Review column. Professor Giorgis has edited the Journal of Children's Literature and has served on various boards such as the International Reading Teacher's Special Interest Group in Children's Literature and Reading and the board of the Children's Literature Assembly. Dr. Giorgis has published numerous professional articles about literature in the classroom including the most recent book chapter in A Master Class in Children's Literature: Trends and Issues in an Evolving Field as well as the book The Wonder of It All: When Literature and Literacy Intersect. She is the recipient of the International Reading Association's Arbuthnot Award for Outstanding Professor of Children's and Young Adult Literature. Joan I. Glazer is Professor Emerita of Education at Rhode Island College, where she taught courses in children's literature, language arts, and reading. She has taught at the elementary school level, served as a Head Start supervisor, and worked as an educational consultant for numerous school districts. She spent the 2002-2003 academic year in Norway as a Fulbright Scholar, visiting more than 60 schools to present teacher workshops and demonstration lessons focusing on American Studies. She is a past president of the United States Board on Books for Young People, a past Executive Committee member of the International Board on Books for Young People, and is the current president of the board that oversees the publication of Bookbird: A Journal of International Children's Literature. Dr. Glazer has been honored with the Distinguished Teacher Award from the Feinstein School of Education and Human Development at Rhode Island College, was the first holder of the Thorp Professorship for Scholarship, and has received the school's Award for Service.