Library News
Public Presentations Announced for EIU Children’s Literature Symposium
Posted on February 11th, 2026
CHARLESTON – Booth Library invites the campus and community to join us Wednesday and Thursday, February 25 and 26, for two featured public talks as part of the EIU Children’s Literature Symposium.
The EIU Children’s Literature Symposium is a two-day celebration honoring the importance, craftsmanship, and rich history of literature created for children. Through partnerships between Booth Library’s Ballenger Teachers Center, the EIU College of Education and Department of English, Charleston CUSD #1 elementary schools, and St. John’s Lutheran School, the symposium exemplifies the strong and collaborative bonds between Eastern Illinois University and the surrounding community.
The talks will allow the campus and greater community to engage with two accomplished professionals in the field of children’s literature. Both presentations are free and open to the public.
Wednesday, February 25:
5:00 p.m. Reception
5:30 p.m. Jan Spivey Gilchrist, Ph.D.
Making Books for ALL Children: A Celebration of My Life’s Work
Dr. Gilchrist will join us for an Alumni edition of our speaker series, Authors@EIU. She has illustrated 109 children’s books, authored 5 children’s books and a host of academic and textbook illustrations. Dr. Gilchrist holds a B.S. degree in Art Education from EIU; an M.A. in Painting from the University of Northern Iowa; an M.F.A. from Vermont College of Fine Arts, and a Ph.D. in English from Madison University.
*The Black Student Union RSO is co-hosting a documentary screening of Colors of Love: The Jan Spivey Gilchrist Story, on Monday, February 23 at 5 p.m. in the Library’s Center for Student Innovation. The documentary illustrates Gilchrist’s triumph from the dark shadows of the civil rights era to ascend as a heralded children’s book illustrator and author.
Thursday, February 26:
5:00 p.m. Reception
5:30 p.m. Suzan Alteri, Ph.D.
Racism and Representation in Children’s Literature
Dr. Alteri is Assistant Director of the Center for Children’s Books at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. She previously served as Curator of the Baldwin Library of Historical Children’s Literature at the University of Florida, one of the world’s most significant collections documenting the history of children’s books.
Each presentation will be followed by question-and-answer sessions. Parking is free and open to the public after 5:00 p.m.
Also publicly available Thursday, February 26, at 4:00 p.m. will be Children’s Literature Research Lightning Rounds in which Faculty scholars who conduct research in the field of children’s literature will share their findings.
Community members, students, faculty, and staff are invited to attend our public events to celebrate the importance of literature for children and early learning, and to engage with leading voices in children’s literature scholarship, including a distinguished EIU alumna.
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MEDIA CONTACT:
Diane Highland
Events & Exhibits Coordinator, Booth Library
dehighland@eiu.edu / 217-581-6061
