Children’s Literature
Explore the artistry of literature for children and young adults
Simmons University’s Master of Arts in Children’s Literature was the first graduate degree in the world to center works created for readers ages 0–18. Since 1977, we have welcomed students from a wide range of backgrounds, united by a deep and unapologetic passion to read, write, discuss, and better understand the artistry, boundary-breaking, and innovation in literature for young people.
Our program explores the social, cultural, and professional perspectives that shape children’s and young adult literature. As a student, you’ll gain the knowledge and skills to create, analyze, and publish books for our youngest generation.
Our interdisciplinary curriculum draws upon literature, art, history, education, sociology, psychology, and media studies. Children's literature coursework includes topics such as book publishing, folklore, orality, poetry, and nonfiction. You’ll also study how to write fiction for children and young adults and how literature constructs and responds to ideas of childhood.
You’ll study genres including:
- Picturebooks
- Verse novels
- Informational texts
- Speculative fiction and fantasy
- Realism, folklore, fairy tales, and graphic novels
We also offer two-credit courses throughout the year that use intensive formats such as weekend, weeklong, or short-term sessions.
Our faculty come from both academic and professional fields. Each student works closely with a faculty advisor to tailor their program to their specific interests and career goals. You’ll develop critical inquiry and writing skills, and learn to communicate your passion for bringing excellence in literature into the hands of young people.
Faculty will challenge you to “hold the child in respectful abeyance” as you deepen your engagement with texts. We believe we can only offer meaningful reading experiences to young audiences when we first understand our complex interpretations of literature.
Our program brings theory to bear on practice and explores how our reading practices shape the texts themselves. Together, our community strives to make a difference — book by book, reader by reader.
Why Get an MA in Children’s Literature from Simmons?
This degree offers rigorous, specialized study for those involved in — or planning to enter — fields such as education, library work, publishing, creative writing, or academic research.
In our program, you will:
- Develop your critical reading and writing skills through academic study in children’s and young adult literature.
- Reflect on the past, present, and future of texts for young readers as cultural products that reflect and innovate.
- Examine how children’s literature raises questions of social justice, power, and constructions of childhood.
- Engage in cross-disciplinary and cross-professional conversations that center on multiple traditions and practices.
- Join a community that reads widely, thinks deeply, and shares your passion to make a difference through literature.
What distinguishes our program:
- Small, interactive classes: Capped at 16 students to foster animated seminar discussions and meaningful relationships among peers and faculty
- Outstanding faculty: Committed to teaching, relational pedagogy, and keeping pace with publishing trends and inclusive texts
- Personal advising: Work closely with faculty on your academic interests and career goals
- Special events: Participate in programs like the Children’s Literature Summer Institute and attend talks by leading professionals
- Partnerships: Collaborate with institutions such as The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art
- The BookNook: Access to more than 4,000 newly published titles each year
- A strong alumni network: Connect with graduates working in education, librarianship, publishing, and doctoral study
What Can You Do With an MA in Children’s Literature?
Our program prepares you to create, analyze, and publish books for children and young adults. You’ll have access to career exploration and internship opportunities in Boston and Amherst.
Students have interned with:
- Publishers: Candlewick, Charlesbridge, Barefoot Books, Penguin Random House, The Horn Book
- Literary agencies: Including Aevitas Creative Management
- Libraries: Boston Public Library, Cambridge Public Library, and more
The Center for the Study of Children’s Literature provides you with access to networks of editors, authors, illustrators, critics, reviewers, teachers, and librarians.
Our other partnerships include The Horn Book, Inc.; Boston Book Festival; and Children’s Books Boston (a Simmons collaboration with local publishers).
Our graduates have secured roles at:
- The Sheldon Fogelman Agency
- Scholastic
- Candlewick Press
- Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
- Roaring Brook Press
- Lee & Low Books
- Charlesbridge
Also, many hold leadership roles, including the founder of the Boston Book Festival and the children’s book editor of Kirkus Reviews. Others have published bestselling and award-winning books. Some teach in schools and universities or work in youth services at institutions like the Boston Public Library.
Alumnae/i have served on prestigious children’s book award committees, including the Newbery, Caldecott, and Coretta Scott King Awards. Also, our alumnae/i include:
- Editor of a Newbery Medal-winning book
- Editor of a Caldecott Honor book
- Ezra Jack Keats Award for debut authors (two alumnae/i)
Our Faculty
Cathryn Mercier
Professor and Graduate Program Director of Children's Literature
Amy Pattee
Professor
Anita Silvey
Adjunct Faculty
Spotlight on Children's Literature Students and Alums
The Story Listener
Breanna J. McDaniel ’14MA is the author of four acclaimed picturebooks and the recipient of the 2025 Ezra Jack Keats Writer Award. On July 26, McDaniel will present a presentation with author-illustrator Vashti Harrison at the Summer Children's Literature Institute at Simmons University.
Gregory Maguire ’78MA Defying Gravity
Gregory Maguire '78MA, best-selling author of Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, reflects on his time as one of the first graduates of the Master of Arts in Children’s Literature program at Simmons, now celebrating its 50th anniversary.
Alumnae/i Receive Awards from American Library Association
The American Library Association (ALA) announced winners of the 2025 Youth Media Awards, including Breanna J. McDaniel ’14MA, Gabe Cole Novoa ’19MFA, Stephanie Seales ’09MA, and Sacha Lamb ’20MS/MA.
Blowing the Horn for Children’s Literature: One Hundred Years of The Horn Book Magazine
In October of 1924, the first issue of The Horn Book magazine appeared. It began as a newsletter from the Bookshop for Boys and Girls, one of the first children’s book shops in the United States, established in 1916 by...
Children’s Literature Alumna Receives Mentor Award at 2024 Carle Honors
On September 26, Elissa Gershowitz ’00MA, Editor-in-Chief of The Horn Book, received a Mentor Award at the Carle Honors ceremony in New York City. Bestowed by The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art these annual awards celebrate individuals and organizations who have elevated the art of children’s picture-book making.
Simmons Children’s Lit Alum on Judging the Horn Book Awards
Rodney Fierce ’12MA, a Humanities Teacher at Sonoma Academy, shares what led him to study children’s literature, his work at the Academy, and his recent experience on the Horn Book Awards Committee.
Children’s and English Literature Alumna Named Agent of the Month
Amy Thrall Flynn 95’MA, ’21MA, Senior Literary Agent of Aevitas Creative Management, has been named “Agent of the Month” (for October 2024) by Writing and Illustrating, a blog devoted to children’s literature authors and illustrators.
Children’s Literature Alum Celebrates Bookshop’s First Anniversary
Stacy Whitman '05MA celebrates the first anniversary of her brick and mortar bookstore, Curious Cat Bookshop in Winsted, CT, with an article in the CT Insider.