Stacy Collins '16MA/MS, a graduate of the Dual Degree in Children's Literature (MA) & Library Science (MS), has created materials for a 30-Day Reading Challenge in honor of the 30th anniversary of the WGBH animated series Arthur, based on Marc Brown’s books. We spoke to Collins about what the show meant to her, as a kid and an adult.
Stacy Collins '16MA/MS was 8 years old when Arthur, an animated series based on Marc Brown’s picturebooks, debuted on PBS Kids in 1996.
“I felt like I was visiting a friend,” she recalls. “It was the first show I watched where the idea of being interested in books was seen as something cool.”
After all, the culture of Elwood City, Arthur’s hometown, revolved around books and the public library. “Going to the library to read was something I did along with Arthur,” says Collins.
Collins, an instructional librarian and geographer-at-Large at Phillips Academy’s Oliver Wendell Holmes Library in Andover, Massachusetts, contracted with the GBH Educational Foundation to create the digital materials and themed booklists for Arthur's 30th Anniversary Reading Challenge, scheduled for this November. She has some insight as to why the stories, both in picturebook and animated format, have endured.
“The creators of Arthur address timeless themes that impact the lives of children, and also have genuine respect for children and for their perspective,” she says. “It’s a common theme throughout the series, no matter what character is the focus. That respect for the children’s perspective will make it a show that kids can watch 50 years from now.”
She also appreciates the nuance that the main character is permitted to have. “Arthur isn’t always being his best self. He gets to make mistakes. You don’t always have to agree with his actions.”
The book lists for the reading challenge highlight themes of community, friendship, family, and curiosity.
“We wanted to hit on the aspects of Arthur that are throughlines through the books and television show,” she says. “I chose books for each theme that would make sense as a celebration of Arthur’s legacy, focusing more on the themes of the storytelling than particular plotlines. There are so many fantastic books out there that fit this bill and carry on Arthur’s legacy.”
A Career Shaped by Children’s Literature
“Every class I took as part of my Master’s in Children’s Literature Degree offered new approaches for critical examination and analysis of books, and of myself. I’m not the target audience of any of the books we studied, but it was valuable to notice when I was bringing something to the table that a child might not. I got into the habit of looking at things while also being aware of how I was looking at them. I thought about where I sit as a mediator between books and the target audience.”
That has been a vital concept in Collins’ career, as a librarian, book reviewer, and consultant expert on literature for children. Her role is often that of a guide for the literature’s intended audience.
“A librarian can shape the interaction between kids and books. Without critical examination of their practices and the systems in which they participate, they can become a barrier,” Collins says. “That is precisely the critical consciousness Simmons required of me. I was taught to have a thriving respect for both children’s literature and for children, and what it means to de-center adult perspectives as a mediator between kids and books.”
Overall, her studies at Simmons signified a perspective shift. “The Simmons program got me thinking. This program had all of my attention for years. What I learned about publishing and librarianship, and the social systems that thread through both, fascinated and frustrated me. This program will delight and devastate you and get you into the practice of thinking all the time, and you’ll notice new things in the literature, and learn to consider what you notice, and why.”
WGBH will celebrate Arthur's 30th Birthday Bash at the Boston Public Library (central branch) on November 14. The event will include an opportunity for kids and their grown-ups to record 1-minute videos reviewing a book they read, as homage to the “Word from Us Kids” that was part of every Arthur episode.