Shelley Isaacson

Shelley Isaacson teaches children’s literature courses for graduate and undergraduate students. She enjoys mentoring students preparing for careers in the field, as well as encouraging students from a wide range of disciplines to become passionate, informed readers and lifelong advocates of literature for young people. Her scholarly interests are broad, with a particular focus on picturebooks and informational texts.

In addition, Isaacson is increasingly attentive to international and translated picturebooks, inspired by recent trips to the Bologna Children’s Book Fair and by her students’ knowledge of and curiosity about books published and consumed globally. Isaacson serves as a free-lance editor of books for young people, as a reviewer for The Horn Book, and she directs the Simmons Summer Children’s Literature Institute. She was also a Trinkett Clark Intern at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art. Earlier in her career, Isaacson worked as a researcher and curriculum designer for children’s television projects and STEM and literacy curricula for use in schools and informal education settings. 

Outside of Simmons, Isaacson serves as a judge of the 2027 Oregon Book Award for Children’s Literature. She also sits on the boards of the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art and the SeriousFun network, an organization founded by Paul Newman that provides traditional camp experiences for children living with serious illnesses. 

Education

• MA, Children’s Literature and MFA, Writing for Children, from Simmons University
• MEd, Harvard Graduate School of Education
• BA, Psychology and English Literature, from the University of Michigan 

Courses 

CHL BOS 101 Boston Childhoods Real and Imagined

CHL 403 The Picturebook

CHL 415 The Whole Book Approach

CHL 313-513 Survey of Literature for Children and Young Adults

CHL 436-A Informational Texts

CHL 435B-Creators and Aesthetics (Grace Lin)

Presentations and Exhibitions 

“Engaging with Complex Texts: Trends in Children’s Literature and Classroom Implications. Early Literacy Conference, Babson College, June 9, 2026.

Boundless: Picture Books about Disabilities, Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, July 2021-January 2022.

“All Aboard a Wrong-Way Ship: Narratives and Counter Narratives in Three Robinsonade Picturebooks for Children.” In Crusoe’s Footsteps: Robinson Crusoe and the Robinsonade—A Tercentenary Appraisal. University of Roehampton, 6 Sept. 2019.