Children's Literature Association

In order to stimulate an interest in children's literature among humanities scholars, ChLA was formed in 1972 by Anne Devereaux Jordan, then teaching at Western Michigan University, and her colleague, Jon Stott.

[2] Later that year, Devereaux contacted Francelia Butler of the University of Connecticut, who had founded the journal Children's Literature in 1971, inviting her to combine her efforts with theirs.

As Butler wrote in The New York Times in 1973, "To many humanists...in languages, philosophy, psychology, sociology, anthropology, or history, the most embarrassing literature to study is not about autoeroticism or cunnilingus.

That year, Apseloff represented ChLA at the First White House Conference on Library and Information Sciences where she spoke on the importance of literature for children.

Scholar Perry Nodelman responded to the panel in the following Children’s Literature Association Quarterly issue, describing the process as "an undemocratic but praiseworthy endeavor" where "some books are more important than others".

It met with a hostile reception, so a revised version was presented as a series of "touchstones" (inspired by Matthew Arnold's description of a work as a benchmark).

[4] Each of the titles in the series includes a scholarly essay that aims to provide "a clearer, deeper sense of the best in children's books, and all the strength and joy to be drawn from them".

[8] Awarded annually by the ChLA to recognize outstanding book-length contributions to children's literature history, scholarship, and criticism.

[9] Awarded annually by the ChLA to recognize the contributions of an outstanding edited collection of essays to children's literature history, scholarship, and criticism.

Winning articles provide new insight to the field, making a distinct or significant scholarly contribution to the understanding of children's literature.