A Repository Like No Other: Diving Deep Into the Kerlan Collection of Children’s Literature with Lisa Von Drasek

I got the news a month or so ago. In the business of children’s literature, any work to preserve the legacy of creators of the past is both rare and worthy. And when it comes to collections, one of my absolute favorites is the University of Minnesota’s Kerlan Collection of Children’s Literature, which holds more than 100,000 children’s books, original manuscripts, correspondence, artworks, galleys, color proofs, and other material for more than 1,700 authors and illustrators (including Goodnight Moon, Millions of Cats, and The Very Hungry Caterpillar). Best of all? The Collection is also free to visit and open to the public. 

The note I received said the following:

“I’m thrilled to share that the Library has recently received the largest donation in its 155-year history. This $2 million contribution from bibliophiles and Sherlockians Glen and Cathy Miranker establishes an endowed curatorial chair for the Kerlan Collection of Children’s Literature, ensuring that the Kerlan  will always have a librarian archivist with a background in children’s  literature, child development, and literacy.

The Kerlan is used by many book creators in their research, including Jon Scieszka, Kate Dicamillo, and WSJ reporter Lettie Teague for her upcoming biography of Misty of Chincoteague author Marguerite Henry (link to upcoming event with digital component here).

For those who are unable to visit in-person, it also has several online exhibits. 
There will be a new exhibit opening on November 14th as well, called Journey to Joy: Rise of Representation in Children’s Picture Books, which is curated in consultation with award-winning author Andrea Davis Pinkney.”

Some of this I knew, but with that brand new news about that huge donation, I wanted to talk to Lisa Von Drasek, the Miranker Family Endowed Curatorial Chair for the Kerlan Collection. I needed to hear her take on all of this.

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Betsy Bird: Lisa!  Let’s just set the groundwork for all of this. You work at the University of Minnesota’s Kerlan Collection of Children’s Literature, which holds more than 100,000 children’s books, original manuscripts, correspondence, artworks, galleys, color proofs, and other material for more than 1,700 authors and illustrators (including Goodnight Moon, Millions of Cats, and Balloons over Broadway). Bonus, the Collection is also free to visit and open to the public. 

For those unfamiliar with such collections as yours, please give me a sense of the great importance of the existence of a collection as this? 

Lisa Von Drasek: The Kerlan is one of the leading collections of rare children’s books, children’s book manuscripts, process work (color studies, sketches, dummies, thumbnail sketches, proof sheets) original art, and editorial correspondence in the United States. 

What makes the Kerlan unique is that we are open access. A person doesn’t have to be pursuing a degree in higher education or be an important writer or researcher to look at the editorial correspondence between Jane Yolen and her editor from the Devil’s Arithmetic files.  Anyone can make an appointment to read corrected manuscript pages of Because of Winn Dixie. 

I have the privilege of teaching from these archival materials embedded in a variety of classes: Children’s Literature, Graphic Design, Biology, and Creative Writing to name a few. I model how to research in the archives and demonstrate the surprise and wonder at what we find there. It is super exciting to page through James Marshall’s sketchbooks or look at the piles and piles of paper that go into one Baby Mouse book.

Dr. Kerlan began this collection in the 1950’s when these sorts of materials were considered of no value. We can see the process of book making as we look at how characters were developed, the starts and stops and wrong  turns of the creators.

We try to make these materials available to people who may not have an opportunity to come to Minnesota. We have created digital exhibits on the history of children’s literature, the process of color reproduction, and how a picture book is made.

BB: So the great good news lately is that the Kerlan recently received the largest donation in its 155-year history! Congratulations! How is that donation ($2 million, I do believe) going to be used?

Lisa:The Miranker Family Curatorial Chair endowment is important because it assures that now and in the future, there will always be a children’s specialist at the helm of the Kerlan Collection. Glen and Cathy Miranker’s generous gift also signals to the general public the importance of this kind of collection.

BB: You also have an exhibit coming up called Journey to Joy: Rise, Relevance, Representation in Children’s Picture Books, which is curated in consultation with award-winning author Andrea Davis Pinkney. Tell us a little bit about your exhibitions? How often do you have them? How are they determined?

Lisa: There is a curator for each of the  archives and special collections at the University of Minnesota. Exhibits are one of the ways that curators engage with our communities. These exhibits are planned years in advance and it is up to each curator to research, write, and collaborate to create a physical exhibit for a facet of their collection. Each curator selects the theme and topics to explore. Sometimes we collaborate with other collections. For example in the works is a pirate themed exhibit and one on grieving and mourning.

We have a very talented exhibits director and designer, Darren Terpstra whose job it is to take the curator’s vision and make it three dimensional.

The work with Andrea Pinkney came out of discussions about the future of the Kerlan as she served as one of the honorary chairs for the endowment campaign with Jon Scieszka and Kate DiCamillo. It had been a few years since The ABC of It: Why Children’s Books Matter and we were talking about how to show the importance of research in the collection, the relevance of collecting archival materials of children’s book creators, and how to celebrate award-winning books that reflected diversity in representation. 

I have served three times as a judge on the Ezra Jack Keats book prize and appreciate the selection of new and up-and-coming writers and artists who reflect what we have called Keatsian ideals—positive representation in an outstanding children’s book.  Andrea had curated Picture the Dream: The Story of the Civil Rights Movement through Children’s Books therefore she was the perfect person to be able to tell the story of representation in children’s picture books.

BB: In terms of this upcoming exhibit, how did you work with Ms. Pinkney on it? What is this particular exhibit going to consist of? And what sets it apart?

Lisa: Journey to Joy: Rise, Relevance, Representation In Children’s Picture Books The Kerlan Collection contains over 100 years of children’s picture book history. That history has not always been one to celebrate. Children’s literature in the United States has included stereotypical and hurtful images of any person or child who is not white. We do not wish to shut the door on this painful past. Nor do we wish to dwell on it. Therefore, in curatorial consultation with award-winning children’s book author Andrea Davis Pinkney, we have taken over the entire Elmer L. Andersen exhibit space to create a four-floor exhibit called Journey to Joy: Rise, Relevance, Representation in Children’s Picture Books.

Rise: 3rd Floor – Our invitation to you begins on the third floor of the Elmer L. Andersen Library where you will  examine the painful history of harmful visual images in children’s literature, focusing  on the contents of St. Nicholas Magazine and a selection of stereotypical images in popular classics still in print like The Hole Book. We witness the change in representation through the work of the editors of the Brownies’ Book, Ebony Jr. and Just Us Books. We learn how to select and evaluate children’s books for the classroom and home with the winners of the Coretta Scott King Award, Pura Belpré Award, and others that focus on positive representation of children and their families’ diverse cultures. 

Relevance: 2nd Floor – Since 1985, the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation has financially supported the Ezra Jack Keats Memorial Fellowships. These fellowships provide funding to a “talented writer and/or illustrator of children’s books who wishes to use the Kerlan Collection for the furtherance of their artistic development.” What is the relevance of the Kerlan Collection of Children’s Literature to artists and writers? Why would a writer or artist want to read the editorial correspondence of Jane Yolen or spend hours pouring over the sketchbooks of James Marshall? These questions and more are answered on the second floor as over 20 Keats Fellows reflect on their experiences being immersed in the Kerlan archives. 

1st floor— Ezra Jack Keats Award Winners

Why celebrate the Ezra Jack Keats Award and Honor books? Racial and gender disparities persist in award-winning kids’ literature despite recent gains in representation. 

The Cooperative Children’s Book Center at the University of Wisconsin notes that gains have been made, but a study by University of Chicago social scientist Anjali Adukia and her colleagues focusing on the most well-known prize winners like the Newbery and Caldecott medals revealed that white males remain over-represented in these stories. 

The Ezra Jack Keats Award is unique. It is the only award that celebrates books that embrace all ethnic and social groups. The Award and Honor books reflect the kind of diverse and outstanding children’s book library we are all working toward. Winners and Honorees are a more diverse group than any other children’s book award. 

The journey in representation continues on the ground floor gallery featuring three Indigenous Minnesota Illustrators: Jonathan Thunder, Annette Lee, and Marlena Myles. Jonathan Thunder is an enrolled member of the Red Lake Band of Ojibwe and makes his home and studio in Duluth, Minn. Bowwow Powwow: Bagosenjige-niimi’idim is written by Brenda Child (Red Lake Ojibwe), Northrop Professor of American Studies University of Minnesota. Bowwow Powwow won the 2020 American Indian Youth Literature Award and was an American Library Association Notable book. Annette S. Lee is a professor of astronomy and a professional visual artist. Her communities are Ojibwe and D/Lakota, and is the director of Native Skywatchers. Her Forever Sky is an American Indians in Children’s Literature Best Books of 2019 winner as well as the winner of the Northeastern Minnesota Book Award in Children’s Literature. Forever Sky was cowritten with Thomas Peacock (Fond du Lac Band, Lake Superior Chippewa), the publisher of Black Bears and Blueberries Publishing, specializing in Native children’s books written by Native authors. Marlena Myles is a self-taught Native American (Spirit Lake Dakota/Mohegan/Muscogee) artist located in St. Paul, Minn. Her art brings modernity to Indigenous history, languages, and oral traditions while using the land as a teacher. In 2021, she opened her own Dakota publishing company called Wíyouŋkihipi (We Are Capable) Productions to create a platform that educates and honors the culture, language, and history of Dakota people.

BB: Finally, what else is in store for Kerlan in the future? What are your plans?

Lisa: We are continuing to raise funds to enable us to have robust digital exhibits. I will continue my work building relationships with artists and writers as we will continue to provide a safe and accessible repository of children’s literature for future generations of children and students, teachers and librarians, anyone who wants to dive into the treasures of the Kerlan

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Incredible thanks to Lisa for taking the time to talk to me today. For those of you in the Minnesota area, go! See it for yourself! And if you can’t, here’s a lovely video on the subject to tide you over:

Thanks too to Nicole Banholzer for helping me put this together.

Filed under: Interviews