Cathryn Mercier
Professor and Graduate Program Director of Children's Literature
As an undergraduate at Mount Holyoke College (BA ’81) Cathie Mercier was drawn to the scientific emphasis and empiricism of experimental psychology. A psychology major, she did not take her first course in children's literature until her senior year. "Like Alice, I fell down the rabbit hole and I've yet to come up," said Mercier.
Mercier brought the taut writing style and analytical sensibility required of psychology to the study of literature for children and young adults. She completed her Master of Arts degree in Children's Literature in 1984; in 1993, she earned a Master of Philosophy in English at Simmons as a steppingstone to her doctoral studies. She completed her PhD in the University Professors Program at Boston University (’02), where she wrote about the confluence of social movements and images of the child in American picturebooks. She holds a PhD in children's literature.
Mercier was appointed to Simmons in 1985 and has been teaching in the graduate degree program in children's literature ever since. She teaches criticism, contemporary young adult realism, the child in fiction, the picturebook, and a survey course. Her thesis, independent study, and internship advising embrace a wide range of topics, from a cultural analysis of Printz titles to an annotated bibliography of historical fiction for curricular use. "As advisor of a thesis that asked, 'What can queer theory tell children's literature?' I met regularly with the student to discuss ideas. We both learned from the books, and I hope she learned from me. But I consider it my best teaching experience because of how very much I learned from her," said Mercier, who was thrilled when part of her student's thesis was included in a book of new voices in children's literary criticism.
In the undergraduate curriculum, she taught children's literature as a key focus in her honors seminar titled "Stories of Childhood," a course that was part of a learning community that paired with Economics professor Niloufer Sohrabji's course "Stories of Democracy." She won the Dean's Award for Excellence in Academic Advising.
At Simmons, Mercier has served in a variety of administrative roles. She directs the Center for the Study of Children's Literature, the graduate degree programs in the Master of Arts in Children's Literature, the Master of Fine Arts in Writing for Children (on-campus and at The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, MA), and dual degree programs that combine the MA with degrees in library science, or teaching, or writing for children.
Mercier has been contributed to the journal Children's Literature and to The Horn Book Magazine. Her skill at "close reading, an ability to talk about books so that others see the book at its most ambitious and complex, and a talent for collaboration" have made her a valuable member of national book award committee. She serves on the Subaru Prize Committee of the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences/ Young Adult Division.
Past award selection service includes the 2012 Caldecott Award (Ball for Daisy), 1999 Newbery Award Committee (Holes), the 1994 Caldecott Award (Grandfather's Journey), and the inaugural 2000 Sibert Award Committee (Sir Walter Ralegh and the Quest for El Dorado). Mercier was honored to serve Chair of the 2009 Laura Ingalls Wilder Award Committee (Ashley Bryan) and as Chair of the 2004 Sibert Award Committee (The American Plague). She has twice been a member (once chairing) the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award and served as a judge for the New York Times Best Illustrated Books.
Mercier completed her third study of an important young adult author with co-writer Susan Bloom; it also marks their third book with editor Patty Campbell. Russell Freedman was published in 2009 by Scarecrow Press and will be the first book at Scarecrow to focus on nonfiction. Prior collaborations are Presenting Avi and Presenting Zibby Oneal. These books and their audience of teachers, librarians, and young adults fit perfectly into Cathie's driving belief that the "work of the critic is not to 'take apart' a book, but to read well and deeply enough to offer insight and illumination to the text and to oneself." She contributed to Keywords in Children's Literature and her work includes an essay on the 20th Century picturebook and a chapter on pedagogies of teaching young adult realism.
Courses
- Criticism of Children’s Literature
- The Picturebook
- The Child in Fiction
- Contemporary Young Adult Realism
- Special Topics in Children’s Literature: Positionality
- Survey of Children’s and Young Adult Literature
- Stories of Childhood
- Narrating Childhood
Cathryn Mercier in the News
2024 Simmons Faculty Awards Celebrates Stellar Researchers and Educators
Simmons faculty from various disciplines received awards in undergraduate and graduate teaching, research, service, and a commitment to DEI at the 2024 Faculty Awards.
Award-Winning Illustrator Roger Mello Visits Simmons
Brazilian illustrator Roger Mello visited the Simmons campus for a presentation in Professor Cathryn Mercier’s Picturebook class.
Children’s Literature Professor Helps Select Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Winners
The Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards “recognize and reward excellence in literature for children and young adults.” As the School Library Journal reported, Professor and Graduate Program Director of Children’s Literature Cathryn Mercier chaired a group of judges who determined the 2024 awardees.
Lost & Found in Literature for Young People at Simmons’ Summer Institute
The Summer Institute in Children's Literature returned to Simmons University in July 2022. The Institute theme “Lost & Found” shaped reflections from authors, librarians, educators, publishers, and critics of children’s literature from across the country in this two-day gathering of inspiration and restoration.
Remembering Eric Carle, Celebrated Picturebook Author
Simmons University joins readers around the world in mourning the loss of Eric Carle, one of the most influential picturebook creators and author of "The Very Hungry Caterpillar."
Shout-outs from Students and Alums
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.
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 Editor Karen Boss ’95 ’13 Champions Diverse Authors in Successful Career Change
Karen Boss ’95 ’13MA earned a double Bachelor’s degree in Communications and Sociology and returned to Simmons twenty years later for her Master’s in Children’s Literature. She is a senior editor at Charlesbridge, where she works on fiction and nonfiction picture books, and middle-grade and young adult works.
Ariel Richardson ’09MA Edits Sibert Medal-Winning Picture Book
Ariel Richardson ’09MA is the Senior Editor in Children’s at Chronicle Books, located in San Francisco. We caught up with Richardson about her role, her time at Simmons, and her recent award-winning picture book.
Curating the Eric Carle Museum's Bookstore with Eliza Brown '10MFA
As retail manager of the Erice Carle Museum bookstore, Eliza is an expert in children's literature! We asked Eliza about her journey to the museum and how Simmons empowered her to speak her mind.