Event Title
de Grummond Lecture with Margery Cuyler
Location
Cochran Center Ballrooms
Start Date
11-4-2012 3:30 PM
End Date
11-4-2012 4:30 PM
Description
Margery Cuyler, the author of such children’s books as Bullies Never Win (2009), Kindness is Cooler Mrs. Ruler (2007) and Hooray for Reading Day! (2008), was raised with her three brothers, one sister and four cousins in Princeton, N.J. Born to a family of artists, actors, storytellers and writers, Margery has “always written stories, ever since [she] learned how to write.” As a child—when not being read to nightly by her parents or playing charades, hide-and-go-seek, monopoly or chess with her siblings and cousins—she wrote and performed plays.
As an adult, Margery’s love for stories and children inspired her to pursue a career both writing and editing children’s books. Margery has written 42 works for children over the life of her career and continues to make valuable contributions. Her influence on children’s literature extends well beyond that of her own creations. She worked for 21 years as editor-in-chief of Holiday House Inc., as well as holding executive-level positions for Henry Holt and Company, Golden Books and Winslow Press. Margery currently resides in the house where she was raised in Princeton, N.J., with her husband, John Perkins, and her two sons, Thomas and Timothy.
de Grummond Lecture with Margery Cuyler
Cochran Center Ballrooms
Margery Cuyler, the author of such children’s books as Bullies Never Win (2009), Kindness is Cooler Mrs. Ruler (2007) and Hooray for Reading Day! (2008), was raised with her three brothers, one sister and four cousins in Princeton, N.J. Born to a family of artists, actors, storytellers and writers, Margery has “always written stories, ever since [she] learned how to write.” As a child—when not being read to nightly by her parents or playing charades, hide-and-go-seek, monopoly or chess with her siblings and cousins—she wrote and performed plays.
As an adult, Margery’s love for stories and children inspired her to pursue a career both writing and editing children’s books. Margery has written 42 works for children over the life of her career and continues to make valuable contributions. Her influence on children’s literature extends well beyond that of her own creations. She worked for 21 years as editor-in-chief of Holiday House Inc., as well as holding executive-level positions for Henry Holt and Company, Golden Books and Winslow Press. Margery currently resides in the house where she was raised in Princeton, N.J., with her husband, John Perkins, and her two sons, Thomas and Timothy.
Comments
When Lena de Grummond came to The University of Southern Mississippi to teach children’s literature in the School of Library Science in 1966, she envisioned resources that went beyond the classroom textbook. If students could study the creative processes of authors and illustrators by examining the manuscripts and illustrations first hand, she knew they would better appreciate the literature. To accomplish this goal, Dr. de Grummond wrote to her favorite creators of children’s books and solicited contributions of original manuscripts and typescripts, illustrations, sketchbooks, galleys, dummies, publisher correspondence and fan mail-any materials representing the creative process and the publication of a children’s book.
Now the de Grummond Children’s Literature Collection is one of North America’s leading research centers in the field of children’s literature. The main focus of the collection is on historical and contemporary American and British children’s literature. Located in McCain Library and Archives on the Hattiesburg campus of The University of Southern Mississippi, the collection now holds original materials from more than 1,300 children’s authors and illustrators. There are also more than 155,000 published books to complement the original works.
Some highlights of the collection include the papers of H. A. and Margret Rey, the creators of Curious George, and the works of the Caldecott Award-winning illustrator, Ezra Jack Keats. There is also a significant body of work by Kate Greenaway and a major McLoughlin Brothers collection.
The de Grummond Collection continues to collect original materials from contemporary authors and illustrators, as well as books given by generous donors. Treasures from the collection are exhibited in the de Grummond Exhibit Room on the second floor of Cook Library.