Literary Praxis

Lauren Aimonette Liang, PhD, is Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Utah. Her research and teaching focus on children’s literature and comprehension instruction. Dr.Liang was a member of the 2017 Caldecott Medal Committee of the American Library Association and is president-elect of the Children’s Literature Assembly. She serves on editorial boards and committees for the United States Board on Books for Young People and the International Literacy Association, and currently holds the University Professorship Award at the University of Utah.Jennifer M. Graff is Associate Professor and Graduate Coordinator in the Department of Language and Literacy Education at the University of Georgia. Her research involves critically analyzing culturally diverse literature on both national and international scales and understanding the ways in which diverse communities of youth and early childhood educators respond to said literature. She also seeks to understand the ways in literature in traditional and digital formats can become integral resources in school curricula. Her collaborative work as Chair of the Georgia Children’s Picturebook Committee (Gr. K-4), Board Member of the United States Board on Books for Young People (USBBY), the Children’s Literature and Reading Special Interest Group of the International Literacy Association, and as president-elect of the National Council of Teachers of English’s Children’s Literature Assembly greatly contributes to helping understand and change the narratives about reading in diverse cultures.Miriam G. Martinez is a Professor Emeritus. She teaches reading and children’s literature courses at the University of Texas at San Antonio. She conducts content analyses of children’s books as well as research on children’s responses to literature and their understanding of various literary genres and formats. In addition to articles in various journals, her publications include Children's Books in Children's Hands, Thinking and Learning through Children's Literature, and Books Come Alive. She is actively involved in the Children’s Literature Assembly and serves on the board of the United States Board of Books for Young People. In addition, she is currently serving as chair of the primary sub-committee of the ILA Children’s & Young Adult Book Awards Committee, and is also a member of the regional committee of the Tomás Rivera Award Committee. She has served as co-editor of the Journal of Children’s Literature and the Journal of Literacy Research. She has served on various award committees including the Caldecott, the Geisel, and the Sibert Committees.