Nancy Littlejohn -- Children's Book Reviewer

Nancy Littlejohn spent ten years at Toad Hall Children's Bookstore in Austin, Texas. While there, she was the sidelines buyer, front list buyer, story lady and creative writing teacher. She also assisted with book signings and other special events, gave birthday parties, formulated lists of recommended books for various age groups as well as multi-cultural books, books featuring strong female characters, books for school curriculum units, conducted workshops on reading to children, how to select books for children and new books available and, of course, sold books. Her book reviews have appeared in several publications, including American Bookseller Magazine.

Mrs. Littlejohn was a guest speaker at the 1992 American Booksellers Association Convention representing booksellers on the topic "Expect the Unexpected: Censorship in Children's Books" along with fellow panelists Jean Feiwel, Scholastic, Inc.; Sharon Hearn, owner of Children's Book World, Los Angeles; Betty Miles(author), Alfred A. Knopf; and Pat Sales, reading specialist at Greenville Middle School, Greenville, South Carolina. She has continued her concern with censorship issues while serving as a member of the Taylor Independent School District Board of Trustees as well as speaking and writing on this topic.

Two of Mrs. Littlejohn's book reviews were selected by American Bookseller for their "Pick of the List" in 1993. She co-authored the book Report Card: A Parents' Guide to 335 Dallas Area Child Care Facilities (Helvetica Press, Inc., 1982). Other writing experience includes portions of the Junior League of Austin cookbook, Necessities and Temptations, monthly articles for Capitalines, the JLA monthly magazine, and various volunteer group newsletters.

She taught/directed pre-school for seven years and was a teacher in the gifted/talented programs both in Austin and Taylor I.S.D.s. Mrs. Littlejohn is a cum laude graduate of Vanderbilt University with a degree in English and drama. She completed the American Booksellers Association Booksellers School in 1996. She continues her storytelling and workshops on a freelance basis.

Nancy and her husband have three children ages 19, 17, and 15 years old. She enjoyed a long career reading to them and has been a lifelong bibliophile.

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Return to the October 1998 issue of The IWJ.