Children's Literature Festival
One of the goals of the Festival is to make Keene State College a recognized center for the study of children's and adolescent literature. This necessitates a large collection of books, illustrations, and manuscripts.
Currently the Festival contributes to two collections. One, called the Festival Collection, is housed on the main floor of the Mason Library across from the circulation desk. This is a non-circulating collection of autographed books. Each time an author/illustrator comes to Keene State College, one copy of each book the Festival has on sale will be donated to the collection. This ensures that there are always quality books available for students working on various assignments.
The other collection is the circulating volumes of books on the second floor of the library. To trengthen this collection, the Festival is donating approximately 300 books each year. Each book donated contains a bookplate designed by James Marshall.
Festival Gallery. Keene State College students, as well as faculty and staff, have the Festival Gallery and Manuscript Collection as campus resources for studying the creative process. Started in 1990, the Gallery holds more than 200 working drawings, finished illustrations, and works of art by 97 children's book illustrators. Many have been purchased with funds from the Festival; others have been donated by the illustrators after their visits to Keene State.
Upon hearing of the proposed gallery, Barbara Cooney donated a piece from The Little Juggler to get the collection started. One of the most recent donations is from Robert Rayevsky, who was so honored to be invited to the Festival that he sent it unsolicited. Original works hang in the first floor of Rhodes Hall and may be viewed weekdays all year round and evenings when classes are in session.
Manuscript Collection. When author Patricia McKissack learned of the Gallery, she encouraged White to start a manuscript collection so that students could study the writing process. Although not yet as extensive as the Gallery, the Manuscript Collection is growing, with donations from 20 authors including McKissack and her husband and co-author, Fredrick McKissack, Susan Cooper, Robert McClung, Eve Bunting and others. Bunting's donation is the original manuscript for Peepers, inspired by her visit to the Festival.
Bookplates. Another tradition, for those who know the special feeling of owning a book signed by its author or illustrator, is the Festival's collection of bookplates. While actual book signings were a part of early Festivals, they were eliminated as the event grew, because longer and longer lines were keeping the speakers from presenting. Festival-goers now receive a special, autographed Festival bookplate, designed by Trina Schart Hyman, on each book they purchase.
Illustrator Arnold Lobel sketched a special Festival logo, featuring his famous Frog and Toad characters. When the Festival started making annual donations of materials pertaining to the study of children's literature to Keene State's Mason Library, illustrator James Marshall designed a bookplate for those works. Award-winning illustrator Charles Mikolaycak's drawing of an owl, Keene State College's mascot, is used on various Festival Award promotions.