Stetson University’s Department of Teacher Education is hosting the 7^th Biennial M. Jean Greenlaw Children’s Literature Conference on Monday, April 30. The conference, which offers numerous informative and entertaining workshops throughout the day, is open to the public. It will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Stetson Room, second floor of the Carlton Union Building, 421 N. Woodland Blvd. on Stetson’s DeLand campus.

Helen Ketteman, well-known author of 20 picture books, will be this year’s featured speaker. An expert on writing picture books, Ketteman has authored books specifically for children, ages preschool through fourth- and fifth-graders. She has taught at the elementary and high school levels, and has also taught a continuing education class in writing picture books at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. She has appeared at young author conferences and on radio and television talk shows as an expert on writing picture books. Some familiar titles include Aunt Hilarity’s Bustle, The Year of No More Corn, Not Yet, Yvette, Luck with Potatoes, Grandma’s Cat, Bubba the Cowboy Prince: A Fractured Texas Tale, I Remember Papa and Armadillo Tattletale. She earned her A. A. degree fromYoung Harris College in Young Harris, Ga., and her B.A. in English from Georgia State University in Atlanta. The author will participate in a book-signing during the lunch break. Participants may bring your own books or purchase them at the conference.

Founder of this conference at Stetson University, children’s literature expert M. Jean Greenlaw earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Stetson, and her doctorate at MichiganState. She taught in public schools and at the University of North Texas from 1978 until her retirement in 2005. Greenlaw was recognized by UNT as Professor Emeritus of Teacher Education and Administration, and upon her retirement, UNT created the M. Jean Greenlaw Award in Literacy Education, making her the first recipient. The International Reading Association chose Greenlaw as the Arbuthnot Award winner in 1992, honoring her as an outstanding university teacher of children’s and young adults’ literature. In 2006, Stetson’s duPont-Ball Library acquired the M. Jean Greenlaw Collection of approximately 1,500 children’s books. They are housed in Special Collections in the Johnson Room on the ground floor of the Library. Many of the books are first editions and almost all are signed by the author and/or illustrator. In addition to writing children’s books, Greenlaw has also written several books describing life in Texas, including Ranch Dressing: The Story of Western Wear (1993), and Welcome to the Stock Show (1997).

Registration for the literature conference is $12, and includes lunch. Professional development credits for the conference are available. For more information, conference updates, and registration please visit: https://www.stetson.edu/artsci/education/home/clc.php.