April 09, 2024
SIU’s Morris Library to celebrate Cricket magazine 50th anniversary and latest donation
CARBONDALE, Ill. — A reception celebrating the 50th anniversary of Cricket magazine, the children’s award-winning literary work that helped to launch the imagination and inquisitiveness of millions of youths, is set for Friday, April 12, in Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s Morris Library.
The celebration will also herald the recent donation of additional papers belonging to magazine founder and education reformer Marianne Carus. The event is from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. in the Hall of Presidents and Chancellors. The reception will include light refreshments.
Anne Marie Hamilton-Brehm, associate dean of Library Affairs directing the Special Collections Research Center, will give a short presentation about Carus, who died in 2021 at 92 years old, and the magazine she founded in 1973.
The magazine, designed for children ages 9 to 14, has featured literary giants and daring illustrations as it was “designed to stimulate curiosity, imagination and a sense of wonder about history, art, science and world cultures,” Hamilton-Brehm said. “The magazine featured new stories and adaptations written by celebrated authors and interpreted by award-winning illustrators.”
Latest donation complements earlier gift
The recent donation of Carus’ papers includes additional records, books and correspondence related to Cricket, along with records of Carus’ development of Open Court Basic Readers and her service as a member of the International Board on Books for Young People, Hamilton-Brehm said. The donation “features substantial correspondence with Cricket board member and Newbery Medal winning author Lloyd Alexander.”
In 2017, Carus and her family donated Cricket Media records to the Special Collections Research Center. The collection contains more than 600 boxes documenting the history of the children’s magazine, including publications, business records and correspondence with authors, illustrators, staff and readers.