Sylvia M. Vardell, PhD

Professor

Office: SH 411
Phone: 940-898-2616
svardell@twu.edu

Education

PhD, University of Minnesota, Children's Literature/Language Arts
BS, University of Texas, Elementary Education

Research Interests

Literature for children and young adults; poetry for young people; multicultural and international literature for children and young adults.

Profile

Sylvia M. Vardell is a professor in the School of Library and Information Studies at Texas Woman’s University and is recipient of the ALA Scholastic Library Publishing Award and the TWU Distinction in Scholarship Award. She teaches graduate courses in literature for children and young adults and has published 10 books on literature for children and more than 100 journal articles, as well as co-editing poetry anthologies and resource books with poet Janet Wong. Her current work focuses on poetry for children, including the nationally recognized blog, PoetryforChildren. She has served on national award committees including the ALA Caldecott, Legacy, Odyssey, Sibert, and Wilder committees and edited the international journal of children’s literature, Bookbird. She has conducted more than 150 presentations at state, regional, national, and international conferences, received grants from YALSA, NCTE, and the National Endowment for the Humanities, and taught at the University of Zimbabwe as a Fulbright scholar.

Selected Publications

Vardell, S. M. Ed. (2020). A world full of poems: Inspiring poetry for children. London: DK Books.

Vardell, S. M. and Wong, Janet. Eds. (2020). Hop to it: Poems to get you moving. Princeton, NJ: Pomelo Books.

Vardell, S.M. (2019). Children’s literature in action: A librarian’s guide (third edition). Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited

Vardell, S. M. and Wong, Janet. Eds. (2018) Great morning!: Poems for school leaders to read aloud. Princeton, NJ: Pomelo Books.

Vardell, S. M. (2017). Books and authors: Pushing boundaries with diverse poetry. Book Links. January, 26 (1).

Vardell, S. M. (2016). Talking with Jacqueline Woodson. Book Links. April, 25, (4), 10-14.

Vardell, S. M. and Wong, Janet. (2015). Nourishing the mind all day long: Using quick poetry bites for integrated teaching of all content areas. Reading Today. May/June, 32, (6), 24-25.

Vardell, S. M. and Wong, J. (2015). The symbiosis of science and poetry. Children and Libraries. Spring, 13, (1), 15-18.

Vardell, S. M. and Wong, Janet. Eds. (2015). The poetry Friday anthology for celebrations: Holiday poems for the whole year in English and Spanish. Princeton, NJ: Pomelo Books.

Vardell, S. M. (2014). Poetry and social justice. Book Links. Sept., 24, (1), 16-21.

Vardell, S. M. and Wong, J. (2014). Observe, explain, connect. Science and Children. 51, (8), April/May, 31-35.

Vardell, S. M. (2014). Painting the poetry landscape: Twenty-five years of poetry for young people in The Newbery and Caldecott awards: A guide to the medal and honor books, 2014. Chicago, IL: American Library Association.

Vardell, S. M. and Wong, Janet. Eds. (2014). The poetry Friday anthology for science: Poems for the school year integrating science, reading, and language arts. Princeton, NJ: Pomelo Books.

 

Page last updated 10:23 AM, September 25, 2020