On June 2-3, 2012 ,The first China-U.S. Children’s Literature Symposium, co-sponsored and supported by Ocean University of China, Texas A&M University and the Confucius Institute at Texas A&M University was held at Ocean University of China in Qingdao, Texas A&M’s institutional partner for the Confucius Institute.

Dr. Pamela Matthews, Vice Provost for Academic Affair of Texas A&M University, gives the opening speech at the Symposium.

The symposium aimed to provide an academic platform for distinguished scholars of children’s literature of China and United States and to promote the in-depth dialogue and international exchange in the field of children’s literature. All of the symposium participants are distinguished and vanguard scholars from both China and the US. From the US, there were four present or previous Presidents of the Children's Literature Association, two academic thesis prize winners from the American Children’s Literature Association and one distinguished children’s literature author. On Chinese side, there were PhD supervisors in children’s literature, Consuls of the National Children’s Literature Council and four professor/authors of children’s literature. This symposium was truly a capstone for academic exchange and vanguard discussion for China-U.S. Children’s Literature.

The theme of the symposium was “Views of Children’s Literature in China and the US”. The participants had in-depth discussion around five topics: Historical reviews of children’s literature, children’s literature and the nations, children’s literature and historical change, values and identities and children readers and adult writers. The papers presented at the symposium are set to be published in the near future in both Chinese and English.

American and Chinese scholars at the China-U.S. Children’s Literature Symposium.

This symposium initiated high level academic exchange in children’s literature between the two countries and will have significant impact on future research and publications. It is reported that the both China and the US have agreed to convene the second China-U.S. Children’s Literature Symposium in the US in 2014.