June Cummins
June Cummins (1963–2018) was an American scholar of children's literature, known for her contributions to the study of Jewish children's books, her biography of Sydney Taylor, and her advocacy for diversity in the field. She was a professor in the Department of English and Comparative Literature at San Diego State University from 1998 until her passing in 2018.
Early life and education
[edit]Cummins was born in New York City in 1963, and grew up in San Diego, California. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of California, Berkeley in 1985, and went on to complete her Master’s, M.Phil., and Ph.D. in English at Columbia University between 1986 and 1998.[1]
Career
[edit]Cummins was a professor of children's literature at San Diego State University from 1998-2018. She also was instrumental in founding the National Center of the Study of Children’s Literature at SDSU, and served as its director.[2][1]
She was an active member of the Children’s Literature Association (ChLA), serving on its Board of Directors and as part of its Diversity Committee. She was recognized for her mentorship, receiving ChLA’s Mentoring Award in 2017.[1]
Her research explored themes of representation in children’s literature, with notable works including studies on identity-based book awards, Jewish children's fiction, and LGBTQ+ narratives in young adult literature. She contributed to academic journals and anthologies, addressing cultural and marketing aspects of children’s books.[1]
Diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Cummins remained dedicated to her scholarship in her final years.[3] With the assistance of historian Alexandra Dunietz, she completed From Sarah to Sydney: The Woman Behind "All-of-a-Kind Family", a biography of Sydney Taylor, which was posthumously published by Yale University Press in 2021. This work examines Taylor’s legacy as the author of All-of-a-Kind Family, the first mainstream children’s book in the U.S. to feature Jewish characters.[1] Cummins' biography of Taylor was widely reviewed and received a largely positive response from critics.[4][5][6][7][8]
Personal life
[edit]Cummins was married to Jonathan Lewis, a physicist, and had three children.[1]
Death
[edit]Cummins died on February 22, 2018 in Skokie, Illinois at age 54.[2]
Further reading
[edit]- All-of-a-Kind : Remembering June Cummins. Edited by Michael Joseph, Lissa Paul, and Joseph Thomas. Cats in the Basement Press, 2020.[9]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f Martin, Michelle H. (2020). "June Cummins: A Tribute". Judaica Librarianship. 21: 138–139. doi:10.14263/jl.v21i.549. ProQuest 2804347091. Retrieved 25 March 2025.
- ^ a b "Obituaries: June Cummins". The Horn Book Magazine. 94 (3): 164. 2018.
- ^ Miller, Robert Nagler (May 28, 2021). "A One-of-a-Kind Story about All-of-a-Kind: Delving into the Story of the Author of a Famous Classic". Jewish Chicago: The JUF Magazine. Retrieved March 26, 2025.
- ^ Gurdon, Meghan Cox (July 23, 2021). "'From Sarah to Sydney' Review: The Author Was One of a Kind; In Her Groundbreaking Novel of Jewish Life for Young Readers, Sydney Taylor Created an Idealized Version of a Darker Childhood". The Wall Street Journal. ProQuest 2554360115. Retrieved 25 March 2025.
- ^ Weiner, Jennifer (4 July 2021). "One of a Kind: A Biography of the Beloved Children's Author Sydney Taylor". The New York Times. ProQuest 3141906058. Retrieved March 24, 2025.
- ^ Mickenberg, Julia L. (2022). "Review of From Sarah to Sydney: The Woman Behind All-of-a-Kind Family, by June Cummins". American Jewish History. 106 (2): 205–207. doi:10.1353/ajh.2022.0017. Retrieved 25 March 2025.
- ^ Gibson, Lois Rauch (2022). "Review of From Sarah to Sydney: The Woman Behind All-of-a-Kind Family, by June Cummins". Children's Literature Association Quarterly. 47 (1): 109–111. doi:10.1353/chq.2022.0007. Retrieved 25 March 2025.
- ^ Krasner, Jonathan B. (2022). "From Sarah to Sydney: The Woman Behind All-of-a-Kind Family". Journal of Jewish Education. 88 (1): 95–100. doi:10.1080/15244113.2022.2029537.
- ^ Joseph, Michael; Paul, Lissa; Thomas, Joseph, eds. (2020). All-of-a-Kind: Remembering June Cummins. Cats in the Basement Press.
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