Current Bulletin Reviewers
Kate Quealy-Gainer, Editor (KQG)
Kate received her master’s degree in Information Science from the University of Illinois with a specialization in Youth Services. After reviewing for the Bulletin while completing her degree, she joined the staff as Assistant Editor in the summer of 2009 and then assumed the role of Editor in August of 2021. She teaches multiple classes on children’s and young adult literature for the iSchool and probably talks too much about kid lit in everyday conversation, perhaps to the chagrin of family and friends. She is a relatively decent herder of cats and children—but only after she’s had her coffee.
Quinita Balderson, Reviewer (QB)
Quinita earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and a master’s in Library and Information Science with a specialization in Youth Services at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. This faithful Illini currently holds a Library Specialist position at Interlibrary Loan & Document Delivery in the Main Library and has reviewed for the Bulletin since 2017. Whether she’s working, writing with colleagues, or serving the C-U community with fellow members of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc., there’s a good chance you’ll find Quinita in a library. She attributes some of her most creative moments as a writer/illustrator to her sons, whose high-energy and witty commentary inspire laughter and spark storytelling opportunities. Dedication to diversity and a fondness of dark humor, horror, and mystery in kids’ lit make her a special addition to the Bulletin staff.
Natalie Berglind, Reviewer (NB)
Natalie graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2017, where she majored in English with a German minor. She volunteered at the CCB during her undergrad and has been reviewing for the Bulletin since 2018. Natalie is passionate about libraries and children’s literature and has a special interest in seeking out all kinds of queer fiction.
Michelle Bourgeois, Reviewer (MB)
Michelle started as a reviewer for the Bulletin in 2025. She received her BA in English Literature from Illinois Wesleyan University and Master’s in Library and Information Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a specialization in youth and teen services. Over the years, she has served as a children’s, teen, and digital services librarian in public libraries. A highlight of her career was working at the International Youth Library while living in Munich, where she assisted with special projects and still helps annually with US selections for the White Ravens catalog of notable international children’s books. Michelle reads broadly but especially enjoys magical realism, quirky sci-fi or fantasy, mystery, romantic comedies, or anything with striking illustrations. When she’s not reading, she’s probably walking her dog (her first child), cooking, or practicing her novice birding skills.
Wally M. Cornell (WMC)
Wally (he/him) received an MA in Medieval Studies from Western Michigan University and an MA in English from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He will receive his doctorate in Medieval Literature at UIUC in 2025. Wally is invested in global premodern storytelling for diverse youth audiences, especially transhistorical queer and trans narratives. His research is on intersectional queer and trans Old Norse and medieval youth reception, and he has upcoming publications exploring trans and queer teen medievalism in Nimona and How to Train Your Dragon. He also recently co-authored and premiered The Book of Silence, a stage play setting Le Roman de Silence within the frame story of a contemporary trans teen. A lover of all things creatively combining genre, identity, and image, Wally has a special fondness for graphic novels and comics, illustrated middle-grade texts, chapter books, and picture books. He has a fluffy bichon who thinks he owns the place, even though that little guy doesn’t pay any rent.
Fiona Hartley-Kroeger, Reviewer (FHK)
Fiona (she/her) is the Curator of the Baldwin Library of Historical Children’s Literature at the University of Florida. She holds a PhD in English Literature and MSLIS from the University of Illinois and an MA in Children’s Literature from Simmons University. Her research focuses on reception, retelling, and adaptation in YA and children’s literature. Her articles have been published in The Lion and the Unicorn and Children’s Literature in Education, and she works to elevate diverse voices in contemporary publishing by volunteering with the Diverse BookFinder.
Jessie Mae Maimone, Reviewer (JMM)
Jessie is currently a PhD candidate in UIUC’s Information Science program where her research focuses on the experiences of Black youth in public libraries and the ways we teach future librarians to work with all youth. She also holds an MSLIS from UIUC, an MS in Publishing from Pace University, and a BA in English from James Madison University. Jessie is also a sensitivity reader for Writing Diversely. When she’s not reading books for reviews, she also enjoys baking, knitting, and cuddling with her cat Lainey, all of which she can do while listening to audiobooks. She started reviewing for the Bulletin in 2023.
Adam McConville, Copy Editor (AMM)
Adam (he/him) received his master’s degree in Library and Information Science from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2020. He worked as the Bulletin’s editorial assistant from 2018 to 2020 then rejoined the staff as copy editor and reviewer in 2021. He holds bachelor’s degrees in journalism and French from Ohio University and has worked in public libraries in both children’s and adult services. Currently, he works as an adult librarian in northeast Ohio. He’s always glad to pick up a picture book or dig into some dense nonfiction, but when those are done he unwinds by running, baking, or playing video games.
Danica Ronquillo, Reviewer (DR)
Danica (she/her) started reviewing children’s books for the Bulletin in 2021. She holds a BA in English (Creative Writing) from San Francisco State University, an MLIS from San Jose State University, and an ALSC Certificate of Completion in Reading the Art in Picture Books. She shares her passion for diverse youth literature, graphic novels, and manga with book lovers worldwide on her Instagram book account, @danicashelflove. She is a proud member of the Asian Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA), a librarian for The StoryGraph, and is a Marketing and Social Media volunteer for The Storyteller’s Shelf Podcast. In her free time, she loves all things cozy, like dabbling with oil pastels, playing video games, and tending to her plants and succulents.
Cassidy Russell, Reviewer (CBR)
Cassidy (she/her) received her master’s degree in Information Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, as well as an MFA in Printmaking from Savannah College of Art and Design. In addition to maintaining an active studio art practice, she travels, writes, and performs live comedy as a member of the Second City National Touring Company and teaches improv and comedy writing around the country. She spends most of her non-reading time swimming in whatever cold body of water she can find. Cassidy believes strongly, both in children’s literature and life, in the importance of celebrating silliness.
April Spisak, Reviewer (AS)
April has been reviewing for the BCCB since 2005. She is Head of Youth Services at the Albany Public Library in Oregon. One of her primary life skills is the ability to distill 500+ pages into reviews that are less than 300 words. Sadly, that ability is not as wildly useful and lucrative as one might imagine.
Amanda Toledo, Reviewer (ART)
Amanda (she/her/ella) received her Master’s in Library and Information Science from San Jose State University in 2024. Raised on a steady stream of books and croquetas, she promotes a love of reading in her role as a Youth Services Librarian. After seven years of work in public libraries, she remains passionate about diverse representation in books and library collections and has written for the Bulletin, the Horn Book Magazine, and the journal Research on Diversity in Youth Literature. In her free time, you’ll find her needle felting, playing board games, card games, and Nintendo Switch with family or curled up with a book in blissful, introverted silence.
Glorian (Glo) Roberts, Editorial Assistant
Glo (she/her) is a current MSLIS student at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). She has returned to the UIUC campus after having received a Bachelors of Arts degree in English, with a minor in Gender and Women’s Studies. Her passion for storytelling is engaged not only through the binds of a physical book but also through the warmth of connecting with her community, listening and learning from the folks that came before and walk alongside her. Glo’s favorite things to do include: going to the movies, traveling, seeking out and consuming sweet treats and most favorably, having intellectually stimulating conversations with her two kitties, Birdie and Rus.
Former staff and reviewers
NOTE: Information is accurate to the time during which reviewers were active at the Bulletin.
Elizabeth Bush, Reviewer (EB)
Betty received a BA degree from Roosevelt University, an MA degree from Governors State University, and an MLS degree from Rosary College (now Dominican University.) She was a librarian within Archdiocese of Chicago for 2 decades. After reviewing for Booklist she came to the Bulletin, where she has been a reviewer for nearly thirty years. She taught as an adjunct lecturer in the Youth Services program at the iSchool of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She has served on the Boston Globe-Horn Book, Robert F. Sibert, Gryphon, and Scott O’Dell Awards Committees.
Alexandra Byerly, Reviewer (AB)
Alexandra earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature and French from Knox College. In May of 2022, she received her MSLIS from the University of Illinois’ iSchool. She is passionate about early literacy, early readers, and beginning comics. In her downtime, she enjoys drawing, painting, and jogging at such a slow pace that parents with strollers pass her.
Kara Forde, Reviewer (KF)
Kara earned her Bachelor of Arts in psychology at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, with an interest in child development and education. After working for several years at one of the most enchanting children’s bookstores in the world, she entered the MS/LIS degree program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in the fall of 2021, joining the Bulletin soon after. Currently, she works at the Social Sciences, Health, and Education library as a graduate assistant specializing in the library’s large collection of children’s and young adult literature. Winter is her favorite season, and she will take any opportunity to go ice skating or downhill skiing, or simply curl up with a new book by the fireplace.
Miriam Larson, Reviewer (ML)
Miriam is the executive director of the Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center. She is a former elementary school librarian and an iSchool alum. In her free time she enjoys playing music, hiking, and volunteering in her community.
Alaine Martaus, Reviewer (AM/ACM)
Alaine is a recent graduate of the PhD program at UIUC’s School of Information Sciences, where her research focused on the intersection of literacy engagement, youth digital culture, and fan studies. She has an MLS from Florida State University and an MA in Children’s Literature from Hollins University, where she specialized in the study of young adult fantasy and science fiction. She spent most of her professional librarian career working as a high school librarian and has taught courses in young adult literature and youth librarianship. She spends a lot of her downtime reading, including mysteries, romance, sci-fi, fantasy, and realism, but she still won’t read anything where the dog dies.
Kiri Palm, Reviewer (KP)
Kiri is pursuing their MSLIS degree at the iSchool at UIUC. They hold BAs in Theatre and German Studies from Southern Illinois University Carbondale and are a published playwright. Upon completion of their degree, Kiri hopes to work as a children’s public librarian and assist kids in underserved areas and LGBTQ+ youth in particular.
Sarah Sahn, Reviewer (SS)
Sarah received her PhD in English from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2016, and began reviewing for the Bulletin in 2017 while working on her MSLIS at the iSchool at Illinois. She had her brush with YA fantasy author fame when she had the privilege of interviewing one of her all-time favorite authors, Tamora Pierce, for an entry in the Dictionary of Literary Biography’s Young Adult Authors series. She’s currently a research and instruction librarian at the University of Alabama, where she works with assorted interdisciplinary and honors programs, and often laments the reality that being a librarian does not, in fact, mean you get to read books all day.
Deborah Stevenson, Former Editor (DS)
Deborah Stevenson was with the Bulletin from 1989 to 2021 and held the position of Editor from 2001 to 2021. She holds a PhD in English from the University of Chicago, where she wrote her dissertation on children’s literature and contemporary culture. She has taught children’s literature at Indiana University Northwest and in the continuing education program at the University of Chicago, and she now teaches as an Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois. Her articles have appeared in the Horn Book Magazine, The Lion and the Unicorn, and the Children’s Literature Association Quarterly, and she is a senior editor of the Oxford Encyclopedia of Children’s Literature. She is also the co-author, with Betsy Hearne, of Choosing Books for Children: A Commonsense Guide.
Aaren Tucker, Reviewer (AT)
After receiving her BA in Linguistics from California State University, Northridge, Aaren Tucker taught English to elementary and middle school students in South Korea from 2015-2017. She earned her master’s in Library and Information Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2019 and is currently serving as the Young Adult/Adult Services Librarian at Moorpark City Library in California. She has reviewed for the School Library Journal and joined the BCCB in 2021. She loves all types of genre fiction, but particularly enjoys romance, and is a dedicated player of games with a small but growing board game collection and a fondness for role-playing games. She wants to hug every cat.
