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. She’s chaired the Gryphon Award committee for several years now, is responsible for the production of the BCCB annual Guide Book to Gift Books, and teaches multiple classes on children’s and young adult literature for the iSchool.
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. 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. For a semester during her undergrad, she volunteered at the CCB. Every year on Halloween, Natalie hosts an event in her hometown in which she passes out hundreds of books to children in the community. Natalie is passionate about libraries and children’s literature.
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.
Fiona Hartley-Kroeger, Reviewer (FHK)
Fiona holds an MA in Children’s Literature from Simmons University and is currently a PhD candidate in English Literature at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her research explores female heroism in young adult adaptations, and she has taught courses on fantasy, global folklore, and gender and fairy tales. She has been a children’s specialist bookseller in Berkeley, CA and Cambridge, MA. Her articles have appeared in Children’s Literature in Education and The Lion and the Unicorn.
Alaine Martaus, Reviewer (AM)
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.
Adam McConville, Reviewer (AMM)
Adam received his master’s degree in Library and Information Science from the University of Illinois in 2020. He also holds bachelor’s degrees in journalism and French from Ohio University. He worked as the Bulletin‘s graduate assistant from 2018-20 and has since returned to Ohio as an adult services librarian for the Cleveland Heights-University Heights Public Libraries.
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.
Former staff and reviewers
NOTE: Information is accurate to the time during which reviewers were active at the Bulletin.
Deborah Stevenson, Former Editor (DS)
Deborah Stevenson was with the Bulletin since 1989 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.
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.
