Junko Yokota

Junko Yokota, committee chair, is a professor of Reading, Language, and Children's Literature at National College of Education at National-Louis University, and director of the Center for Teaching through Children's Books. Her work in multicultural literature led to the editing of the third edition of Kaleidoscope, and as recipient of the Virginia Hamilton Award for Contribution to Multicultural Literature. She also specializes in international children's literature, and has served as president of the U.S. National Section of the International Board on Books for Young People (USBBY). She has served on numerous book award and selection committees, including the Caldecott, Batchelder, Newbery, Notable Books for a Global Society Committee, Parenting Magazine Reading Award, and the Hans Christian Andersen Award. Born and raised in Japan, Yokota's commitment to international literature has taken her to many countries.