Lisa Pinkerton

Lisa Pinkerton is the Marie Clay Endowed Chair and a Clinical Associate Professor of Literacies, Literature, and Learning in the Department of Teaching and Learning. Her teaching, scholarship, and service are shaped by a deep conviction that books matter, that the right story at the right moment can be genuinely transformative for young readers and the educators who serve them.

She has served on several prestigious national children’s book award committees, including the National Council of Teachers of English Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children, the United States Hans Christian Andersen Award (2018), the Association for Library Service to Children’s Odyssey Book Award Committee, and the United States Board on Books for Young People’s Outstanding Books for Young People with Disabilities List Committee. 

• PhD, Education, Literature for Children and Young Adults, The Ohio State University, 2013
• MA, Education, Curriculum and Instruction, Lesley University, 1991
• BA, Education, Elementary Education, Western Washington University, 1988

• Children's Literature
• Curriculum and Instruction
• Elementary Education and Teaching
• Equity
• Literacy
• Social Justice
• Teacher Education
• Young Adult (Adolescent) Literature

Dr. Pinkerton’s research pursues three connected threads: the role of children’s and young adult literature in educational contexts, arts-based research methodologies, and the analysis of picturebooks and readers’ transactions with them. She is one of five authors of Charlotte Huck’s Children’s Literature, a widely used textbook in college literature courses across the country. 

• Lipp, J., & Pinkerton, L. (2024). Student centered interactive reading and writing practices: Building the foundation for responsive teaching. Undergraduate Research Access Innovation Seed Grant.

Articles

• Crossley, J. S., Pinkerton, L., & Parsons, L. T. (2026). Beyond words: A thematic analysis of IBBY’s Silent Books honour lists. The Journal of Children’s Literature, 52(1), 74-77.
• Sterner, S., Pinkerton, L., & Cappiello, M. A. (2024). Nodes of literary connection: How culturally diverse imprints are building pathways for more inclusive and representative children’s literature. Journal of Children’s Literature, 50(1), 53-60.
• Pinkerton, L., Crawley, S. A., & Sterner, S. K. (2023). Books as lighthouses: Using children’s literature to illuminate and provide hope in the darkness of sexual abuse. Journal of Children’s Literature, 49(1), 75-81.
• Crawley, S. A., Young, C. A., & Patrick, L. (2022). Reading queerness at the intersections: Using LGBTQ+ - inclusive literature to move toward equity, justice, and antiracist teaching. Journal of Children’s Literature, 48(1), 80-86.
• Parsons, L. T., & Patrick, L. (2022). Poetry and prose as methodology: A synergy of knowing. Methodological Innovations, 15(2), 1-9.
• Patrick, L. (2016). Found poetry: Creating space for imaginative arts-based literacy research writing. Literacy Research: Theory, Method, and Practice, 65, 384-403.

News Stories

• Pinkerton, L. (2025, July 31). Lisa’s list: Pairs of picturebooks for rich conversation. EHE News. Retrieved from https://ehe.osu.edu/news/listing/lisas-list-pairs-picturebooks-rich-conversations (2025 Top 10 Hottest Stories of the Year: #4 most-read feature)
• Pinkerton, L. (2024, July 2). Lisa’s list: Picturebooks to foster deep thinking. EHE News. Retrieved from https://ehe.osu.edu/news/listing/lisas-list-picturebooks-foster-deep-thinking (2024’s Spotlight-Stealing Stories: #1 of most-read features)

• Crossley, J. S., & Pinkerton, L. (2026). Arts-based mirrors: A thematic analysis of international wordless picturebooks. National Council of Teachers of English Assembly for Research Annual Conference, Columbia, South Carolina.
• Crossley, J. S., Pinkerton, L., & Parsons, L. T. (2026). Wordless advocacy: An analysis of the wordless picturebooks in IBBY’S Silent Books Collection. Children’s Literature Assembly, Online Research Conference.
• Clark, C. T., Skrlac Lo, R., & Pinkerton, L. (2025). Gatekeeping, queerness, and liminality in children’s literature. International Research Society for Children’s Literature Congress. Salamanca, Spain.
• Lipp, J., & Pinkerton, L. (2025). Dreaming of responsive classrooms: Teaching through interactive read-aloud and writing. National Council of Teachers of English Annual Convention, Denver, CO.
• Pinkerton, L., & Parsons, L. T. (2025). The art of knowing: Uniting poetic and prose narratives in research writing. National Council of Teachers of English Assembly for Research Annual Conference, Columbus, OH.
• Kuehnle, M., & Pinkerton, L. (2024). Poetic ambiguity as a source of hope. National Council of Teachers of English Annual Convention, Boston, MA.
• Brown, J., Mikita, C., Parsons, L., & Pinkerton, L. (2023). Poetic justice: Marginalized languages and threatened environments in YAL. International Research Society for Children’s Literature Congress. Santa Barbara, CA.
• Parsons, L. T., & Pinkerton, L. (2023). The synergy of artistic and traditional research methodologies: A conversation. Featured Speakers. Marshall University’s Student Research and Creativity Symposium. Huntington, WV.
• Sterner, S., Pinkerton, L., & Cappiello, M. A. (2023). Nodes of literary connection: How culturally diverse imprints are building pathways for more inclusive and representative children’s literature. National Council of Teachers of English Annual Convention, Columbus, OH.
• Pinkerton, L., Crawley, S. A., & Sterner, S. K. (2022). 2022 CLA master class: Books as lighthouses: Using children’s literature to illuminate and provide hope in the darkness of sexual abuse. National Council of Teachers of English Annual Convention, Anaheim, CA.