When a children’s literature course was dropped from the university curriculum, Ph.D. students approached education librarian, Brittany Kester, P.h.D, for help. The graduate students were approached by undergraduates who were seeking help with children’s literature and thus began “Gator Tales.”
The Education Gator Tales inspire and empower pre-service teachers at the University of Florida through engagement with children’s and young adult literature. They aim to create a literacy-rich community that is committed to building pedagogical knowledge literacy and promoting a passion for teaching reading.
“Gator Tales began as an idea when Kelly and I taught an undergraduate course on teaching reading in elementary school. I noticed my students’ joy every time we worked with children’s books, but I began to recognize that we needed a space for these future teachers to deepen their knowledge of teaching children’s literature. We formed this club to connect preservice teachers and teacher educators around a shared interest, meeting in the Education Library to celebrate children’s books and grow together as reading educators,” Shelley Therien, PhD Student Leader, said.
The goals of this student organization are to:
1) promote literary exploration
2) cultivate pedagogical skill
3) support well-rounded literacy development
4) foster peer and mentor relationships, and
5) encourage professional growth.
Additionally, Gator Tales hosts events and field trips. This semester they will visit the Smathers Libraries’ Baldwin Library of Historical Children’s Literature. Membership in this organization is open to all enrolled students at the University of Florida.
“Gator Tales has really allowed me to see how many different types of children’s literature there are and how many different ways you can utilize them. Different books can be used to leverage different skills, but Gator Tales has taught me how to identify the best book to get the results I want. I’ve also really enjoyed getting to share books I enjoyed as a kid and brainstorm ways I can incorporate those books into my classroom or into a lesson,” a student member studying for their bachelor of arts in elementary education said.
The group meets once a month and typically hosts 10-15 attendees. Their meetings cover topics like gratitude and community, holidays and Read Across America.
“It has been such a joy to be the faculty advisor for Gator Tales. The Ph.D. student leaders, Shelley, Annie, and Kelly are wonderful teachers, and it is amazing to see them pass their knowledge on to the new preservice teacher student members. I love seeing the student members faces when we introduce a new book or topic, they are all super passionate about waiting to be good teachers and to incorporate quality children’s literature in their future classrooms. I am so glad that the University of Florida Libraries is able to support their learning and provide books they can take with them to use in their school placements and for their own academic journeys,” Brittany Kester, faculty advisor for Gator Tales and Education Librarian, said.
The leadership group has a goal to present about Gator Tales at the National Council for Teachers of English in Fall 2026, as well as write about the experience of forming the group and the benefits to the students. Gator Tales hopes to recruit more members this semester and have a summer book club to dive more into young adult literature.
