The Big Picture: SLJ Celebrates 50 Years

Over the years, we've featured everyone from JFK to J. K. Rowling on our covers. And we've portrayed some of the profession's hottest topics, from "Why Johnny Can Read"—a thorny issue in the '50s—to "Why Johnny Won't Read," one of today's biggest conundrums. At its best, a magazine cover makes readers want to flip the page and plunge right in.

Granted, SLJ hasn't always placed much importance on its covers. Junior Libraries (our original name) featured a text-only table of contents—a small photo was eventually added. It wasn't uncommon, as the years went by, for editors to scramble for a cover image at the 11th hour, frantically phoning the American Library Association for a poster or begging publishers for permission to reprint artwork from a Caldecott Honor book. These days, we think the cover is the most important page of the magazine, and we plan accordingly.

The examples here are just a few of the more than 500 covers that we've published (there are even more in the print version of this article); taken together, they form a bigger picture—a portrait of 50 years of library service to children at a single glance.

1963: This drawing of Paul Bunyan was included in a letter sent to SLJ by artist Ed Emberley, who is profiled in the issue.
1965: Children select books for Operation Head Start's preschool storyhour.
1966: Issues in urban education studies.
1968: Ravi Shankar, Jefferson Airplane, and Duke Ellington.
1969 and 1973: Reading Is Fundamental.
1970: William Steig's Sylvester and the Magic Pebble.
1972: Exploring the changing image of girls and women in children's literature.
1972: ALA's Social Responsibilities Round Table.
1975: United Nations's symbol for International Women's Year.
1976: The paperback market takes off.
1978: Coping with the increased demand for all things "Tut."
1981: Comics in the library.
1983: An artist's rendering of Epcot Center's (then) futuristic Teacher's Center.
1983: Reading Rainbow.
1987: Special issue on multimedia.
1989: Annual spring announcement issue.
1994: Margaret A. Edwards Award–winner Walter Dean Myers.
1996: Margaret A Edwards Award–winner Judy Blume.
1998: This cover by Christopher Myers began our annual tradition of illustrated "Best Books" covers.
1999: An interview with J. K. Rowling, creator of Harry Potter.
1999: Best Books cover by Brian Pinkney.
2000: The latest research by Keith Curry Lance on how strong library media programs help students succeed.
2001:What librarians need to know about copyright issues.
2001: National Book Award–winner Gloria Whelan.
2002: Margaret A. Edwards Award–winner Paul Zindel.
2004:Newbery Medal–winner Kate DiCamillo.