Karen Breen Retires as Kirkus Children's Book Review Editor

Karen Breen will retire as the children’s book review editor at Kirkus Reviews next month, handing over the reins to Vicky Smith, a reviewer and contributor at the magazine.

Smith has worked in public libraries for 13 years, most recently as director of the McArthur Public Library in Biddeford, ME, where she also worked as a children's librarian.

Kirkus’s Managing Editor Eric Liebetrau paid homage to both women, calling Smith "an exceptional talent…whose experience and energy will continue the legacy that Karen has furthered over the past eight years."

Breen’s eight-year legacy includes making changes to the children's section of the bi-weekly magazine, increasing the number of reviews of small-press and bilingual material. Five years ago, she launched a year-end best-of list to provide more information about great children's books, and in 2005 that list became a glossy publication. Liebetrau says that Breen "tripled" the number of children's reviews in the publication.

Breen, 64, also has chalked up quite a few honors over her career. Chair of this year's Caldecott Committee, she has also chaired the Notable Children's Books Committee and the Batchelder Award committee.

Breen was an independent bookseller, as well as a long-time coordinator of children's services at the Queens Borough Public Library. She says she "retired" twice before, both from the public library system and from Library Power, the school library rebuilding project , where she served for 10 years.

Breen is also an active member of the American Library Association and the Association for Library Service to Children.

Unsure about her plans after retirement, Breen says she'll first head to where she grew up—Slidell, LA, just outside of Katrina-damaged New Orleans. "One of the things that really got my brain going about retiring is that I need to do something to help," Breen says.

"If nothing more than passing the coffee at a Habitat [for Humanity] house being built—I'm not quite sure what there is to be done, but I have family there and know a lot of people there who will point me in the right direction."

The editor says she'll also continue reading children's literature, whose quality, she says, has always been high. "My husband asked me the other day 'Are you going to read grown-up books?' and I said, 'They're not as well-written as kids' books.'

"But I'll dip in every once in a while."

Kirkus, a trade book-review publication founded in 1933 by Harper children's-book editor Virginia Kirkus, is available by subscription in print and online.