author
Erle Elsworth Clippinger
1875–1939
A longtime English professor and early Ball State faculty member, this Indiana scholar helped shape the study of composition and children's literature for teachers and students alike. His books blended practical classroom guidance with a deep interest in how young readers meet stories.
1 Audiobook
Children's Literature A Textbook of Sources for Teachers and Teacher-Training Classes
by Charles Madison Curry, Erle Elsworth Clippinger
About the author
Born on September 27, 1875, Erle Elsworth Clippinger was an American writer, educator, and scholar of children's literature. He became one of the founding faculty members at Ball State and spent many years leading its English department, building a reputation as a careful teacher and a serious student of language and reading.
Clippinger wrote and edited books on composition, rhetoric, and literature for young readers. His work includes Illustrated Lessons in Composition and Rhetoric and, with Charles Madison Curry, Children's Literature, a substantial textbook created for teachers and teacher-training classes.
He died on January 7, 1939. Although he is not widely known today, his career reflects an important moment in American education, when English instruction and children's literature were becoming more formal fields of study.