The trailblazers in human, academic, scientific and religious freedom have always been in the minority… It will take such a small committed minority to work unrelentingly to win the uncommitted majority. Such a group may transform America’s greatest dilemma into her most glorious opportunity.
Background
Christine Taylor-Butler is a children’s book author and advocate for diversity in children’s literature who has written more than 90 books. Taylor-Butler holds dual SB degrees in civil engineering and in architecture from MIT.
Interests
On visits to schools, libraries, and festivals, Taylor-Butler encourages kids to explore the science behind her books, and advocated for STEM-based children’s literature in her essay “When Failure Is Not an Option: Connecting the Dots with STEM.” An advocate for diversity in children’s literature, she wrote an essay about gender inequity at the Caldecott Awards and the CSK Illustrator Awards, which she discussed on the kidlit women* podcast. Her books include The Lost Tribe series, which she describes as “the technical Harry Potter,” and 30 books for the Scholastic True Books educational nonfiction series that range in topic, from planets and the human body to civil rights and the Supreme Court.
In addition to her writing, Taylor-Butler served as a judge for the Society of Midland Authors children’s nonfiction award, the Walter Dean Myers children’s literature award, and PEN America’s Phyllis Naylor Working Writer Fellowship. She is a member of the Author’s Guild, the Kansas City Science Fiction and Fantasy Society, and a Director At Large of Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA).
News Items
MIT welcomes nine MLK Scholars for 2024-25
Martin Luther King Jr. Visiting Professors and Scholars enhance community through engagement with MIT students and faculty.
MIT welcomes nine MLK Visiting Professors and Scholars for 2023-24
Martin Luther King Jr. Visiting Professors and Scholars will enhance and enrich the MIT community through engagement with students and faculty.