The Fresno State Library offers our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Michael Cart, who passed away on February 13, 2025 in Indiana. Cart was an invaluable supporter of the Arne Nixon Center for the Study of Children’s Literature, where he was a member of the founding governing committee and a significant donor of books and materials. The thousands of books he donated to the ANC can be found in all parts of the center, including the general research collection and, most significantly, the LGBTQ+ collection. His authored books and papers have been donated to the center. 

Michael Cart

Cart was also integral in establishing the ANC’s Michael Cart Research Fellowship with the assistance of the Friends of Freddy, Inc., a group dedicated to the preservation and celebration of the Freddy the Pig children’s book series by Walter R Brooks, of whom Cart was an expert.

Cart had a long and prolific professional career, having served as president of both the Young Adult Library Services Association and the Assembly on Literature for Adolescents of the National Council of Teachers of English. Cart received numerous awards, including the Grolier Foundation Award and the ALAN Award for service to young adults and young adults’ literature. He was also named a Bradshaw Scholar at Texas Women’s University. He taught there and at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). He retired from library service as the director of the Beverly Hills Public Library in 1991 and subsequently authored 23 books and wrote for the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, and Parents Magazine. 

Michael Cart’s Tribute Wall is available to share memories or send condolences to the family.