Welcome to the World of Children's Books and the Authors and Illustrators who Create Them

Cristina Iannarino is the Children's Book and Gift Buyer at Books on the Square, Providence's leading independent bookstore since 1992. As a Bronx-born, first-generation American, she graduated summa cum laude in cursu honorum from Fordham University's Honors Program with a B.A. in History and Italian Studies in 2017. In 2022, she graduated with a M.A. in Italian Studies from Brown University with an Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship from the Cogut Insitute for the Humanities. Cristina's research specialized in the history of early modern childhood, the birth of children's literature, and the humanist education of women alongside their cultural achievements.

In the world of modern children's literature at Books on the Square, Cristina cultivates, maintains, and expands her knowledge of readership and industry trends for readers from ages 0-18, collaborating often with publishers to follow the children's market and recent acquisitions. For the store, she curates frontlist and backlist titles catering to the interests of young readers in our community, programs special author events, performs Storytime once a week, and designs digital and print marketing campaigns to encourage young readers. Cristina is committed to serving our diverse community, especially the children and families that have been historically underserved and underrepresented. To that end, Cristina engages in community outreach whenever possible by hosting events, celebrating and collaborating with local authors and illustrators, and maintaining partnerships with local schools, libraries, charities, and nonprofits such as the Providence Rotary Club, Books are Wings, the Rhode Island Center for the Book, and the Providence Parks Department.