In Spring 2026, Dr. Laura Carroll’s ENGL 325: Advanced Composition students were challenged to engage Special Collections broadly, and, more specifically, with the hymnal collection. Each student wrote a research paper on a topic inspired by the hymnal collection. Their research included databases, interviews, library print resources, and data collection. Today we welcome ACU student June Skelly to the blog. Read on to learn more about her research. 

This paper explores how hymns have historically been used for instruction for children. It begins with some of the history of Isaac Watts, as well as the development of children’s literature as a genre. It compares the work of Fanny J. Crosby and Isaac Watts, looking at similar themes in their work, such as labor and telling the truth. Specifically, it takes a few hymns from Watts’ Divine and Moral Songs for Children, published in 1715, as well as Crosby’s hymns “O My Savior, Hear Me, Draw Me Close,” from 1875, and her “Hymn for the Working Children,” from 1913. Drawing from Beverly Howard’s “Fanny Crosby: Songs of Salvation, Consecration, Service, and Heaven,” it also delves into Crosby’s connection to Watts’ hymns, from how she was raised reading them, to the impact hearing them had on her career, and even the decision to become a hymn writer herself.

The paper uses a statement from The American Academy of Pediatrics to define what language is appropriate to use in educating children. Additionally, it looks at how Vygotsky’s theory of the Zone of Proximal Development can be used to inform and expand upon what hymns are beneficial for children to learn with assistance of another. Using these, it states that Crosby’s hymns are generally applicable and understandable for children, while some of the harder themes and language used by Watts make his hymns less appropriate for their original purpose of instructing children. Finally, the paper concludes by recognizing how each hymn writer was a product of the time they were in and the style of literature that was popular.

Thank you, June, for sharing your research with us. We’ll be back soon to highlight more student research inspired by our hymnal holdings.