Children's & Young Adult Literature Research Guide

Items in blue are available online.

Val A. Browning Library Juvenile Collection

Located in the lower level (basement) of the Browning Library, the Juvenile Collection contains books designed for ages birth to 12th grade and is divided into several sections.

To search the library for juvenile books, go to the Library Home Page and select "Catalog"; then select "Power" from the red "Search" bar. Under the Power Search, you can search by keyword, title, author, subject, etc., but you can also, under "Limits", search only the Juvenile Collection by highlighting "Juvenile". Newbery and Caldecott Award winners can be found by searching either newbery or caldecott or adding those terms to another search.
Example: caldecott and juvenile

Juvenile Nonfiction: The first section on the tall shelves (beginning on the left) is the Juvenile Nonfiction section. These books are organized by Dewey Decimal call numbers. For example, Lincoln: A Photobiography by Russell Freedman is in the collection Juv Nonfiction and has the call number: 973.7 F8537L; 973.7 refers to American history of a certain time period; F8537 refers to the author; and L relates to the title. You must look for the collection name to differentiate Juvenile Nonfiction from the regular Dewey Decimal books in the library.

Juvenile Fiction: To the right of Nonfiction, along the same wall, is the Juvenile Fiction, where most literature is found. These books are also organized by author. For example, Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson has this call number: Fic P296b in which Fic (or Fiction) denotes the Juvenile Fiction section; P296 refers to the author; and b relates to the title. Juvenile Poetry is not included in this section; it is located in Juvenile Nonfiction (808.21 / 811s).

Picture Books: The first section on the North side, facing the windows, is Picture Books, in which books are organized alphabetically by author. For example, Tuesday by David Weisner has this call number: Pic W651t in which Pic (or Picture) denotes the Picture Books section; W651 refers to the author; and t relates to the book's title.

Reference Sources

*Oxford Encyclopedia of Children's Literature (PN 1008.5 .O94 2006). Also available online.

Major Authors and Illustrators for Children & Young Adults (Reference PN 1009 .M35 1992): Selection of articles from the Something About the Author series. HINT: Use index at end of last volume.

Continuum Encyclopedia of Children's Literature (Reference PN 1008.5 .C66 2001): Recent subject encyclopedia containing biographical and work overviews of many authors and illustrators.

St. James Guide to Children's Writers (Reference PN 1009 .A1 T9 1999): Alphabetically organized, articles on many authors including lists of published works. Also notes awards won, family information, and contact addresses for authors.

100 Most Popular Children's Authors (Reference PN 1009 .A1 M34 1999): Biographical sketches and notes about the authors' writing.

100 Most Popular Picture Book Authors and Illustrators (Reference PN 1009 .A1 M345 1999): Biographical sketches and notes about authors' and illustrators' work.

Children's Books and Their Creators (Reference PN 1009 .A1 .C5424 1995): Alphabetical articles on many children's authors from all time periods into the 1990s.

Something About the Author (Reference PN 1009 .S66): Cumulatively indexed. Our volumes begin with #132. Articles in volumes before that number are not in our library.

Profiles in Children's Literature (Reference PN 1009 .A1 W57 2001) Interviews and profiles of many children's authors and illustrators.

Meet the Authors (Reference PN 1009 .K6833 1995): Profiles of 25 writers of upper elementary and middle school books.

Meet the Authors & Illustrators (Reference PN 1009 .K683 1991
vol.1) Profiles of 60 creators of favorite children's books; not alphabetical, use table of contents.

Big Book of Picture Book Authors & Illustrators (Reference PN 1009 .A1 P745 2001) Profiles of 75 authors and illustrators.

The Storymakers: Writing Children's Books (Reference PN 1009 .A1 S78 2000) Biographies and information about 83 children's authors.

The Storymakers: Illustrating Children's Books (Reference PN 1009 .A1 S767 1999) Biographies and information about 75 children's book illustrators.

Great Authors of Children's Literature (Reference PN 1009 .A1 M377 2000): Includes Milne, Lewis, White, Seuss, Dahl, Sendak, and Blume.

Women Writers of Children's Literature (Reference PN 1009 .A1 W663 2000 ): Small volume of brief biographies and some critical extracts.

Caldecott Celebration (Nonfiction 028.5079 M3224c): Excellent information
about McCloskey, Brown, Sendak, Steig, Van Allsburg, and Weisner.

Books

Books in the Library: Search in the Library Catalog for books by or about an author.
Example: "Madeline L'Engle"

Off-Campus Access to E-books: Library Home Page > Books & More > Off-Campus E-books

Interlibrary Loan: To order books not in the Browning Library use the online Interlibrary Loan service. Allow 10 days for delivery.

Reviews

Children's Literature Comprehensive Database (CLCD): Includes more than 1,400,000 records of children's books and more than 300,000 reviews of children's books from 36 sources - all full-text searchable. Includes awards won, links to author Web sites, and reading levels. Excellent subject access to books.
Example: Russell Freedman

EBSCOhost Professional Development Collection: Reviews, articles, and more in this database for teachers. Not always full-text (see below to find full-text of useful articles). Combine with other EBSCOhost databases Academic Search Elite and MasterFILE Premier for best results.
Example: "Jerry Spinelli"

Biographies, Articles & Criticism

Biography Reference Bank: Contains full-text articles on over 110,000 individuals and often includes an image of the person.
Example: Carle, Eric

Literature Resource Center (LRC): Online full-text database of articles about authors, illustrators, literary criticism, reviews, etc. Search by author (last name first) and select from biographies, criticism, articles, work overviews, and reviews. Includes full-text DLB, CA, CANR, CLC, TCLC. Print, save, or e-mail full-text articles.
Example: Bunting, Eve

EBSCOhost Academic Search Premier: Articles and reviews with some full-text available.
Example: "Paul Zelinsky"

MLA International Bibliography: bibliographic records for all scholarly works pertaining to literatre and language from 1963 - present. No full text.
Example: "Paul Zelinsky"

Education Databases: Additional databases such as ERIC and Education Full-Text are available.

English: Languages & Literature Databases: Additional databases such as Literary Criticism Online and the Arts & Humanities Citation Index are available.

The ALAN Review: from the National Council of Teachers of English, The Assemby on Literature for Adolescents.

English Journal: Also from NCTE, journal of ideas for English language arts teacher in junio and senior high schools and middle schools. From off campus, access Article Databases > JSTOR >Browse > By Title > English Journal (1912 - 2006).

To find articles in the years after JSTOR's moving wall coverage (2006- present) , go to Article Databases > Academic Search Premier or MLA International Bibliography, and use Interlibrary Loan to order articles.

Children's Literature in Education: scholarly journal available through Article Databases > Academic Search Premier > Publications. Full Text 1993 - 12 months previous to present date.

Project MUSE: Online, full-text archive containing The Lion and the Unicorn, the leading scholarly journal for children's literature, 1995-present.
HINT: Choose "Advanced Search", limit search by journal title.

To Get Full-Text of Articles

1. Check Full-Text Periodicals List for full-text coverage.
   HINT: Search PERIODICAL title, not ARTICLE title
2. If not found, use Interlibrary Loan for ordering articles.
   

Internet Sites

Children's Literature Web Guide: Gateway to Internet resources related to books for children and young adults from the University of Calgary. Includes Authors & Illustrators on the Web: a large list of Web sites about children's authors and illustrators and Children's Book Awards: links to Web sites on major awards and much more.

Index to Internet Sites: Children's and Young Adults' Authors & Illustrators: Links to author's Web pages, online interviews, information about online and print biographies.

Children's Book Council Authors & Illustrators: Explore the world of authors and illustrators.

Cyber Library Authors & Illustrators: Authors, illunstrators, links, articles, reviews.

Carol Hurst's Children's Literature Web Site: Book reviews and recommendations, integrated curriculum information, and ideas for classroom themes.

Children's Literature: A Guide to the Criticism: Online book published in 1987 by Linnea Hendrickson that includes "Authors and Their Works" and "Subjects, Themes and Genres".
To search for keywords, select "Search Children's Literature: A Guide to the Criticism".

Google: Use this search engine to look for Web sites on for your author. including publisher sites and interviews. Enter author's name in quotes. Example: "Allen Say".

Databases

Children's Literature Comprehensive Database (CLCD): Includes more than 1,400,000 records of children's books and more than 300,000 reviews of children's books from 36 sources - all full-text searchable. Includes awards won, links to author Web sites, and reading levels. Excellent subject access to books.
Example: Russell Freedman

Database of Award-Winning Children's Literature: Award-winning books searchable by keyword, reading level, genre, language, historical period, gender or ethnicity.

Children's Picture Book Database: Abstracts of over 5000 children's picture books and search capabilities for over 950 keywords, including topics, concepts, and skills which describe each book.

Associations

Children's Literature Association: Devoted to serious scholarship and research in children's literature. Also includes award listings and excellent links to a variety of Internet sites.

Children's Literature Association of Utah: Group that encourages the reading, study, and writing of children's literature and issues the annual Utah Children's Book Awards.

Awards (from the American Library Association)

Newbery Medal : American children's literature (author)

Caldecott Medal : picture books for children (illustrator)

Coretta Scott King Book Awards : African American experience

Schneider Family Book Award : books about disabilities

Alex Awards : adult books for young adult readers (author)

Batchelder Award : translations into English (author)

Belpre Medal : Latino/a cultural experience

Geisel Award : beginning readers

Printz Award : young adult (author)

Edwards Award : young adult (author)

Silbert Award : informational books

Laura Ingalls Wilder Award : lasting contribution to children's literature (author)

Carnegie Medal : video productions

Odyssey Award : audiobooks

John Steptoe Award for New Talent : African American experience

ALA Booklists : from the American Library Association, extensive annual lists of best books for children, teens, young adults, reluctant readers, etc.

Citation Styles

MLA Style : Diana Hacker

MLA Style : DSC LibGuide

APA Style : Diana Hacker

APA Style : DSC LibGuide