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Research Guide - Children's Literature


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This online guide is developed specifically for those doing research in children's literature. It provides a recommended list of resources, encompassing print materials, electronic databases, and selected Internet resources. This guide should be of help to students, researchers, parents, and those just looking for a good children's book.

Because the study of children's literature draws from disciplines such as history, sociology, psychology, and literature in general, you may need to consult resources in those fields also.

For more extensive research help, contact Jennifer Sias, at 696-6577.

Books

Use the Marshall University Libraries catalog to locate books in the libraries. The following Library of Congress Subject Headings are examples of terms that can be used with the Basic Search by Subject Heading, or the Keyword Search, to locate books in the MU libraries:

  • For collections of works published for children (fiction and nonfiction), use headings starting with Children's Literature or headings for a particular type of literature, such as Children's Plays, Children's Poetry or Children's Stories
  • For works on the reading interests of children or books recommended for children, use Children - Books and Reading
  • For literary works by children under 15 years of age search Children's Writings
  • You can do TITLE searches on Caldecott Medal Book to find all our Caldecott winners, and on Newbery Medal Book for our Newbery winners.
  • For additional, useful subject headings for your topic, consult the Library of Congress Subject Headings (Reference Desk).
  • Most of the children's literature can be found in the Juvenile Collection on the west end of the Drinko Library second floor (arranged by Dewey Decimal classification number) and the regular stacks in the LC classification "PN1009". However, because of the broad nature of children's literature, it is best to check the online catalog also.
  • For books at other libraries, search other Library catalogs over the Web. Books not owned by Marshall University Libraries may be ordered from other libraries using Information Delivery Services (IDS).

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Journal and Magazine Articles

The online databases and indexes listed here will provide references to articles (or in some cases full-text articles) in a wide range of periodicals, from news magazines and newspapers to scholarly and professional journals. If you have questions about choosing or using a database or index, please consult a Librarian

Full-Text Databases

Databases available in EBSCOHost:

  • Academic Search Premier

    This comprehensive database features full text for over 1,200 journals with many dating back to 1990; abstracts and indexing for over 3,000 scholarly journals; and coverage of The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and The Christian Science Monitor. It includes coverage of over 1,700 peer-reviewed journals.

    Hint: Because of its wide coverage, Academic Search Premier is a good starting point for articles and you should begin searching there. Remember, articles that can't available as full-text or page-image may be available elsewhere in the Library.
  • ERIC (Educational Resource Information Center)

    This is the main database for educational and education-related journals, with citations and abstracts from over 1,000 titles and the full text of over 2,200 digests. Coverage is back to about 1976. Try a subject search on "Children's literature" or "Adolescent literature".

  • PsycINFO

    More than 1.8 million citations and summaries of journal articles, books, dissertations, and technical reports; journal coverage goes back to the late 1800s. Use "children's literature" or related terms in a keyword search.

  • JSTOR

    Provides full text access to older issues of core journals, generally back to the first issue. The latest two to five years of a journal may not be available, but this is a great source for older articles not included in such indexes as Academic Search Premier. Subject areas include African American Studies, Education, History, Language & Literature, and Sociology.

  • Project Muse

    Provides full text access to a variety of arts and humanities journals, including American Literature and Callaloo. Caution: Your search may return citations for journals we do not have access to; use Information Delivery Services to get copies of these.

Indexes & Bibliographic Databases

These databases and indexes will provide citation information (author, article title, periodical name, volume & issue, date) for articles, essays, book chapters, dissertations, and other materials. You can then use that information to see if the item is in the MU Libraries by searching the library catalog, or--if the item is not owned by us-- order it from another library using the Information Delivery Services (IDS).

  • MLA Bibliography

    The main database for language and literature, from the Modern Language Association. The database goes back to 1963 (although the print version starts in 1921). Covers almost 4,000 journals and series, books, working papers, and proceedings, in a variety of languages. You can use the Advanced search and look for "children's literature", "children's fiction", and "children's poetry" in the Descriptors(DE) field.

  • America: History and Life

    Good source for scholarly articles with a historical focus published since 1964. Covers articles, book and media reviews, and dissertations on the history and culture of the United States and Canada.

  • Historical Abstracts

    Good source for scholarly historical articles (on topics outside the United States and Canada) since 1450. Published since 1954, it covers over 2,000 journals and includes citations to articles, book and media reviews, and dissertations.

  • Sociological Abstracts

    Provides abstracts and citations to articles in over 1,700 serial titles (as well as books, book chapters, dissertations, and conference papers) in sociology and its complementary fields, back to 1963.

  • Book Review Index [ Ref. Z1035 .A1B6 ]

    Citations to book reviews in over 600 journals and magazines published from 1965 to the present. Books for children and young adults are specially marked.

  • Book Review Digest: an index to reviews of current books. [ Ref. Z1219 .C95 ]

    The standard index to reviews in almost 100 general interest magazines and selected journals in the social sciences and humanities. Besides bibliographic and subject heading information, each entry gives a brief summary of the work and short extracts from the reviews. Index of titles and subjects, including "Children's literature" and "Children's poetry". Note the requirements for being listed: the work must be in English and published in the US, Canada, or Great Britain; and fiction must have at least three reviews within 18 months of publication.

Selected Periodicals

Click on the Periodical Title to see MU library holdings in all formats. (Peer-reviewed) designates periodicals that are scholarly and use a pre-publication review process. "Refereed" is another term used to indicate these scholarly reviewed periodicals.

Print Subscriptions

The following periodicals are available in print format in the MU Libraries; online access is also available in many cases. This is not an exhaustive list of journals you may find useful, just a starting point.

  • Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (Peer-reviewed) PER/Z1037 .A1C4

    Gives bibliographic information, critical annotations, an indication of the suitable age/grade level, and a quality ranking. A major source for librarians, teachers, and students.

  • The Horn Book PER/Z1037 .A1H5

    One of the first to consider children's literature seriously. Interviews, personal essays, and historical essays on authors and illustrators. Book reviews are grouped by age level and format.

  • School Library Journal PER/Z675 .S3S2

    The main magazine for school library media specialists and children's/young adult librarians in public libraries. Covers all aspects of school librarianship and reading.

  • Language Arts (Peer-reviewed) Reading Room/LB1576 .A1E6 & Media & MUGC

    The journal of the Elementary Section of the National Council of Teachers of English, this title discusses all aspects of language arts learning and teaching. Each issues has a theme (e.g. "Sense of Self").

Online Periodicals

Many periodicals dealing with literature, both popular and scholarly titles, are indexed within online databases such as Academic Search Premier, MLA Bibliography and Project Muse. Often, only selected years are available, and all articles from an issue may not be full-text. To search for articles from a particular journal within the database, limit the search by using "journal name" or "title". Among the titles dealing with children's literature are:

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Reference Sources

  • Children's Literature: a guide to information sources. Ref. PN1009 .A1D46
  • Oxford Companion to Children's Literature. Ref. PN1008.5 .C37 1984
  • Cambridge Guide to Children's Books in English. MUGC/Ref. PR990 .C36 2001
  • Kay E. Vandergrift. Children's Literature Theory, Research, and Teaching. E-Book
  • Newbery and Caldecott Medalists and Honor Book Winners: bibliographies and resource material through 1991. 2nd edition. Ref. Z1037 .A2B76 1992
  • The Newbery and Caldecott Awards: a guide to the medal and honor books. 2nd edition. Ref. Z1037 .A2N474 1992
  • Newbery Medal Books: 1922-1955: with the author's acceptance papers...chiefly from the Horn Book Magazine. Morrow Stacks Z1035 .A13M5
  • Caldecott Medal Books: 1938-1957: with the artist's acceptance papers...chiefly from the Horn Book Magazine. Morrow Stacks Z1035 .A2M49
  • The Newbery and Caldecott Medal Books: 1956-1965: with acceptance papers...chiefly from the Horn Book Magazine. Ref. Z1037 .A2K5 1965 cop.2
  • The Newbery and Caldecott Medal Books: 1966-1975: with acceptance papers...chiefly from the Horn Book Magazine. Ref. Z1037 .A2N48
  • Children's Books: Awards & Prizes. 1985 edition. Ref. Z1037 .A2C52
  • The Newbery Companion: booktalk and related materials. E-Book
  • Picture Books for Children. 3rd edition Ref. Z1037 .C565 1990
  • A to Zoo: subject access to children's picture books. 5th edition Ref. Z1037 .L715 1998
  • Best Books for Children: preschool through grade 6. 6th edition Ref. Z1037 .B547 1998
  • Best Books for Junior High Readers. Ref. Z1037 .B546 1991
  • Children's Catalog. Ref. Z1037 .W76 2001 & Ref. Z1037 .W76 2002 Suppl.

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Biographical Sources

A good starting point for biographical information is the Biography and Genealogy Master Index (Ref. Z5305 .U5B56 1980), which indexes a vast assortment of sources including general titles such as Who's Who in America, Who Was Who in America, Who's Who, Who Was Who, and the New York Times Biographical Service. More specialized resources include:

  • Something About the Author. vols. 1-131. Ref. PN451 .S6
  • Black Authors & Illustrators: a biographical dictionary. Ref. PN1009 .A1R63 1992
  • Twentieth-Century Children's Writers. 3rd edition Ref. PN1009 .A1T9 1989
  • Yesterday's Authors of Books for Children: facts...about authors and illustrators...from early times to 1960. Ref. PN451 .Y4
  • Popular Nonfiction Authors for Children: a biographical and thematic guide. Ref. PS490 .W97 1998 and E-Book
  • The 100 Most Popular Young Adult Authors: biographical sketches and bibliographies. Drinko Stacks PS490 .D74 1997 and E-Book
  • 100 Most Popular Picture Book Authors and Illustrators: biographic sketches and bibliographies. Drinko Stacks and MUGC Stacks PS490 .M395 2000
  • 100 Most Popular Children's Authors: biographical sketches and bibliographies. E-Book
  • American Writers for Children before 1900. (Dictionary of Literary Biography, v.42) Ref. PS21 .D5 vol.42
  • American Writers for Children, 1900-1960. (Dictionary of Literary Biography, v.22) Ref. PS21 .D5 vol.22
  • American Writers for Children, since 1960. (Dictionary of Literary Biography, v.61) Ref. PS21 .D5 vol.61
  • British Children's Writers, 1800-1880.. (Dictionary of Literary Biography, v.163) Ref. PS21 .D5 vol.163
  • British Children's Writers, 1880-1914. (Dictionary of Literary Biography, v.141) Ref. PS21 .D5 vol.141
  • British Children's Writers, 1914-1960. (Dictionary of Literary Biography, v.160) Ref. PS21 .D5 vol.160
  • British Children's Writers since 1960: First Series. (Dictionary of Literary Biography, v.161) Ref. PS21 .D5 vol.161
  • Wilson Biographies Plus Illustrated

    Contains more than 72,000 biographies and obituaries and more than 20,000 photographs. Many entries have full text, abstracts, and citations from H. W. Wilson databases. Searchable in a number of ways, including name, profession, place of origin, gender, and race/ethnicity.

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Internet Resources

The Web provides a tremendous number of resources for research on children's literature. It is essential that you use a good search engine (such as Teoma, HotBot, Alta Vista, Excite, and Google) or a directory site (such as the Librarian's Index to the Internet, INFOMINE, About.com, and the Scout Report). Some interesting and useful web sites (in no particular order) are listed here; the next section lists gateway sites.

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Internet Gateways & Collections

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Prepared by Timothy A. Balch, Reference Services Librarian. Suggestions for improvement welcomed.
Updated September 5, 2002

 

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