Children's Literature
Reviews, evaluation, banned books,
online resources, awards
While there is much written about children's literature, finding criticism about your particular author or criticism about a particular book is sometimes difficult. The most useful resources held at the CSUF Pollak Library are listed here with some descriptive information to help you decide which are the most appropriate resources. Search techniques and examples are sometimes included.
Reviews:
Reviews are generally published within 18 months of the first publication of a book. Subsequent editions are rarely reviewed. The year first published is especially important in resources such as the print version of Book Review Digest that are published annually.
 | Book Review Digest
Ref Z1219 .C96 (see also online version) Summary and selected abridged (partial full text) reviews for English language fiction and non-fiction first published in 1905 or later. The last cumulative index covers 1905-1974. The online version indexes 1983-. |
| Book Review Index Ref Z1035 .A1 B7 1966-. Since 1979. No full text. BRI is published annually. No cumulative index. |
| Children's Book Review Index Ref Z1037 .A1 C475 1965- . No full text. From Gale publishers, a comprehensive listing of reviews of children and young adult literature. Listed by author or illustrator. |
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Children's Literature
Comprehensive Database
Online Full text reviews. Sponsored by Barnes and Noble, entries include a brief synopsis, awards and links in addition to the reviews. Incomplete - some older titles are included, reviews (green dot) start in the 1990's. |
| Children's Literature Review Ref PN1009.A1 C5139 Full text. Gale publishers. History and criticism covering current and historic children's literature with excerpts from original reviews. Your best source for older books such as Tom Sawyer, Secret Garden and the original Hardy Boys. The blue paperback index lists all titles in the series. |
| 19th Century Reader's Guide to Periodical
Literature,1890-1899 Ref AI3 .R3 and Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature, 1990-1994 Ref A13 .R4 No full text. Index to popular literature from 1890-1994. Use for any publications prior to 1905. Search by author. From 1976 (vol.36), book reviews are listed at the end of each volume. |
Journals
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Booklist Periodicals Z1035 .A4912 Magazine of recommended library materials with suggested reading ages. Short (100-500 words) reviews for books of all types and for all ages. Indexed in Book Review Digest, Academic Search Elite |
| Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
Periodicals Z1037 A1 Journal of reviews of young adult and children's books. Indexed in Book Review Digest |
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Choice Periodicals Z1035 A1 C5 Reviews of new academic titles. Indexed in Book Review Digest, Academic Search Elite |
| Horn Book Periodicals Z1037 A1 H4 Articles and reviews of young adult and children's books. Indexed in Book Review Digest, Academic Search Elite |
| School Library Journal
Periodicals Z 675 S3 S2 Book reviews for K-12. Indexed in Book Review Digest, Academic Search Elite |
Evaluation/Analysis/Biography:
| Something About the Author Ref PN451 .S6 Another in the Gale Literary Index titles. Use the online edition to the Gale's Literary Index . Each odd numbered volume includes a cumulative index by author to all authors in the SATA series. The brown paperback "Title Index to Contemporary Authors", ref PN771 .C56, lists any book mentioned in any of the Gale series. Extensive biographical and autobiographical sketches of children's authors and illustrators of all eras. |
| Beacham's Guide to Literature for Young Adults
Ref PN1009 .A1 B35 A Gale multi-volume collection of analytical essays on and study activities for fictional and biographical works written for young adults. Includes a short biography for the author and discussion of settings, themes and characters, literary qualities and social sensitivity. |
| International Companion Encyclopedia of Children's Literature
Ref PN1008.5 I57 2004 2 vols. Invaluable scholarly encyclopedia with signed chapters and an extensive bibliography for each topic. V.1 covers theory; forms & genres; critical approaches. V.2 covers contexts (including censorship, children's book design, children's book publishing); national and international (by country or region). |
| The Newbery and Caldecott Awards :
A Guide
to the Medal and
Honor
Books Ref PN1009 .A1 N49 2002 Some minimal analysis follows the plot summary. All the winners and runners-up since 1922 for the Newbery and 1938 for the Caldecott awards. |
| The Newbery & Caldecott Medal Books Ref PN1009 .A1z N48: 1956-65, 1966-75 PN1009 .A1z N49: 1976-85, 1986-2000. Each entry contains the plot summary and analysis of the winning book and author/illustrator acceptance speech and biography. Excellent for background. |
Journals
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Children's Literature PN1009.A1 C5x (5th floor south) and electronically from Project Muse. 1972- Annual, scholarly articles. Indexed in Academic Search Elite, MLA |
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Children's Literature in Education [Electronic] 1997- . Scholarly articles on children' literature. Although education is a focus, articles are wide-ranging critical analysis of genres, subjects and titles. Indexed in Children's Book Review Index, Web of Science |
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Lion and the Unicorn [Electronic] 1995- through Project Muse. Most issues are theme or genre based with scholarly articles on all aspects of children's literature. International in scope. Indexed in Children's Book Review Index, MLA, ERIC, Web of Science |
Banned:
| Banned Books Resource Guide (annual) Ref Z658 .U5 B37 American Library Association (ALA) annual publication that includes all titles challenged, where, when, why, results. Also relevant court cases to First Amendment issues. | ||||
| Banned in the USA: A Reference Guide to Book
Censorship in Schools and Public Libraries Ref Z658 .U5 F64 2002 Each chapter cover major book banning incidents; the laws on book banning; banned author articles; the most frequently banned or challenged books. | ||||
| Hit List -
| ||||
| Literature Suppressed on Social Grounds Ref Z658 .U5 S69 Part of the Banned Books series (other titles cover Religious, Political, Sexual Grounds). Substantive articles on specific titles. Social covers most of the children's literature titles. | ||||
| Trust Your Children: Voices Against Censorship in
Children's Literature 4th floor south Z1037 .A1 W38 1998 Brief interviews with 10 authors (Blume, Klein, Cormier, Miles, Mazer, Hentoff, Dahl, Keyes, Sendak, Steptoe), and nine others in the publishing business, discussing book censorship in the US since the 1970s. | ||||
| Censorship: A World Encyclopedia Ref Z657 .C393 2001 4 vols. World view of censorship in all forms. Search by author. Good, substantive article on the history and issues surrounding the censuring of a specific author and their work. Most major US challenges are included. |
Journals
| Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom Periodicals Z 671 N47 All aspects of intellectual freedom issues for librarians. The Newsletter includes articles on book challenge incidents and issues and the latest legal developments in state and federal law . "Targets of the censor", "Censorship Dateline" and "Success Stories" list challenges. Indexed: Library Literature, The annual index for each volume is published in the following volume, issue 3 e.g. The index for volume 51 is found in volume 52, issue 3. |
Web Pages
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Jumping Off the Banned-Wagon
http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/college/nwsevnts/exhibits/banned99/ UCLA College Library Exhibits in the Rotunda, Fall Quarter Exhibit September 24 - October 29, 1999 List of some of the most frequently challenged books in the 1990s - with brief report on where, why, and the conclusion of challenge. Not updated. |
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American Library Association Banned Books
http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/bannedbooksweek/bannedbooksweek.htm History, top 100 titles (not all children's books), legal arguments and other issues surrounding intellectual freedom and book banning. |
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Censored http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/bannedbooksweek/bannedbooksweek.htm Unofficial site, with links to organizations and articles dealing with censorship and book banning.
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Databases & Indexes:
There are several databases useful for finding articles and reviews but all have limitations, so don't rely solely on them. Use SFX links to see of the library has the full text of an article or review, either in print or online. Select the database you need from the Databases A-Z list on the Library homepage (the link is under "Quick Links").
| Book Review Digest
(full text) All the reviews, usually abridged, and summaries as originally published in the print BRD. Coverage is for English language fiction and non-fiction first published 1983 or later. Click on the linked No. in the Reviewed Item line, to confirm that you have all reviews. Also available in print in reference. | ||||
| Children's Literature
Comprehensive Database (full text) Annotated in Review section. | ||||
| Gale's Literary
Index (not full text) An extremely useful index to the several Gale publisher literature series held in the Pollak Library. Includes all dates covered by the individual series such as Something About the Author, Contemporary Authors and Children's Literature Review. Search by title to find all entries in the various series that discuss the work; search by author for more comprehensive information about the author and all works. | ||||
| Literature Resource
Center (full text) Gale collected articles from several of its series to provide an online overview of an author or literary topic. Each entry includes the following sections: Biographies; Literary Criticism, Articles & Work Overviews; Bibliographies; Additional Resources; Literary Historical Timeline. These articles are found in the print volumes in the reference section, but entries are not comprehensive, so check Gale's Literary Index (accessible from this database in the top green row of buttons) for all possible articles. All dates. | ||||
| ABC-Lit: An Index to Children's Literature Scholarship
(index, no
full-text) Available for free on the World Wide Web. Indexes a limited number of children's literature journals, including the MLA journal Children's Literature. | ||||
| Academic Search Elite
(partial full text) The most-used database
for popular-press and scholarly articles. Only covers articles published since
1980, so if you need to use other resources for earlier reviews. Author or
book analysis might be found by searching by
| ||||
| Proquest Newspapers
or Newsstand (full text) Newspaper articles going back to various dates. Includes the Los Angeles Times, the Orange County Register, New York Times Book Review. Many small regional newspapers are included.
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| Lexis-Nexis
(full text) Newspaper articles going back to the 1980s. | ||||
| Library Literature
(abstracts-only) Good for reviews, banned and challenged books and issues of intellectual freedom. | ||||
| ERIC
(abstracts-only) Good for issues relating to the development and process of reading, lesson plans and other educational aspects of books. | ||||
| MLA (abstracts-only) Scholarly articles on all aspects of literature; includes children's literature. Not a primary source for reviews. |
Awards (Selected):
Bibliography
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Children's Books: Awards and Prizes
Older editions (1972, 1992, 1996) in print, latest online (click on Access on Internet). Comprehensive listing of U.S. and international children's literature awards (primarily English-language awards, but a few other European languages are included). Updated quarterly. |
American Library Association
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Newbery Medal and Newbery Honor
http://www.ala.org/ala/alsc/awardsscholarships/literaryawds/newberymedal/newberymedal.htm
Annual award by the Association for Library Service to Children
(division of the American Library Association) for the "most
distinguished contribution to American literature for children".
Since 1922. |
|
Caldecott
http://www.ala.org/ala/alsc/awardsscholarships/literaryawds/caldecottmedal/caldecottmedal.htm
Annual award by the Association for Library Service to Children (division of the American Library Association) for the "most distinguished American picture book for children". Since 1938. |
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Coretta Scott King Award www.ala.org/ala/emiert/corettascottkingbookawards/corettascott.htm Established in 1970 to commemorate the lives and work of Dr. Martin Luther King and Coretta Scott King, and also to "promote, recognize, and celebrate the continued publication of quality literature by African-American children's authors and illustrators." |
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Pura Belpre Medal http://www.ala.org/ala/alsc/awardsscholarships/literaryawds/belpremedal/belprmedal.htm Established in 1996 and named for the first Latina librarian at the New York Public Library. Awarded biennially, this award seeks to recognize Latino/a writers and illustrators "whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth." |
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Other ALA awards for children's literature
http://www.ala.org/ala/alsc/awardsscholarships/literaryawds/literaryrelated.htm |
California Awards
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California Young Reader
Medals http://www.cla-net.org/awards/cyrm.php Authors (and illustrators for Primary-level books) are nominated and voted for by children. Primary, Intermediate, Middle School, and Young Adult categories (K-12). Annual since 1974. |
| Southern California Council on Literature for Children and Young People http://www.childrensliteraturecouncil.org/awards.htm Given for outstanding children's books to Southern California authors and illustrators. Since 1961. |
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Commonwealth Club of California Book Awards
http://www.commonwealthclub.org/features/caBookAwards/2004/index.html Honors books "with exceptional literary merit". Two children's categories: fiction or nonfiction up to age 10, and fiction or nonfiction for children 11-16. Annual since 1990. |
Other Notable Awards
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Asian Pacific American
Award for Literature http://www.apalaweb.org/awards/awards.htm New award for 2004: Books chosen by or about Asian Pacific Americans published between 2001 and 2003. Sponsored by the Asian / Pacific American Librarians Association. |
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Ezra Jack
Keats http://www.ezra-jack-keats.org/programs/nyplawards.htm Annual award by the New York Public Library and the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation to new writers an illustrators of picture books for age 9 and under. "books that portray the universal qualities of childhood, a strong and supportive family, and the multicultural nature of our world". Since 1985 (biennial), annual since 1999. |
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Hans Christian Anderson Award
http://www.ibby.org/Seiten/04_andersen.htm Biannual award by the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) for "a living author and illustrator whose complete works have made a lasting contribution to children's literature". Since 1956, 1966 for illustration. |
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Sydney
Taylor Book Award http://www.jewishlibraries.org/ajlweb/awards/st_books.htm Established in 1968 to "recognize distinguished contributions to Jewish children's literature". Two awards are given, one for older readers, and one for younger readers. |
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Tomas
Rivera Mexican-American Children's Book Award
http://www.education.txstate.edu/oldsite/rivera/Mainpage.html Annual award "to the author/illustrator of the most distinguished book for children and young adults that authentically reflects the lives and experiences of Mexican Americans in the United States". Since 1995. |