Subject Guide to Children's Literature   Tags: adoption, bullying, children's literature, concepts, cooking, disabilities, early childhood education, fairy tales-folklore, health, holidays, informational books, multicultural, picture books, poetry, sullivan-lexington  

This guide is organized by various subjects or topics found in the juvenile collection. Each subject tab lists some of the children's books, alphabetically by title, that the library has on the topic, and the call numbers for the books. The tab also contains a search box for NoveList, a literature database that includes books owned by the library and activity guides to help teachers use children's books.

The websites tab includes links to websites that are useful to teachers.

If you need any assistance with finding children's books, finding websites, or using this guide, please ask one of the librarians. We will be glad to help you.

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The Sullivan University Library and Learning Resource Center in Lexington has organized the juvenile collection, which includes the children's books, using the Dewey Decimal system. Each book has what is called a call number on it to help students, faculty, and the librarians find the book.

Most of the books in the juvenile section have a call number that looks like this:

JF

A

So why does the book have a JF and an A? The JF stands for juvenile fiction, and the A stands for the first letter of the author's (the writer of the book) last name. This means that the book is in the juvenile fiction section of the library, and that the author of the book has a name that begins with A, like Allen, Aylesworth, or Arnold.

The books are organized alphabetically by the last names of the authors. If you want to find a book written by Eric Carle, for example The Very Hungry Caterpillar, you will need to go to the JF C section (since Carle begins with a C) and look at the spine of the book for the author's name and the book's title.

The board books, which are books made out of sturdy board material so that the youngest child can open and enjoy them without tearing the book's pages, are shelved at the very end of the children's book sections. The board books still have the call numbers that start with a JF though.

Some of the books in the juvenile collection have different call numbers on them that have a combination of numbers and letters.

Here is an example:

R

025.55

V291c

These numbers and letters are part of the Dewey Decimal system too. They just describe the book and its location in a different way. Nearly all of the books that have the numbers and letter spine labels are reference books, meaning they have to stay in the library. These reference books have lists of children's books, ways to use children's book with children, and suggested resources to help teachers learn more about children's literature.

If you need any help locating a specific book or several titles about a particular subject, please don't hesitate to ask one of the librarians. We will be glad to assist you.

Children's literature is written for children to give them both, "pleasure and understanding" (Lukens, 1999). Those who select literature for children need to remember the elements of literature such as: style, point of view, plot, setting, and characterization, which are a part of adult literature, because those elements determine how well the book is written and possible methods of using the book with children.

When considering picture books, a distinct set of books for children, one must also note the type and quality of the illustrations, as the illustrations aid in telling the story. If the illustrations do not match the text or are inappropriate to the mood of the text, the book will not be as effective in reaching children.

Bibliography

Lukens, R. (1999). A Critical Handbook of Children's Literature. New York: Longman.

Raines, S. & Isbell, R. (1994). Stories: Children's Literature in Early Education. Albany, NY: Delmar Publishers, Inc.

A picture book is a book written for children where the pictures tell the story. Many children's books have illustrations in them, but in picture books the illustrations or photographs are essential to the book. For more information about picture books check out the following resources. 

A to Zoo: Subject Access to Children's Picture Books by Carolyn and John Lima; R 011.62 L732a 2010

Companion to American Children's Picture Books by Connie Ann Kirk J 028.5343 K 591c

If you have any trouble finding one of these books or if you want help locating picture books, just ask one of the librarians. We will be glad to assist you.