San Juan College Library

The San Juan College Library is organized using the Library of Congress Classification. PZ is the call number assigned to children's fiction. Nonfiction children's books are assigned classification numbers that correspond to their subject area (i.e. books on "reptiles" will be classified as QL 644.2). Books for children can be found in the two study rooms of the SJC Library.

Study Room A: picture books and children's nonfiction
Study Room B: novels and award winners (Newbery and Caldecott), children's magazines

Some children's material may also be found in the Spanish Collection and the Southwest Room.

The following is a list of subject headings you can use to search for children's literature.

Special subject headings have been added to the catalog records to help identify books for children. Enter the following terms into the library catalog and hit the Subject button below the phrase: "Search for keyword(s) in."

There are several important prizes for children's literature. The Randolph Caldecott Medal is awarded to illustrators of picture books. The Newbery Medal is given to authors of children's literature. The Michael L. Printz Award is given to the author of an outstanding book for young adults. All of these prizes are awarded annually. Additional "Honor" books are selected in each category as well. The Coretta Scott King Award is given to an African-American author or illustrator who promotes understanding and an appreciation of the culture and contributions of all people.

If you are looking for recipients of any of these awards, enter the following terms and search the catalog by Keyword.

Books about children's literature, reading, and literacy can be found in the PN, LB, and Z sections of both the circulating and reference collections. The following subject headings are good places to begin a search of the library catalog.

Reference Books Examples

Barr, Catherine, editor, Reading in series : a selection guide to books for children. Ref Z1037 .R36 1999 SJC

Gillespie, John T., editor, Best books for children : preschool through grade 6. Ref Z1037 .B547 1998 SJC

Gillespie John T., editor, Best books for young teen readers, grades 7 to 10. Ref Z1037 .B55 2000 SJC

Lima, Carolyn W. and John A. Lima, A to Zoo : subject access to children's picture books. Ref Z1037 .L715 1998 SJC

Lipson, Eden Ross, The New York times parent's guide to the best books for children. Ref PN1009.A1 L724 2000 SJC

Shilling, Caren, editor, Open the books and see all the people. Ref Z1037 .O63 2000 SJC

Silvey, Anita, editor, Children's books and their creators. Ref PN1009.A1 C5424 1995 SJC

Circulating Books Examples

Bialostok, Steven, Raising readers : helping your child to literacy. Z1037.A1 B52 1992 SJCWest

Clark, Beverly Lyon and Margaret R. Higonnet, Girls, boys, books, toys : gender in children's literature and culture. PN1009.5.S48 G57 2000 SJC

Cullinan, Bernice E., Let's read about-- : finding books they'll love to read. Z1037 .C9457 1993 SJCWest

Ellis, Sarah, From reader to writer : teaching writing through classic children's books. LB1576 .E445 2000 SJC

Fox, Mem. Reading magic: Why reading aloud to uor children will change their lives forever. LB1042 .F64 2001 SJC

Hart-Hewins, Linda and Jan Wells, Better books! Better readers! : how to choose, use, and level books for children in the primary grades. LB1525 .H26 1999 SJC

Hearne, Betsy, Choosing books for children : a commonsense guide. Z1037.A1 H42 1999 SJC

Jobe, Ron and Mary Dayton-Sakari, Reluctant readers : connecting students and books for successful reading experiences. LB1573 .J538 1999 SJC

Nelsen, Marjorie R. and Jan Nelsen-Parish, Peak with books : an early childhood resource for balanced literacy. Z1037.A1 N347 1999 SJCWest

Post, Arden DeVries with Marilyn Scott, Michelle Theberge, Celebrating children's choices : 25 years of children's favorite books. PN1009 .A1 2000 SJC

Spitz, Ellen Handler, Inside picture books. BF456.R2 S685 1999 SJC and SJCWest .

Zipes, Jack, Sticks and stones : the troublesome success of children's literature from Slovenly Peter to Harry Potter. PN1009.A1 Z57 2001 SJC

Book Reviews and Journal Articles

Book Reviews

The following journals in the SJC Library have reviews of children's literature:

Electronic Indexes and Abstracts

The following electronic databases are good places find references to articles about children's literature, authors and illustrators, and reading. Some of them provide the full-text of articles as well.

First Search:
Below are descriptions of some of the databases in First Search.

Education Abstracts: Contains abstracts from 550 publications in the field of education. Provides some full-text articles. Covers 1983 to the present. Abstracts from 1994.

ERIC: Contains annotated references to educational materials issued in the monthly Resources in Education (RIE) and to journal articles issued in the monthly Current Index to Journals in Education (CIJE). Provides some full-text articles. Covers 1966 to the present. If you find a reference to an ERIC Document (accession numbers that begin with ED instead of EJ), San Juan College West has these on microfiche from 1998 to the present. If you need an earlier year, ERIC microfiche can be obtained from InterLibrary Loan.

Library Lit: Includes records for selected library journals, books (more than 600 a year), conference proceedings, library school theses, pamphlets, and book reviews. Includes English and non-English records. Provides some full-text articles. Covers 1980 to the present.

Wilson Select and Wilson Select Plus: Provides full-text articles in education and other fields. Covers 1994 to the present.

Gale Literary Databases
Below are descriptions of some of the databases available from Gale. You can narrow your search to children's literature in each of the databases. You can also search all of these databases at once by selecting "Search All Literature Databases" after you have selected a database and arrived at the search screen.

Print Indexes (located near the Periodical back issues)

Additional Journals in the San Juan College Library Collection

The following journals also include material on children's and young adult literature and reading. If you need a title not listed below, please check with the Reference Librarian for assistance with InterLibrary Loan.

Children's Literature