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Children's Literature and Librarianship: Finding Youth Books

Finding Children's Books at Simmons Library

Cover image for Hair Love by Matthew A. Cherry, illustrated by Vashti Harrison

Hair Love

by Matthew A. Cherry, illus. Vashti Harrison

Cover art for Ways to Grow Love

Ways to Grow Love

by Renée Watson ; illus. by Nina Mata

Cover art for Digging for Words

Digging for Words: José Alberto Gutiérrez and the Library He Built

by Angela Burke Kunkel ; illus. by Paola Escobar

Cover art for Black Is a Rainbow Color

Black Is a Rainbow Color

by Angela Joy, illus. Ekua Holmes

Cover art for Sisters of the Neversea

Sisters of the Neversea

by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Cover art for Slip

Slip

by Marika McCoola, illus. Aatmaja Pandya

Cover art for Hands Up

Hands Up!

by Breanna J. McDaniel ; illus. by Shane W. Evans

Searching the Library Catalog

Are you looking for a primary text in Children's Literature, such as a picturebook, poetry, or Young Adult fiction?  The Library Catalog is a great place to start looking for works by individual authors, works in a particular genre or works that focus on a particular topic. 

 

 

 

 


To find a particular title or author...

...use the dropdown arrow in the catalog search box to select Title or Author.  Then type the title of the book or name of the author you want into the search box and click search. Keep in mind that the Library may have multiple editions of books, more than one copy of the same edition, or multiple formats of books.  Use the information in the catalog to find the editions and formats you need.

Screenshot of the Library Catalog basic search. The Fields drop down menu is open with Title selected.

 

 

 

 

 


To search children's books by keyword...

...use the Catalog's Advanced Search to search for one or more simple keywords such as "school" or "disability" and specify the children's collections, illustration, and/or publication date range that you need.

Screenshot of the Library Catalog advanced search. The first search box is highlighted as well as the "Add Search Field" button with a note saying "Add a field if you need more room for keywords."

Screenshot of the Library Catalog advanced search Location field. The Children's Literature-relevant locations are highlighted.          Screenshot of the Library Catalog advanced search Illustrated and Year of Publication fields.

 


To search for items in the Knapp Collection of Early Children's Books...

...use the dropdown arrow in the catalog search box to select Call Number. Then type "Knapp" into the search box and click search. Every item in the Knapp collection has the word Knapp in its call number, so this search will bring up the entire collection. You can also use the Advanced Catalog Search to add search terms like "alphabet."

Screenshot of the Library Catalog basic search. The Fields drop down menu is open with Call Number selected and the word "Knapp" is typed in the search box.

 

Screenshot of the Library Catalog record for A: Apple Pie by Kate Greenaway. The word "Knapp" in the book's call number is highlighted.

Children's Books by Topic

Below is a quick guide to finding a children's book by topic, author and title in the library catalog. Remember, this is just a quick guide, so if you can't find what you're looking for, please ask a librarian for help!


To find children's books on a particular topic, use a simple keyword search such as "school" or "parents." On the next page, Narrow Search to the Children's Literature Collection under Location

 

 

Other Ways to Find Books

Borrow from Other Libraries

Research & Digitized Collections