Children's Book Collection Database
Children's Book Search Page

Searching the Children's Book Collection

Available Search Fields
Author Search
Title Search
Pull-Down Menus
Book Type
Awards

Available Search Fields

Typing a keyword or term in the search box will search for that word or phrase in the following fields:
   Author
   Illustrator
   Title
   Publisher
   
[Subject searching is currently not available.]

Author/Illustrator Search

• Use last name only for author or illustrator searches. Searching for the first and last name together will not retrieve any results.

   Correct: "Seuss"

   Incorrect: "Dr. Seuss" or "Seuss, Dr."

Title Search

• Input one word, part or all of the title. Do NOT include stop words like "a" or "the" at the beginning of the title. DO include them in the middle of the title.

   Correct: "Secret Garden"
                "Year Down Yonder

   Incorrect: "The Secret Garden"
                  "Year Down Yonder, A"

Pull-Down Menus

• The pull-down menus let you limit your search for books of a particular type or for books that have won awards.
• If you choose a limit and enter a term in the search box, then you will retrieve results that contain your term AND fall within the limit(s).
• Use the RESET button to clear your search terms and limits before doing a new search.

Book Type

• Picture Book
  The ALA distingushes picture books from other books with illustrations as "one that essentially provides the child with a visual experience. A picture book has a collective unity of story-line, theme, or concept, developed through the series of pictures of which the book is comprised."
  
• Fiction
  Choosing this option will retrieve books classified in the system as "fiction."
  
• Non-Fiction
  Choosing this option will retrieve books classified in the system as "non-fiction."
  

Awards

• Caldecott
  Named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph J. Caldecott, this medal is awarded to the artist who has created the most distinguished American Picture Book for Children published in the United States during the preceding year.
  
• Newbery
  The Newbery Medal was named for eighteenth-century British bookseller John Newbery. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.
  
• Coretta Scott King
  The Coretta Scott King Award is presented annually by the Coretta Scott King Task Force of the American Library Association's Social Responsibilities Round Table. Recipients are authors and illustrators of African descent whose distinguished books promote an understanding and appreciation of the "American Dream."
  
• Pura Belpré
  The Pura Belpré Award, established in 1996, is presented to a Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth.
  
• ALSC Notable
  Each year ALSC identifies the best of the best in children's books. As applied to children's books, notable should be thought to include books of especially commendable quality, books that exhibit venturesome creativity, and books of fiction, information, poetry and pictures for all age levels (through age 14) that reflect and encourage children's interests in exemplary ways.

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