Guide to Searching Children's and

Young Adult Literature

Search Strategies     Curriculum Guides      Reference Books      Websites               Iowa Authors/Illustrators         Author/Illustrator Information Sources    

Biographies are factual books written about people; autobiographies are books people write about themselves. Most children's books about people are biographies. Some books are collective biographies-books about more than one person. An example is Women Explorers of the Air: Harriet Quimby, Bessie Coleman, Amelia Earhart, Beryl Markham, Jacqueline Cochran. Others are individual biographies about one person, such as Up in the Air: The Story of Bessie Coleman.

To browse the shelves:

• Most collective biographies can be found in non-fiction in the 920's.
• Most individual biographies can be found in 921, alphabetically by the last name of the person the book is about.
• Some biographies may be shelved in the Dewey Decimal sections for the various professions, ie. Scientists (500's), Inventors (600's), etc.

Search the Curriculum Lab Catalog:

SEARCH TYPE : subject heading - enter one of the following words or phrases:

If you know the name of the person in whom you are interested, perform a subject search by entering his/her last name. Otherwise, use a profession or group name as your subject search term.  Many subjects are also followed by the subheading "biography."

Example:

Curriculum Guides:

Reference Books:

Websites:

Amelia Bloomer Project  

http://libr.org/ftf/bloomer.html

The Feminist Task Force of the Social Responsibilities Round Table (ALA) selects annual lists of titles for young people, including biographies of women who shattered the limitations placed on women.

Carol Hurst's Children's Literature Web Guide

http://www.carolhurst.com/booklists/biographies.html

Section II :

Biographies and Information About

Children's Authors, Illustrators and Poets

• To find information ABOUT an individual, perform a SUBJECT search,               Last name, First.
• For books BY an author or illustrator, perform an AUTHOR search,                   Last name, First.

Bibliographies:

Authors and Illustrators with Iowa Connections - found on our Bibliographies page under "Literature" , this index identifies individual authors, illustrators and their works.

Reference Books:

Websites:

Meet the Authors and Illustrators

http://www.childrenslit.com/childrenslit/mai.html

This page is part of the Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database (CLCD) which is linked to the Curriculum Lab Home Page under “External Databases.” It provides an alphabetical list of links to individual web pages and information about the authors and illustrators. You can find it from the CLCD Home page; click on the menu in the red strip for “Children’s Literature,” then on the the yellow strip for “Authors/Illustrators.”

Author Name Pronunciation Guide

http://www.teachingbooks.net/pronunciations.cgi

A collection of brief recordings of authors & illustrators saying their names.

Listen as authors and illustrators introduce themselves, pronounce their own name and share origins/stories behind their name.

TOP

Picture Storybooks/Concepts/Wordless  |  Folklore/Traditional Literature | Poetry/Verse  |  Modern Fantasy/Science Fiction   |  Historical Fiction  | Contemporary Realistic Fiction |  Biographies/Autobiographies | 

Informational Books  | Multicultural  | References and Sources