Children's and young adult literature

Find Books by Subject

Check out our Children's and Young Adult Literature Collection lists in the Worldcat Local catalogue to find more lists of books by subject. Need more help? Contact the Information Desk or take a look at our Library Catalogue Search Tips.

Sources for Background Information

Dictionaries, encyclopedias

• The Continuum encyclopedia of children’s literature
• International companion encyclopedia of children’s literature
• Oxford encyclopedia of children’s literature (Online)
• The Oxford companion to children’s literature

Search the Library Catalogue

Use the title and author search when you wish to locate a specific title. Use the basic word(s) anywhere or advanced keyword search in the library catalogue to browse for subjects. You can search using words like - africa, africa?, sahar?, etc.

Search the Library Catalogue

Search for journal articles in databases

• Academic Search Complete
• Book Review Digest Plus
• Book Review Digest Retro 1905-1982
• CBCA Complete
• Children's Literature Comprehensive Database
• Education Full Text
• ERIC
• Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts (EBSCO)
• Library Literature FT (EBSCO)
• MLA International Bibliography

Research an Author

• Canadian children's books : a critical guide to authors and illustrators
• Cyclopedia of young adult authors
• The essential guide to children’s books and their creators
• LION (Literature Online)
• 100 most popular picture book authors and illustrators : biographical sketches and bibliographies
• Something About the Author - Provides information about the lives and works of authors and illustrators for children and young adults.

Selected Electronic Journals

• ALAN Review (Assembly on Literature for Adolescents of the National Council of Teachers)
• Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
• Canadian children's literature. Littérature canadienne pour la jeunesse.
• CM Magazine: Canadian review of materials
• Children's Literature Association Quarterly
• English Journal
• The Horn Book Magazine
• Journal of adolescent & adult literacy : a journal from the International Reading Association
• The Lion and the Unicorn
• Voice of youth advocates : VOYA

Selected Internet Sites

• Canadian Children's Books 1799-1939 - guide to the special collection at The University of British Columbia Library
• Canadian Children's Book Centre - a not-for-profit organization that promotes, supports and encourages the reading, writing and illustrating of Canadian books for children and teens
• Canadian Children's Literature - index to the journal Canadian Children's Literature
• Carol Hurst's Children's Literature Site - a collection of book reviews, ideas on ways to use books in the classroom, and collections of books and activities about particular subjects, curriculum areas, themes and professional topics.
• Centre for Research in Young People's Texts and Cultures - based out of the University of Winnepeg, "supports scholarly inquiry into literary, media, and other cultural texts for children and youth."
• Communication-Jeunesse - Communication-Jeunesse is a nonprofit organization which supports Quebec literature and French-Canadian youth.
• Database of Award Winning Children's Literature - use to create a tailored reading list of quality children's literature or to find out if a book has won one of the indexed awards
• International Children's Digital Library - a free collection of over 800 children's books from around the world
• Children's Picture Book Database - abstracts of over 5000 children's picture books, including topics, concepts, and skills - useful for designing literature-based thematic units for all subjects
• Young Adult Library Services Association - a great resource for booklists and YAL awards