ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


576 / C&RL News ■ July/August 2000

INTERNET RESOURCES

Children’s literature
Useful sites for teachers, librarians, and students

by Pam Werre and Ru Story-Huffman

I
n recent years, children’s literature has 
come to be considered a serious field of 
study. Information on the Internet has grea

increased access to materials in the field. Gen­
eral information on authors and supplemen­
tary teaching materials are readily available 
on the Web; a welcome addition for class­
room teachers and their students.

Still lacking, however, are the more schol­
arly critical and interpretative materials in 
children’s literature. The primary scholarly 
journals offer only limited content online or 
are available through subscription only. The 
serious student of children’s literature must 
not limit his or her research to Internet re­
sources only, but must continue to rely on 
the more traditional methods and resources 
for research.

This selective list of children’s literature 
sites should be of interest to the practicing 
teacher and librarian as well as to the stu­
dent and scholar of children’s literature. In­
tentionally excluded from this bibliography 
are Internet resources in the area of young 
adult and adolescent literature.

D isc u ssio n  g ro u p s
• CHILD_LIT. Child_Lit is a very active, 

unmoderated discussion group devoted to 
children’s literature. Created at Rutgers Uni­
versity in November 1993, Child_Lit is de­

tly 

signed for anyone with an interest in the com­
bination of children and literature. The list 
members are well versed in the field of 
children’s literature, which makes for an ex­
cellent source of information, contacts, and 
ideas. Access: http://w w w .rci.rutgers.edu/ 
-mjoseph/childlit/about.html. Access: Send 
th e  m e s s a g e  SUBSCRIBE CHILD_LIT 
<firstname> <lastname> to listserv@email. 
rutgers.edu.

• CHILDLIT-L. A relatively inactive elec­
tronic discussion list discussing all topics per­
taining to children’s literature. Access: Send 
th e  m e s s a g e  SUBSCRIBE CHILDLIT-L 
<firstname> <lastname> to listproc@lists. 
missouri.edu.

• r e c .a r ts .b o o k s.c h ild r e n s. An unmod­
erated newsgroup covering all aspects of 
children’s literature. According to the char­
ter, topics for discussion will include, but not 
be limited to, book reviews, authors, and 
discussion of issues raised by books. A FAQ 
for the new sgroup is available at h ttp :// 
www.cherryvalleybooks.com/RABC.htm.

C o m p re h e n siv e  site s
• C arol H urst’s C h ild ren ’s Literature 

Site. Designed with the teacher in mind, this 
site is useful to all interested in the use of 
children’s literature as an educational and 
entertaining tool. Features include book re-

About the authors

Pam Werre is public services librarian a t M oo rh ead  State University in M oorhead, Minnesota, e-mail: werrepa@mnstate.edu; 
Ru Story-Huffman is public services librarian a t  Cumberland College in Williamsburg, Kentucky, e-mail: rshuff@cc. cumber.edu

http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/
rutgers.edu
missouri.edu
http://www.cherryvalleybooks.com/RABC.htm
mailto:werrepa@mnstate.edu
mailto:rshuff@cc.cumber.edu


C&RL News ■  Ju ly/A ugust 2000 / 57 7

views, the use o f  child ren’s literature in the 
curriculum, authors and illustrators, and pro­
fession al topics. N ice features include the 
search  function and  e-m ail update option. 
Thou gh th e advertising on  the pag es may 
distract som e, the con ten t is useful and m er­
its attention. A cce ss : http://www.carolhurst. 
com/.

• C h ild re n ’s L iteratu re W eb Guide. This 
is th e prem iere site for child ren’s literature 
resources on  the Web. David K. Brow n, Uni­
versity o f  Calgary, has constructed a c o m ­
prehensive, w ell-organized, and search able 
site dedicated to child ren’s literature. Brow n 
includes resources for teachers, parents, sto­
rytellers, writers, and illustrators. A nice fea­
ture is the “Douchette Index o f Teaching Ideas 
for Children’s B o o k s,” an index to b o o k s and 
Web sites that contain useful teaching sug­
gestions. Also included is a list o f  child ren’s 
literature electronic journals and b o o k  review 
sources. A ccess: http://www.acs.ucalgary.ca/ 

~dkbrown/.

• ISLMC C h ild r e n ’s L ite ra tu re  a n d  L an
g u a g e  A r ts  R e s o u r c e s . W ith a fo cu s  on  
child ren’s literature in education, this site is 
part o f  th e In ternet Sch o ol Library Media 
C enter W eb site and was d evelop ed  by Inez 
Ramsey at Ja m e s  M adison University. It is di­
vided into ten broad categories that feature a 
selective list o f links. A good  site for useful 
teaching ideas and lesson plans. Access: http:// 
falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/childlit.htm.

• O n c e  U p o n  a  T im e  …  A C h ild r e n ’s 
L ite ra tu r e  W eb Site. Mary Ellen Van Camp, 
Ball State University, is the author and devel­
o p er o f  this site. Intend ed for use in Van 
C am p ’s C h ild ren ’s Literature an d  E nglish 
L ite r a tu r e  c la s s e s ,  t h o s e  in t e r e s t e d  in 
c h ild ren ’s literature will also find this site 
useful. Num erous links to children’s litera­
ture sites are represented, plus som e links 
for libraries and m useum s. Van Camp m ain­
tains a useful section that contains inform a­
tion about authors o f  ch ild ren ’s literature, 
w hich can ben efit scholars o f the genre. This 
site still provides useful information, although

it was last updated in 1998. A cce ss: http:// 
nova.bsuvc.bsu.edu/~O O m evancam p/ouat. 
html.

Research-oriented sites
• A m e r ic a n  L ib r a ry  A s s o c ia tio n  B o o k  

A w ard s. Collectively these pages give infor­
m ation about som e o f the m ost important 
b o o k  aw ards in ch ild ren ’s literature. T h e  
Randolph Caldecott M edal1 is awarded to the 
artist o f  the m ost dis­
tinguished A m erican 
p i c t u r e  b o o k ,  th e  
Newbery Medal to the 
a u th o r o f  th e  m o st 
d istinguished con tri­
b u tio n  to A m erican  
literature for children, 
and the Coretta Scott 
King Award to authors 
and illustrators o f Af- 
rican d escen t w h ose 
d istin gu ish ed  b o o k s  
p ro m o te  an u n d e r­
standing and ap p re­
ciation o f  the “Ameri­
can D ream .” T he pages give background  in­
form ation on the awards and a com p reh en ­
sive list o f  award-winning titles.

• C aldecott Medal H om e P age. A c c e ss: 
http://www.ala.org/alsc/caldecott.html.

• C o re tta  S c o tt K in g  Aw ard. A c c e s s : 
http://www.ala.org/srrt/csking/.

• N ew bery M edal H om e P age. A ccess: 
http :// www. ala. org/ alsc/new bery. htm l.

• d e G ru m m o n d  C h ild r e n ’s L ite ra tu r e  
C o l l e c t i o n . L o ca te d  at th e U niversity o f 
S o u th ern  M ississip p i, th e d e G ru m m ond  
Children’s Literature C ollection is a reposi­
tory and  research  c en ter for the study o f 
child ren’s literature. T h e collection is com ­
p osed  o f original illustrations, manuscripts, 
and published b o o k s that focu s on American 
an d  B ritis h  c h ild r e n ’s litera tu re. T h e  d e 
G rum m ond C ollection is the main repository 
for the works o f  Ezra Ja c k  Keats and c o n ­
tains num erous galleys, illustrations, and in­
form ation. T h e collection  is expanding with 
e ach  passing year, as evid enced  by the re­
cen t addition o f  H. A. Rey materials. This site 
is an excellen t exam p le for other special c o l­
lection d epositories to follow . Not only will 
W eb page d evelopers find this site useful, 
re s e a r c h e r s  an d  s c h o la rs  in th e field  o f

http://www.carolhurst
http://www.acs.ucalgary.ca/
http://www.ala.org/alsc/caldecott.html
http://www.ala.org/srrt/csking/


578 / C&RL News ■  July/August 2000

children’s literature will, too. Access: http:// 
www.lib.usm.edu/~degrum/.

• H is to ry  o f  C h ild r e n ’s L ite r a tu r e .
These pages, developed by Kay Vandergrift, 
a professor o f children’s literature at Rutgers 
School o f Communication, Information and 
Library Studies, offer a useful overview of 
the history o f children’s literature and link to 
extensive bibliographies and other resources 
that she has compiled. A useful resource for 
the student o f children’s literature, as is the 
larger um brella site (.Access: http://www. 
scils.rutgers.edu/special/kay/childlit.html). 
Access, http://www.scils.rutgers.edu/special/ 
kay/history.html.

• Reading About C h ild ren ’s Literature: 
A B ib liograp h y o f  C riticism . Developed to 
accom p an y P le a s u r e s  o f  C h i ld r e n ’s  L it e r a ­
tu re, 2nd edition by Perry Nodelm an, this 
site inclu des a bibliograp hy o f  b o o k s and 
journal articles from the 1st edition o f the 
sam e title. During pu blication  o f th e 2nd 
edition, Nodelman revised and updated the 
bibliography, and m ade it available via the 
Web. W hile not a “critical” evaluation o f 
ch ild ren ’s literature p er se, this site may 
lead to print resou rces o f interest to sch o l­
ars and students. N odelm an’s intention is 
to publish a 3rd edition o f  P le a s u r e s  o f  
C h ild r e n  ’s  L iter a tu re, and w e anticipate ad­
ditional w ork and information on the Web. 
Access, http://www.uwinnipeg.ca/~nodelman/ 
criticism.htm.

Author and illustrator sites
• A u th o r s  a n d  I l l u s t r a t o r s  o n  th e  

W e b . T h is  s e c t i o n  o f  D a v id  B r o w n ’s 
C h ild r e n ’s  L itera tu re Web G u id e  is dedicated 
to children’s authors and illustrators. Arranged 
alphabetically, Brown includes brief descrip­
tions o f the author sites and indicates those 
that are particularly com prehensive and use­
ful. A ccess: http://w w w .acs.ucalgary.ca/ 
-dkbrown/ authors. html.

• F a ir ro s a  C y b er L ibrary: A u th ors an d  
Illu strato rs. Part o f the Fairrosa Cyber Li­
brary (Access: http://www.dalton.org/librar- 
ies/fairrosa), this site features a nice selec­
tion o f authors and illustrators for both  
children’s picture books and young adult 
novels and nonfiction. Recom m ended for 
anyone wishing information on a favorite 
author/illustrator, students doing research, 
or those interested in the creators o f children’s

literature. Access: http://www.dalton.org/li- 
braries/fairrosa/cl. authors. html.

• In d e x  to  I n te rn e t Sites: C h ild re n ’s 
an d  Y o u n g  A dults’ A uth ors an d  Illu stra­
to r s . A very simple, yet com prehensive list 
o f authors and illustrators that is part o f the 
Internet School Library Media Center Web site, 
developed by Inez Ramsey at Jam es Madi­
son University. Ramsey has included teacher 
resource files, where available, to b e used 
when teaching specific authors or texts. A c ­
c e s s : h ttp :/ / fa lc o n .jm u .e d u / ~ ra m s e y il/  
biochildh om e.h tm .

• M e e t A u t h o r s  a n d  I l l u s t r a t o r s .  
C h ild r e n ’s Literature'll an electronic and print 
book review source that also includes addi­
tional information on children’s literature. 
O n e  fe a tu r e  o n  th e  W eb v e rs io n  is a 
browsable author/illustrator list highlighting 
w e ll-k n o w n  -authors and  illu strato rs o f 
c h ild r e n ’s b o o k s . A c c e s s : http://w w w . 
childrenslit.com/f_mai.htm.

Organization and association sites
• A m erican  A sso ciatio n  o f  S ch o o l Li­

b ra ria n s  (AASL). This is the Web site for 
AASL, a division o f the ALA for school librar­
ians and school library media specialists. In­
cluded are conference and event informa­
tion, the new  national guidelines and stan­
dards, professional materials for handling 
book and material challenges, resources on 
Internet filtering, and AASL mission and po­
sition statements. Access, http://www.ala.org/ 
aasl/index.html.

• A ss o c ia tio n  fo r  L ib ra ry  S erv ice to  
C h ild r e n  (A LSC ). Supp ortin g c h ild re n ’s 
librarianship is the stated goal o f the ALSC, 
a division o f the ALA. Through the ALSC 
Web site, m em bers and n onm em bers can 
d iscover asso ciatio n  new s, co n fe re n c e  in­
form ation, and links to various related Web 
sites. Sch o o l and p u b lic librarian s w ho 
w ork with child ren will find this site u se­
ful and m em bers will find a d irect route to 
in v o lv em en t in th e a s so c ia tio n . A c c e ss : 
http://www.ala.org/alsc/.

• C h ild ren ’s B oo k  C o m m ittee at B ank 
S treet C ollege. The Children’s B ook Com­
mittee at Bank Street College was formed 75 
years ago with the purpose o f selecting the 
best children’s books published each year. 
The site provides information on the com ­
mittee, its book awards and publications, and

http://www.lib.usm.edu/~degrum/
http://www
http://www.scils.rutgers.edu/special/
http://www.uwinnipeg.ca/~nodelman/
http://www.acs.ucalgary.ca/
http://www.dalton.org/librar-
http://www.dalton.org/li-
http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/
http://www
http://www.ala.org/
http://www.ala.org/alsc/


C&RL News •  July/August 2000 / 579

its annual list o f the 600 best children’s books. 
A ccess: http://www.bnkst.edu/bookcom/.

• Th e C h ild ren ’s B oo k  C o un cil (CBC) 
Online. The CBC has been in existence since 
1945 and provides various opportunities for 
encouraging reading in children. The CBC 
Online has links o f interest to publishers, 
authors, teachers, librarians, booksellers, and 
parents. In addition, special events are high­
lighted and presented. The Teachers and Li­
brarians Page features information about new 
books, noteworthy authors and illustrators, 
bibliographies, reading activities, featured 
topic forums, and authors. Members o f the 
CBC will find this site useful for council news, 
while librarians and teachers will discover 
useful ideas for use in the classroom. Access-. 
http://www.cbcbooks.org/.

• C h i l d r e n ’s L i t e r a t u r e  A s s e m b ly  
(CLA). Affiliated with the National Council 

o f Teachers o f English, 
th e  CLA p r o m o te s  
children’s literature and 
its teaching. The site in­
cludes the CLA’s an­
nual list o f  n o ta b le  
children’s trade books 
in the language arts, its 

annual report, and a list o f the Orbis Pictus 
Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children. 
Access. http://www.uta.edu/soe/CLA/.

• C h ild re n ’s L ite ra tu re  A ss o c ia tio n .
P ro m o tin g  s ch o la rs h ip  and  re s e a rch  in 
children’s literature, the Children’s Literature 
Association Web page presents membership 
information, an overview o f the association, 
conference information, and links to its pub­
lications, including a topical index to CbLA 
Quarterly. While designed to promote and 
support the association, this Web site will pro­
vide the general learner with information. Ac­
cess. http://ebbs.english.vt.edu/chla/ChLAHome. 
html.

• S ociety o f  C h ild ren ’s B oo k  W riters 
a n d  Illu strators 
(SCBW1). Repre­
s e n tin g  th e  
w riter’s side o f 
children’s litera­
ture, SCBW I is 
the only profes­
sional organiza­
tion dedicated to 
the writers and il­

lustrators o f children’s books. The site pro­
vides information about the children’s pub­
lishing industry as well as the Golden Kite 
Award lists and selected SCBWI publications. 
Access: http://www.scbwi.org/.

Electronic journals
• B oo k  Links. Published by Booklist Pub­

lications, B o o k  Lin ks is a journal for teachers, 
librarians, and those interested in the use and 
enjoyment o f children’s literature. The Web 
version o f B o o k  Lin ks provides selected ar­
ticles, indexes, subscription information, and 
submission information. This Web site should 
prove useful for anyone looking to subscribe 
to the journal, while others may find the in­
d e x  and  b a c k  a rtic le s  o f  s o m e  v a lu e. 
Access: http://www.ala.org/BookLinks/.

• Bulletin o f  th e  C en ter fo r C h ild ren ’s 
B oo k s. Founded in 1945, the B u lletin  is one 
o f the m ajor review ing journals devoted 
to current b o o k s for children. T he e le c ­
tronic version provides selected  reviews 
and bibliograp hies with an archive o f se ­
lected  articles and topical bibliograp hies 
dating to 1997. Su bscribers to the print 
version have a ccess to an onlin e search ­
able database o f the journal, including the 
full-text o f  all b o o k  reviews. Access: http:// 
www.lis.uiuc.edu/puboff/bccb/.

• C h ild ren ’s L iteratu re. C h ild r e n ’s Lit­
e r a tu r e  is a review publication that highlights 
recently published books. The Web site for 
C h ild r e n ’s L iter a tu re provides them ed re­
views and related sites o f interest, including 
teaching materials and conference informa­
tion. Visitors to the Web site also have the 
opportunity to request a sample issue o f the 
C hildren ’s  Literature Newsletter. Access, http:// 
www.childrenslit.com/home.htm.

• T he H o rn  Book.
Published sin ce 1924, 
T he H orn  Book, is a bi­
monthly publication of 
children’s literature re­
views and critical articles 
and essays. The online 
v e rsio n  p ro v id e s s e ­
lected articles, editorials, 
and articles from the 
most recent issue and an 
index to reviews in the The  Horn Bock  Magazine Volume 1. Number 1

(c o n tin u e d  o n  p a g e  5 8 8 )

http://www.bnkst.edu/bookcom/
http://www.cbcbooks.org/
http://www.uta.edu/soe/CLA/
http://ebbs.english.vt.edu/chla/ChLAHome
http://www.scbwi.org/
http://www.ala.org/BookLinks/
http://www.lis.uiuc.edu/puboff/bccb/
http://www.childrenslit.com/home.htm