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Children's & Young Adult Literature

In UBC Library

There are a number of methods and strategies you can use to when searching for children's & YA literature in the library. 

When performing a search using keywords in the UBC Library General search (Summon) or the UBC Library catalogue, the following terms can be used to locate children's and young adult literature:

  • "juvenile literature"
  • "juvenile poetry"
  • "children's book"
  • "comic books"
  • "fairy tale"
  • "juvenile fiction"
  • "young adult"
  • "children's stories"
  • "picture book"
  • "graphic novels"

You can combine these terms with additional keywords related to a specific topic using AND. For example:

"juvenile fiction" AND "life cycle"

You can also use OR to add in synonyms for your search concepts. For example:

("juvenile literature" OR "juvenile fiction") AND "life cycle"

Note that "juvenile fiction" specifies fictional stories, whereas "juvenile literature" will also include non-fiction.

Additional tips for keyword searching:

  • Use quotation marks to search for a phrase. For example: "picture book"
  • Use an asterisk (*) to truncate a word that may have a number of possible endings. For example: garden* will locate books with garden, gardens, gardened, or gardening. Remember to place the asterisk after the last common letter in the word stem.

Note that you cannot combine these two strategies when searching in the UBC Library. You can search "children's literature" or children's lit*, but not "children's lit*". 

Subject headings are words and phrases added to books, articles, and other materials to describe the material's content. This can make it easier to find resources with shared topics.

There are two ways to use subject headings to search in the library:

1. Search in Summon - From the UBC Library homepage, choose Advanced Search and then use the "All Fields" drop down menu to select "Subject Terms." Then, enter relevant subject terms (e.g. "juvenile fiction," "juvenile literature," etc.) and search.

2. Search in the catalogue - Browse UBC Catalogue and use the drop down list to select "Subject contains." Then, enter relevant subject terms (e.g. "juvenile fiction," "juvenile literature," etc.) and search.

You can find a particular book's subject headings on its catalogue record. Click a subject heading to see more library items with the same one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Although most UBC Library branches are organized according to Library of Congress Classification, X̱wi7x̱wa Library uses a British Columbia variant of the Brian Deer Classification System, which means that subject headings will vary between library branches. To learn more about searching for Indigenous children's & YA literature at X̱wi7x̱wa Library, visit the Indigenous Children's Literature Guide.

There are a number of library branches wherein you will find children's & YA literature:

  • Education Library
  • X̱wi7x̱wa Library
  • Okanagan Library
  • Asian Library

Additionally, within the Education Library, you may find children's & YA literature in a number of places:

  • the stacks (books in the main stacks will often have a call number beginning with P, which is on the lower level)
  • Canadian Children's Books Centre (located on the lower level)
  • Room 155
  • displays
  • Great Reads

It is important to check the library location when looking at a book's catalogue record to ensure you know where to find it. You can then use the call number to locate the book on the shelf.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For more information about reading call numbers:

Finding Books Based on Theme, Lesson, or Curricular Connection

You may find when searching for children's literature in the library that it can be challenging to locate books with specific themes, lessons, or curricular connections. These aspects are often inconsistently or inadequately captured in book titles, descriptions, and subject headings, which contributes to the challenge. For instance, What Do You Do With an Idea? by Kobi Yamada is often recommended for introducing critical thinking, but that term is not reflected anywhere in its descriptive information: 

What Do You Do With an Idea book cover

In these cases, it can be helpful to start your search by looking for book recommendations from other sources. For instance, you can perform a search in Google by combining the term "picture books" with a theme or topic: 

You can then search for specific titles in the library.

Other helpful sources you can use as a starting point for recommendations include those listed in the Recommendations, Reviews, & Evaluation section and the Education Library booklists.

eBooks

In UBC Library:

Databases:

  • Canada Commons: You can find many picture books, young adult novels, and juvenile non-fiction through Canada Commons, a Canadian database with content in both English and French. Using the Advanced Search page, search "juvenile fiction" OR "juvenile literature" and select "Books" as the publication type to browse their selection of children's and YA literature.

 

French Children's & YA Literature

French books are located in the French Collection on the lower level of the Education Library. You can also search for titles in UBC Library by:

1. Searching "juvenile fiction" OR "juvenile literature"

2. Limiting to French material using the language filter to the left of the results

Searching by Book Type or Format

Certain types or formats of children's literature can be tricky to locate in a library search. Below are some search tips for some of these book types: ​​​​​​

Book type
Description
Search Tips
Board books Board books are children’s books that are suitable for babies and toddlers. They are small and have thick, durable pages often with a finish that is easy to wipe clean. 
  • To find board books, search “board books” with quotations or simply browse board books in our Room 155 of the Education Library.
  • Use specific search terms to narrow down your results, such as [your desired topic] and “board books”. For example, ABC “board books”.
Early readers Early readers (sometimes referred to simply as "readers") are tailored for children learning to read. They have simple stories with shorter sentences, limited vocabulary, picture cues, and large font.
  • To browse English easy readers at the Education Library, see the Pearson Baccalaureate PYP Readers theme packs or Alphakids in the PE1119 section downstairs.
  • For more Indigenous easy readers level 1-20 published by Strong Nations, search “Strong Readers” on the library website.
  • For more Indigenous French easy readers, browse or search “Les échos de l’île de la tortue”.
  • For more French easy readers, browse or search “GB: Contes et théâtre” or “Zap sciences”.
  • For more easy readers, try searching the terms below on the library website.
    • “Scholastic reader”
    • “Step into reading”
    • “National Geographic” reader level
    • “Strong Readers”
    • “PYP Theme Pack”
  • Use specific search terms to narrow down your results, such as “Strong Readers” Level 6 or “Strong Readers” raven.
Early chapter books Early chapter books are written for newly independent readers transitioning from easy readers to middle grade novels. They often have short chapters, simple vocabulary, short sentences, and plenty of engaging illustrations. They also have larger font with more spacing compared to longer chapter books.
  • There is no specific way to search for early chapter books in Summon (UBC Library General search), but searching for “Orca Echoes” or “A Stepping Stone Book” yields some results.
  • To find more books of chapter book series, browse or search the series title in quotations. E.g. “Mia Mayhem” or “A Merlin Mission”.
Hi-lo books  Hi-lo (or hi/lo or high/low) is a term for high interest, low readability or low vocabulary books. The content is aimed at middle grade/teen/adult readers with an accessible format that has simpler words, spaced out text, shorter chapters, and exciting, fast-paced storylines.
  • Use specific search terms to narrow your results, such as “high interest accessible”.
  • Search for a specific series or publisher, such as:
    • Orca Currents (Reading level: grade 2-5. Interest level: middle schoolers.)
    • Orca Limelights (About performing arts. Reading level: grade 3.5 -6.5. Interest level: middle schoolers or teens.)
    • Orca Sports (About sports. Reading level: grade 2-4.5. Interest level: middle schoolers or teens.)
    • Orca Soundings (Reading level: grade 2 to 4.5. Interest level: teens.)
    • Orca Anchor (Dyslexia-friendly. Reading level: below grade 2. Interest level: teens.)
    • “HIP Jr.”
    • “H*I*P Books”
    • RealLove. (Relationships and Romance. Interest level: teens.)
  • Search using the subject heading High interest-low vocabulary books. to view materials across all UBC libraries.

Dual language and multilingual books

 

 Dual language books, or bilingual books, present the same narrative in two languages. Books that present the same narrative in more than two languages are referred to as "multilingual books."
  • Search using the General tab on the UBC Library website.
  • Open Summon Advanced Search
  • Choose Subject Terms from the drop down menu and type “bilingual”
  • On the next line, choose AND and find Subject Terms from the drop down menu again and type “fiction”
  • Click Search