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Children's & Young Adult Literature

Searching in the UBC Library

There are a number of methods and strategies you can use when searching for scholarship related to 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 retrieve information:

  • "children's literature"
  • "juvenile literature"
  • "juvenile fiction"
  • "children's books"
  • "children's stories"
  • "children's lit"
  • "picture books"
  • "young adult literature"
  • "YA literature"
  • "young adult fiction"
  • KidLit
  • "YA lit"

Use AND to combine with additional research concepts. For example:

"children's literature" AND "history and criticism"

"children's literature" AND "study and teaching"

Use OR to search with synonyms for one or more of your research concepts. For example:

("children's literature" OR "juvenile literature" OR "children's books" OR "children's stories" OR "picture books") AND "history and criticism"

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: child* will retrieve information sources with child, child's, children, and children's. 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 in databases and library catalogues.

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. "children's 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. "children's literature," etc.) and search.

Below are a few examples of relevant subject headings. Note that any of these can be used as effective search terms, but the links below will only retrieve books on these topics.

Children's literature

Children's literature--History and criticism

Children's literature--Study and teaching

Children's literature--Bibliography

Children--books and reading

Books and reading

Literature--Study and teaching (Elementary)

You will also find subject headings linked on an individual item's catalogue record:

Databases & Journals

  • Canadian Business & Current Affairs (CBCA)
    Includes journals, magazines, and newspapers published in Canada in the fields of business, current events, education and general reference.

  • Communication & Mass Media Complete
    Offers research in areas related to communication and mass media such as digital, video and multimodal technologies.

  • Education Source
    Education Source is the largest collection of full-text education journals for all levels of education from early childhood to higher education as well as multilingual education, health education and testing.

  • ERIC (EBSCO)
    Large index to journals/documents on all aspects of education, from preschool to post-secondary and adult education.

  • JSTOR Collection
    In addition to fully-searchable journal backfiles, also includes current issues for some titles as well as collections of primary-source documents such as their  '19th century British pamphlets.'

  • Library and Information Science Abstracts
    Abstracts over 440 library and information science periodicals from more than 68 countries and in more than 20 different languages.

  • MLA (Modern Language Association) International Bibliography
    Core database for English language and literature.

For databases that include more recommendations & reviews of children's & YA literature, visit the Recommendations, Reviews & Evaluation page.

Searching:

From the UBC Library homepage, select the "Journal Titles" tab and click "Search." From there, select "Title contains all words" and search children's literature.

Some journals to start with:

  • Children's Literature - Publishes theoretically-based articles that address key issues in the field. Each volume includes articles, essays, and abstracts of dissertations of note.

  • Journal of Children's Literature - Refereed journal devoted to teaching and scholarship for the field of children's literature. Product of the Children's Literature Assembly of NCTE.

  • International Research in Children's Literature - Primarily focuses on applications of cultural and literary theories, comparative literatures, and the production and reception of children's literature as a world literature. Widely international in scope, the journal addresses the diverse intellectual currents of this constantly expanding subject area.

  • Children's Literature Association Quarterly - Publishes scholarship in children's literature studies. Each issue features an editorial introduction, juried articles about research and scholarship in children's literature, and book reviews. 

  • The Lion and the Unicorn - International theme- and genre-centered journal, is committed to a serious, ongoing discussion of literature for children. The journal's coverage includes the state of the publishing industry, regional authors, comparative studies of significant books and genres, new developments in theory, the art of illustration, the mass media, and popular culture. It is especially noted for its interviews with authors, editors, and other important contributors to the field, as well as its outstanding book review section.

  • Bookbird: A Journal of International Children's Literature - Published by the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), Bookbird communicates new ideas to the whole community of readers interested in children's books, publishing work on any topic in the field of international children's literature.

  • Jeunesse: Young People, Texts, Cultures - An interdisciplinary, scholar-led, refereed academic journal, the mandate of which is to publish research on and to provide a forum for discussion about cultural productions for, by, and about young people. Scope is international, but with special interest in Canada. Articles in both English and French.

  • Children's Literature in Education - Features analysis of fiction, poetry, drama and non-fictional material, plus studies in other media such as film, TV, computer games, online works; visual narratives from picture books and comics to graphic novels; textual analysis and interpretation from differing theoretical perspectives; historical approaches to the area; reader-response work with children; ideas for teaching children's literature; adaptation, translation and publishing.

  • History of Education & Children's Literature - Discusses the history of education, of school institutions and educational systems, of literature and publishing for children and youth, the history of textbooks and manuals for teaching, and the history of pedagogical thinking and theories of education.

  • Children’s Literature in English Language Education - Peer-reviewed online journal for scholars, teacher educators and practitioners involved in using and researching children’s literature in the field of English learning as a second, additional or foreign language. The journal investigates children’s literature as an art form, and as a framework with which to connect L2 literature teaching across the school years.

  • New Review of Children's Literature and Librarianship - Discussion of children’s literature, and of issues relating to one of the key places in which to find such literature—libraries for young people. Articles covering the management of library services to children and adolescents; education issues affecting library services; user education and the promotion of services; staff education and training; collection development and management; critical assessments of children's and adolescent literature; book and media selection; and research in literature and library services for children and adolescents.

  • Journal of African Children's & Youth Literature (2004-2010) - Covers literature written for African children and youth.

Review journals are listed in the Reviews, Recommendations, and Evaluation section.

Books