New Books

How do I find children's literature?

To find children's literature on a particular topic, use the Library Catalog. You can search for a title or author by just typing either or both in the search boxes. 

If you are searching by subject, use either the Format or Location filter either in the Advanced Search or on the Results page.  You can select "Children's Books" from the Format filter to see all the Children's Books.

You can also use the Location filter to select specific collections within the Children's Collection such as picture books, biographies, graphic novels, etc.

How do I find children's literature in different languages?

To find children's literature in a language other than English, use the Language filter below the Advanced search or on the Results page to limit your results to a specific language. In our Children's collection, we primarily have books written in Spanish.

• Picture Books 
  • Organized Alphabetically by the author's last name

• Early Chapter Books - Meant for children transitioning from picture books to longer texts broken into chapters
  • Organized Alphabetically by the author's last name

• Biography - Nonfiction books with biographical and autobiographical information
  • Organized using the Dewey Decimal System

• Dewey - All other nonfiction books that are not biographies/autobiographies
  • Organized using the Dewey Decimal System

• Graphic Novels - Written for elementary and middle school readers, usually ages 8-12.
  • Organized Alphabetically by the author's last name

• Novels - Written for elementary and middle school readers, usually ages 8-12. 
  • Organized Alphabetically by the author's last name

Young Adult Novels are not in the children's collection but are located on the 3rd floor and designated with a PZ call number.

Dewey Decimal System

This system is often used in public and school libraries as it works well for smaller collections.  It has 10 major classes that are organized by discipline.  These are then broken down further into divisions and sections.

• 000 - Generalities
• 100 - Philosophy & Psychology
• 200 - Religion
• 300 - Social Sciences
• 400 - Language
• 500 - Natural Sciences & Math
• 600 - Technology (Applied Sciences)
• 700 - The Arts
• 800 - Literature
• 900 - Geography, History, & Biography

Award Winners

Our collection includes the winners of the following children's book awards as well as some of the honoree books for each award. Consult the Discovery Search for call number locations.

Popular Topics - Search Terms

When searching popular topics, there are certain search terms that may work better than others. Here are some popular topics with their preferred search terms.

• Bedtime - Bedtime and Sleep
• Disabilities & Special Needs - Disabilities, Blind, Deaf, Autism, etc.
  • Sometimes these books use the broader topic of "People with Disabilities" and sometimes they note the specific disability.
  • You can also browse the Schneider Family Book Award winners for books about disabilities.
• Environment & Nature - Nature, Ocean, Forest, Marine, Pollution, etc.
• Fear & Anxiety - Anxiety and Fear
• Feelings - Emotions, Sadness, Happiness, and Anger
• Friendship - Friendship and Best Friends 
• Grief / Loss - Grief, Death, Bereavement, and Loss
• Identity & Self-Esteem - Identity, Self-Esteem, Self-Confidence, Individuality
• LGBTQIA+ - Lesbian, Gay, Homosexuality, Transgender,  Gender-nonconforming, "Gender Identity," 
• Migration - Refugees, Emigration, Immigration, and Immigrants
• Race or Ethnicity - To search for books about a specific racial or ethnic group, you typically can search that group's name. Sometimes the larger group name may also be used.  For example, for finding books on Mexican Americans, you would want to search both the phrase "Mexican Americans" and the broader phrase "Hispanic Americans"
• Racism - Racism, Race relations, and Prejudices
• Slavery - Slavery, Slaves, and Underground Railroad
• STEM - STEM, STEAM, Science, Mathematics, Engineering, Physics, Astronomy, Biology, etc.

Popular Genres and Book Types 

When searching for specific genres or types of books, you may need to search the catalog, browse a part of the physical collection or both. Here are some popular types of books with their preferred search terms and their browsing areas if applicable. Remember when searching the catalog to use these in conjunction with searching the word juvenile as a subject.

• Poetry Books - Search the terms Poetry, Poem, or Verse
  • Many poetry books can be browsed in the Dewey section under the 800 call numbers.

• Fairy or Folk Tales - Search the phrase "Fairy Tale" or the term Folklore
  • Many fairy and folk tales will be in the Dewey section under the 300 call numbers.

• Fantasy - Search the terms Fantasy or Magic

• Science Fiction - Search the phrases "Science Fiction" "Space and Time" or "Paranormal Fiction"

• Historical Fiction - Search both the terms History and Fiction as subject terms. You can search the name of a specific historical event instead.

• Informational - There is no general search term to find informational books.  Instead, try search terms related to your specific topic of interest.
  • Most informational books will be given a Dewey call number and can be browsed using the different Dewey numbers and their corresponding subjects like browsing the 500s for books in the sciences.

Books to Read Aloud