Starting Research in Children's and Young Adult Literature

The following is a selected list of resources for starting research in children's and young adult literature. For further assistance, contact Elizabeth Peterson, Librarian for Literature and Cinema Studies, at emp@uoregon.edu.

Background, Overviews, and Terms

• Continuum Encyclopedia of Children's Literature | KNIGHT REFERENCE PN1008.5 .C66 2003. Covers 150 years of children's literature in 1,200 biographical-critical entries and nearly 100 topical articles
• Oxford Reference Premium - Select -- > Literature Many of the best reference tools for literature all together and searchable at once, including The Oxford Encyclopedia of Children's Literature, The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, The Oxford Companion to World Mythology,  and many more. Use this to find information about authors, movements, periods, genres, theories, terms, historical context, and plot summaries.
• Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory & Criticism Provides encyclopedia-like entries of critical trends and theories. Also includes overviews of particular critics' publications and influence. Also available in print: KNIGHT REFERENCE PN81 .J554 2005.

Research Methods

• Fundamental Concepts of Children's Literature Research : Literary and Sociological Approaches   |   PN1009.A1 E84 2009

Author Information

• Library Catalog
  • Search for the author as a subject (e.g., shakespeare, william). Works by and about the author will be shelved together.
• Literature Resource Center
  Provides easy access to scholarly research on authors and literary works. Includes criticism, biographies, bibliographies, work overviews and explications, and journal articles.

Finding Books

• Bibliographies list books on a theme. Some examples:
  • 60 Years of Notable Children's Books | Z1037 .S59 2003x
  • Prizewinning Books for Children : Themes and Stereotypes in U.S. Prizewinning Prose Fiction for Children | PS374.C45W44 1983
  • Across Cultures : A Guide to Multicultural Literature for Children | Z1037 .E19 2007
• UO Local Catalog | Search just the UO Libraries' holdings.
  • Most of the children's books are located in the Juvenile Collection in Knight Library on the 3rd floor.
• UO WorldCat | Search the UO Libraries, the Summit system (Northwest libraries), and libraries worldwide. Use this system to request items not owned by UO Libraries.

Literary Criticism, Articles & Book Reviews

• Academic Search Premier Indexes more than 8,000 publications, with full text for approximately 4,600. ASP focuses on academic, social sciences, humanities, general science, education and multi-cultural journals, with over 3,500 peer-reviewed titles. Full text coverage goes as far back as 1965.
• JSTOR A full-text database that contains the scanned images of hundreds of major research journals in a variety of academic disciplines, some of which began publication as early as the 1870s.
• MLA International Bibliography The essential index for critical materials about all literatures (except classical Greek and Roman), languages, folklore and film. The database provides access to over 1.3 million entries gleaned from essay collections, dissertations, monographs and over 6,000 journals. Covers 1926-present.
• Project Muse Searches the full text in over 300 academic journals in the arts, humanities, and social sciences, journals.

Archival Sources

• ArchiveGrid
  This database aids in locating manuscript collections, personal papers, and historical documents held in archives and archival collections.
• Authors and Illustrators of Books for Children and Young Adults in UO Special Collections
  Manuscripts and personal papers held by UO Libraries.