Articles, Books, the Web, and More

Several library databases are useful for finding reading material for children. MAS Ultra School Edition and SIRS Discoverer have options for limiting or sorting results by reading level. The Oklahoman Archives doesn't control for reading level, but is a generally accessible source for local news.

The library's collection of books includes a section of "children's literature." (Use the search box under the Books tab to limit your search to these books.)

Web and other sources are also included under those tabs.

Many of the sources linked in this guide are purchased by the library for your use. When you click on these links from a computer not connected through the campus network you will need to identify yourself by entering your campus network username and password. This is the same username and password as you use to access BlueLink.

Use the tabs above for more detailed instructions.

Questions? Ideas for Additional Resources?

Contact me:
kburkholder@okcu.edu or 405-208-5956

General Search

The most current research reports in education will be found in journal articles. EBSCOhost includes several databases useful for education research. Type a search in the box or click on the links below to search individual databases and control your searches more.


What is a scholarly source?

Most of your research will lead you to journals.

• Check out this page to remind you of the difference between scholarly and popular sources.

How to search for your information in databases:

• Type in your keywords. Click Search.
• On the left- hand side of your screen, click Full Text and Peer Reviewed, and select a Publication Date within the last 5-10 years. Click Update.
• Narrow your search to your subject area. Click on Subject. Check the boxes next to topics that are related to your research. Click Update.
• If you do not have enough articles, you can Remove Full Text from your search by clicking on the orange X next to it.

What to do with your articles:

• Click on the title of the article.
• If it is available in Full Text, you can Read, Print, Email, and Cite it all from your computer.
• If it is not available in Full Text, you can check to see Does the Library Own It?
• There may be a link to another database, or a link to the University's Print Holdings.
• Follow the Link to find out more information.
• If there are NO LINKS, you may be able to Inter-Library Loan the article. REMEMBER: It can take 3 days to 2 weeks to get an article from another library.

Choose Databases

To look at resources specifically designed for school age students, try these databases:

MAS Ultra School Edition (EBSCOhost) is a database provided to every public school in Oklahoma. It provides the full text of 600 magazines and journals and includes a limit option for Lexile reading level.

Primary Search (EBSCOhost) provides full text for more than 70 popular magazines for elementary school research. All full text articles included in the database are assigned a reading level indicator (Lexiles), and full text information dates as far back as 1990.

Middle Search Plus (EBSCOhost) provides full text for more than 140 popular middle school magazines. All full text articles included in the database are assigned a reading level indicator (Lexiles). Full text is also available for thousands of biographies and historical essays. Middle Search Plus also contains 84,774 biographies, 105,786 primary source documents, and a School Image Collection of photos, maps and flags.

SIRS Discoverer is a database of reference materials and magazine articles aimed at the elementary school audience. Results can be sorted by Lexile reading level.

The Book Collection Nonfiction (EBSCOhost) is divided into three levels: Elementary School, Middle School, and High School. Each database provides abstracts and searchable full text for thousands of popular nonfiction books on a variety of topics.

The Oklahoman Archives provides access to local news stories which may be of interest even though the reading level is not closely controlled.

Search the Catalog

The Children’s Literature Collection on the 5th floor of the library includes books written for children and young adults.

SEARCH THE LIBRARY'S CHILDREN'S COLLECTION
Keyword Relevance SearchTitle (skip "a","an", or "the")option value="TKEY">Title PhraseAuthor (last name first)

For more children’s books, search WorldCat and use the audience subtype limit function to show only “juvenile” books. These books are available through inter-library loan and may be available at local bookstores.

Browse the Shelves

The Children's Literature Collection, on the 5th floor is arranged by author.

Award winning books are identified by colored labels:
green: Newbery Award winners
yellow: Caldecott Award Winners
blue: Sequoyah Award winners

APA Citation Help

The Purdue OWL (Online Writing Lab) has some excellent resources for learning to write and cite in APA format.

Check out their APA Style Workshop as well as the Formatting and Style Guide which guides you on specific citation rules.

The library also has a physical copy of the APA style guide in the Permanent Reserves; ask at the Circulation desk:

R 808.06615 C748c6 2010
Concise Rules of APA Style (6th ed.)

Recommended Web Sites

The American Library Association - Association for Library Service to Children Great Web Sites for Kids provides links to a wide variety of web sites chosen specifically for their usefulness for children.

The Children’s Literature Association (ChLA) is a non-profit association of scholars, critics, professors, students, librarians, teachers and institutions dedicated to the academic study of literature for children.

The International Association of School Librarianship (IASL) has a guide to Children's Literature Resources on the Internet listing a number of excellent websites with brief descriptions of each.

Professional Organizations

American Library Association (ALA): created to provide leadership for the development, promotion, and improvement of library and information services and the profession of librarianship in order to enhance learning and ensure access to information for all.

International Reading Association (IRA): a nonprofit, global network of individuals and institutions committed to worldwide literacy.

National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE): devoted to improving the teaching and learning of English and the language arts at all levels of education.

Children's Reference

The World Book Encyclopedia is available in the library's first floor reference collection (R 031 W893 1997) and provides basic research material with reading levels designed to match the subject content.

Other useful reference books for children's literature include:

R 808.81 B848i
Index to Poetry for Children and Young People

R 809.8927203 C767
The Continuum Encyclopedia of Children's Literature

R 809.8928203 Ox2z 2006
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Children's Literature

R 810.99282 AL54o
100 Years of Children's Books in America, Decade by Decade