Book: Lima, Carolyn W. and John A. Lima. A to Zoo: Subject Access to Children's Picture Books. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited, 2005. This annotated bibliography lists over 28,000 picture books by title, author, illustrator or subject. There are an astounding 1,350 different subject headings, many more than are used for picture books in most library catalogues. This resource, now in its 7th edition, is a perennial favourite of librarians or preschool teachers creating themed storytimes, searching for books when the topic is know but the title is not, or trying to gather resources on a specific topic whether it be a challenging event in a child's life or a particular fascination with aardvarks.
On-Line Library Catalogue: Burnaby Public Library's Picture-book Index
Although this index focuses only on the books in Burnaby Public Library's collection, it is an invaluable resource for accessing books by subject in any collection, especially since it is so easily availably on-line. It features 54 pages of subject headings used to access picture books in the library catalogue, making it possible to look for books on any subject from "adoption - cross-cultural" to "bubblegum" to "zombies." The subject heading guide is in PDF format which can be printed out if it will be used frequently, or downloaded and used on a computer. Once a useful subject heading has been found, it can be used to search the picture book index embedded in the library catalogue (instructions are provided) to find titles.
As the library itself is located in an urban center with a culturally diverse population, the collection does includes books dealing with many different topics, but is not exhaustive.
Website: Seattle Public Library Guides
The Seattle Public Library has put together reading lists for elementary school age children that explore a handful of topics including several "doorways" to specific cultures and traditions. These list include picture books and material at a more advanced level. Cover visuals provides some clue as to the type of book, and the link to the catalogue will provide additional information. Lists focusing on culture include:
- Doorways to African American Culture & Tradition
- Doorways to Arab American Culture & Tradition
- Doorways to Chinese American Culture and Tradition
- Doorways to Japanese American Culture & Tradition
- Doorways to Jewish American Culture & Tradtion
- Doorways to Latino Culture & Tradition
- Doorways to Native American Culture & Tradition
- Doorways to Southeast Asia Culture & Tradition
Website: Database of Award-Winning Children's Literature
This database provides records of winning (and honour) books for 78 awards from six English-speaking countries. In addition to basic title/author/keyword searching, the database is also searchable by award, by gender/ethnicity of protagonist, language, geographical setting, number of cultures interacting within the book, historical period, and suggested age. Results include publication and award information along with a single-sentence plot summary. Books are also identified loosely by level (such as picture, chapter, or novel).
Book: Shilling, Caren, ed. Open the Books and See All the People. New York: The Queen's Borough Public Library, 2000.
Created by public librarians in Queens, New York City, to meet the needs of one of the most culturally diverse areas of the US, this resource aims to represent "materials that reflect the full range of human diversity." This extensive annotated bibliography of children's books focuses on various aspects of diversity including: family structures and problems (alcoholism to interracial families); social issues (religious diversity to sexual orientation); cultural, racial and ethnic diversity; and setting (historical to geographical). Each section is divided into specific topics, but also arranged by reading level and material type (picture book, easy reader, fiction, non-fiction). A very short annotation is given for each book, but no evaluation is provided.
Website: Carol Hurst's Children's Literature Site
This website features an extensive subject list with reviews of children's books, as well as other resources related to children's literature. There are books for all ages and it is sometimes difficult to isolate only picture books, so this may be more useful for those working with school age children. You can look at books by age range (Pre-K for example) although these are not sorted by subject. But it is certainly a wealth of fabulous information, with excellent articles on different topics related to children's literature.
On-Line Library Catalogue: Columbus Metropolitan Library Picture Book Index
An easy-to-use on-line index for children's books available in the Columbus Metropolitan Library. An alphabetical index provides click-through access directly to the catalogue listings and cover images.
On-Line Library Catalogue: Children's Picture Book Database at Miami University
Over 5,000 picture book titles are indexed by title. Contents are searchable rather than browsable, and the results provide a short abstract, bibliographic information, and a full list of subject headings for that book.
Resource Centre/Library: Westcoast Child Care Resource Centre
Westcoast has a fantastic library that provides a wealth of resources - picture books, props, themed kits, reference material - to support diversity and healthy child development in the home, preschool, daycare or classroom. A great local resource for anyone in Vancouver, this centre also makes their materials available by mail to members anywhere in British Columbia.
Website: Celebrating Cultural Diversity Through Children's Literature
Created by Dr. Robert F. Smith (Professor Emeritus, Towson University), this website provides annotated bibliographies and web resources for children's books relevant to specific cultural groups including: African-Americans, Chinese-Americans, Latino/Hispanic Americans, Japanese-Americans, Jewish-Americans, Native American and Korean-Americans. The books are described by plot, genre and reading level, but not evaluated.
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