CLCD Newsletter | Volume 5, Issue 4

This is national poetry month, and what better way to get folks to look at common, everyday items in a new light than through poetry. Why, even I have taken some liberties here and joined in the fun of rhythm and rhyme just to let you know how important I think it is for children of all ages to play with language. With a nod to Joyce Kilmer and his poem "Trees" I have penned the following:

I think that I will never see a database as remarkable as CLCD.
Reviews are there, that we know, for a book or audio.
Find an image and a best books list - be sure to check for those you missed.
Create a list to serve your needs and patrons will love you for your good deeds.
Click to an author, an artist, a guide - CLCD is vastly wide.
Don't think twice - simply search for a title, a subject, a price.
Reading level & subject too provide results both tried and true.
Poems are made by fools like me but the wise subscribe to CLCD.

At the Children's Literature Comprehensive Database (CLCD) we value your comments and often use them to let others know about the database but also to make improvements. Please send us your comments about how you use the database and what features you like best. If you want to put them in rhymed couplets, that would be fine, too, but certainly not necessary.

CLCD is proud to announce that we have donated over $8,000 worth of books to schools in Katrina -ravaged Louisiana. The need is still great for donations. If you are sending books to help out, be sure to fax the list of titles to the librarian prior to shipping the books to make sure he or she wants or needs them all.

		Volume 5, Issue 4 April 2006



	Search Tip of the Month This Month's Features Spreading the News This is national poetry month, and what better way to get folks to look at common, everyday items in a new light than through poetry. Why, even I have taken some liberties here and joined in the fun of rhythm and rhyme just to let you know how important I think it is for children of all ages to play with language. With a nod to Joyce Kilmer and his poem "Trees" I have penned the following: I think that I will never see a database as remarkable as CLCD. Reviews are there, that we know, for a book or audio. Find an image and a best books list - be sure to check for those you missed. Create a list to serve your needs and patrons will love you for your good deeds. Click to an author, an artist, a guide - CLCD is vastly wide. Don't think twice - simply search for a title, a subject, a price. Reading level & subject too provide results both tried and true. Poems are made by fools like me but the wise subscribe to CLCD. At the Children's Literature Comprehensive Database (CLCD) we value your comments and often use them to let others know about the database but also to make improvements. Please send us your comments about how you use the database and what features you like best. If you want to put them in rhymed couplets, that would be fine, too, but certainly not necessary. CLCD is proud to announce that we have donated over $8,000 worth of books to schools in Katrina -ravaged Louisiana. The need is still great for donations. If you are sending books to help out, be sure to fax the list of titles to the librarian prior to shipping the books to make sure he or she wants or needs them all. Children and Young Adult book award committees are discovering how valuable the CLCD is in their search for the best of the best. We are providing access to the CLCD to ALA's Newbery and Robert F. Sibert Informational Award committees, as well as AAAS' SB& F science book prize committee. Our company president, Marilyn Courtot has been asked to serve another year on the AAAS prize committee.


	Awards and Prizes There are more than 600,000 value added entries in the million cataloging records that constitute the database. These entries indicate if a book has won an award or prize; appeared on a "best books list;" has been selected for a state or provincial reading list; assigned a reading measurement value; received a Horn Book Guide Rating; or has a link to an author or illustrator web page. What sets us apart is that all of this information is full text searchable and most of it can be obtained by clicking a hot link. Want to know who won an award in a given year or what books may be on a reading list this year? First find out how the award is listed in the database, then enter the text (cut and paste) in the search box. Then you can broaden or narrow your search by looking for specific years. For example, if you enter Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People, 2000 and click exact phrase, it will give you the list of books that meet that criteria which you can then sort by title, author, date, etc. Searching for a Particular Author or Illustrator Unlike some systems that we have seen, there is no need to worry about the format for an author or illustrator name. It does not matter if you enter the first name last or vice versa. Just enter the name in any format and then click on the appropriate button in the Search Specific Fields section. Once you have found your author or illustrator, you can open a record and click on the name to further refine the search, sort the results and read or select reviews for your research or special project.


	This Month's Features: Our topics this month reflect the season. Make sure you have some new baseball titles on hand for the first pitch of the 2006 season. Baseball fans love the history and lore of the game, and will find both in Jim Burke's Take Me Out to the Ball Game and Mark Stewart and Mike Kennedy's Long Ball: The Legend and Lore of the Home Run. Reviews of these and other titles are included in our Baseball feature. Our Poetry feature will direct you to some of the best books for teachers, parents and children. Fans of Douglas Florian will be happy to read about him and how he works in his autobiography, See for Yourself. Along with that check out our feature on Drop Everything And Read (D.E.A.R.). Don't forget to highlight Earth Day and Arbor Day this month. For many, spring is here and the trees and flowers are blooming. Use our features to help select books to display in the library or classroom. Our features for Passover and Easter have been updated as well and if you want more information about the annual Easter Egg Roll at the White House visit http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/03/20060308.html. Our Featured Authors this month are: The very versatile Leigh Sauerwein, author of Song for Eloise, a novel set in 12th century France and The Way Home, a book of short stories about the American West. She is also a book translator and you may have read Looking for Cinderella or Amazing Animals. With Afghanistan so much in the news we are once again featuring Deborah Ellis whose books present the stories of individuals and put human faces on today's issues and headlines. As well as her trilogy on refugee life in Afghanistan, she has written Our Stories, Our Songs: African Children Talk about AIDS and Three Wishes: Palestinian and Israeli Children Speak. Quote of the Month "In our district, teachers are often looking for multiple similar titles to use with small reading groups in the class. CLCD is a great tool to help you find multiple titles with a similar theme on the same or slightly varied reading levels. Christine Findlay, CRC Director, Centerville City Schools, Centerville, OH


	CLCD Newsletter Editor, Sharon Salluzzo serves as a library and education consultant to CLCD. In addition, Sharon is a book reviewer, a storyteller, an editorial board member of Capitol Choices and a member of The Children's Book Guild of Washington, DC. She earned her MLS at SUNY Geneseo. About the Children�s Literature Comprehensive Database Our monthly newsletter is now available to everyone within an organization, not just the primary contact. A new feature at www.childrenslit.com will provide you with a form allowing you to sign up for just the electronic newsletter. The Children's Literature Comprehensive Database, updated mid-month, is your most complete source of information about children's books. Indeed, it is the next best thing to having the book in hand, and the best tool for leading you to the best books. All at a most affordable price. To subscribe to the CLCD or contact us, go to www.childrenslit.com.