CLCD Newsletter | Volume 6, Issue 4

April is National Poetry Month. Did you know that with a poem you can: prepare for a museum visit; explore a castle; or visit the Bronzeville Boys and Girls? Use this feature to place a poem on your desk. Read one to your students when they arrive in the morning or right after lunch.

Easter is Sunday, April 8. Easter Egg Hunt and Spot’s Easter Surprise are among the books that feature rabbits, eggs, and baby chicks in this feature.

Passover will be celebrated from April 2 through 10. If you are searching for humorous books, serious books or some with activities, you can find them here including Passover! by Roni Schotter

Author Features

Mary Higgins Clark, a best-selling author of adult suspense stories, has written a picture book, Ghost Ship, which is illustrated by Wendell Minor. To learn how this story came about read this conversation with Mary Higgins Clark.

Heather Vogel Frederick, author of Mother Daughter Book Club talks about her latest book and the inspiration for The Voyage of Patience Goodspeed. A new museum got her creative juices flowing for the Spy Mouse titles. Find out which one in this feature.

Brent Hartinger discusses the importance of point of view and how it shaped Geography Club and the new two-for-one sequel: Split Screen: Attack of the Soul-Sucking Brain Zombies and Bride of the Soul-Sucking Brain Zombies.

David Lubar is an author everyone will love. His mother was a school librarian and David designed and programmed Frogger 2 for the Game Boy. With that tidbit of information you can surely persuade some of your readers to delve into the books in this feature.

		Volume 6, Issue 4 April 2007



	Search Tip of the Month This Month's Features Spreading the News With days full of warmer sunshine and longer daylight hours and buds bursting into bloom I have spring fever. The symptoms include more energy and the need to clean out and brighten up the environment around me, both indoors and out. It feels good to accomplish these tasks. To tackle work-related assignments easily and quickly, you need to use the Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database (CLCD). Are the shelves of your library looking dingy and dusty? Clean out those shelves! With the Horn Book Guide ratings and information from H. W. Wilson’s Children’s Catalog, you can quickly ascertain which titles you need to keep. Are you working on your summer reading lists? With the ability to search by subject, grade level and reading level and then download the information, you will have your booklists done in no time at all. Are you trying to teach your college students to recognize “good books?” Lead them to the reviews, awards and best books lists. If you are looking for some wonderful sunshine in your work life, look to the company with the sun as its logo: the CLCD. Quote of the Month "The Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database is a great source for complete and up-to-date information on children’s and young adult books. As a Teen Services Librarian, I am constantly checking sources for professional book reviews, award winners, and books of a similar subject. When I am updating our collection, CLCD is like one-stop shopping. Just a simple title search gives you an annotation, ordering information, a best books list, as well as any awards or honors that the book has received. There are extensive professional reviews of the book, a list of subject headings, links to the author, and reading measurement levels, including the point value for the Accelerated Reader program. The other excellent feature that I use frequently is the genre search. This search can be limited to grade level and book publication date and then used to develop current bibliographies. The CLCD is a very valuable source for librarians." Candace Reeder Teen Services Librarian Northport-East Northport Public Library


	Here is a way to add precision to your search, you can put a phrase in quotes “red boots” and then add any other word or words that you want such as lion and you will get Johnny Lion’s Rubber Boots. You would still get the book without the quotes along with eight others. Another tip that we have noted previously, but now that many libraries may be spending year-end funds, it may be particularly useful. You call download the MARC records for unrelated books quite easily. Just key the ISBN number without the dashes and one space between each (10 at a time) and you will bring up 10 books that you need to catalog. You can then select these records and use the download function to bring in MARC records. Any integrated library system that accepts MARC records should be able to incorporate these. Contact your ILS vendor if you encounter any problems loading the MARC records.


	Monthly Features April is National Poetry Month. Did you know that with a poem you can: prepare for a museum visit; explore a castle; or visit the Bronzeville Boys and Girls? Use this feature to place a poem on your desk. Read one to your students when they arrive in the morning or right after lunch. Easter is Sunday, April 8. Easter Egg Hunt and Spot’s Easter Surprise are among the books that feature rabbits, eggs, and baby chicks in this feature. Passover will be celebrated from April 2 through 10. If you are searching for humorous books, serious books or some with activities, you can find them here including Passover! by Roni Schotter Author Features Mary Higgins Clark, a best-selling author of adult suspense stories, has written a picture book, Ghost Ship, which is illustrated by Wendell Minor. To learn how this story came about read this conversation with Mary Higgins Clark. Heather Vogel Frederick, author of Mother Daughter Book Club talks about her latest book and the inspiration for The Voyage of Patience Goodspeed. A new museum got her creative juices flowing for the Spy Mouse titles. Find out which one in this feature. Brent Hartinger discusses the importance of point of view and how it shaped Geography Club and the new two-for-one sequel: Split Screen: Attack of the Soul-Sucking Brain Zombies and Bride of the Soul-Sucking Brain Zombies. David Lubar is an author everyone will love. His mother was a school librarian and David designed and programmed Frogger 2 for the Game Boy. With that tidbit of information you can surely persuade some of your readers to delve into the books in this feature.


	CLCD Newsletter Editor, Sharon Salluzzo serves as a library and education consultant to CLCD. In addition, Sharon is a book reviewer, a storyteller, and a member of The Children's Book Guild of Washington, DC. She currently serves on the ALSC Quicklist committee. Sharon 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.