Volume 7, Issue 1
January 2008
Search Tip of the Month
This Month's Features
Spreading the News
January is certainly aptly named since this month at ALA Midwinter we will be looking back to the best of 2007 and talking with publishers at the exhibits about the upcoming 2008 titles. Every year there are books that quickly fall into the "must-have" category. You can easily distinguish some that will be perfect for your collection. Many of you also keep an ongoing list of titles for possible purchase. These are the books for which you need more information. That is where the Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database (CLCD) comes in mighty handy. With more than thirty review sources, there are often multiple reviews on a title. What's more, the CLCD has reviews of audio books, plays, DVDs, and professional titles as well as new children's and young adult fiction and nonfiction.
You can save a lot of time by searching in CLCD. It is very easy to make a list of titles, too. Just copy the information into your word program to add to or delete from your "for possible purchase" list. You can move titles around, as well, and put books on similar topics together. January may be the month to look backward and forward, but with all the reviews you need in one place, and the ease with which you can create your list, you will be efficiently moving ahead when you have a subscription to CLCD.
If you will be at ALA Midwinter in Philadelphia please stop by to say hello and hear about what’s new with CLCD. We will be at Booth # 225 in the small press area. We are always delighted to talk with you.
Quote of the Month
"I have been encouraging my students to look at CLCD as a collection development tool- they are pretty darned impressed."
Janice M. Del Negro, GSLIS/Dominican University,
River Forest, Illinois
Once again in response to subscriber requests, we are adding a new feature to the CLCD search capability. You will soon be able to limit your search to only those titles that have won a honor, prize, award or are on a reading list. You were always able to search for books for specific honors and awards or appear on specific reading lists, but this new capability will make it simple and allow you to easily use this and other qualifiers in your full text search.
Monthly Features
Katherine Kirkpatrick's The Snow Baby: The Arctic Childhood of Robert E. Peary's Daring Daughter provides an intimate look at a fascinating way of life. It is one of the new titles in our updated themed reviews feature on Snow.
Variations of the Cinderella story can be found all around the world. In Glass Slipper, Gold Sandal: A Worldwide Cinderella adapted by Paul Fleischman, he creatively intermingles a number of these into one tale. Click here for our themed reviews feature to read more about this book and others that you may need for your collection.
So often the focus for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is his incredible "I have a dream" speech. Broaden your students' knowledge of American history and this African-American hero with Freedom Walkers: The Story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott by Russell Freedman and other titles in this themed reviews feature.
Patrick Carman, author of The Dark Hills Divide, talks about the creative process and the journey that brought him to write "The Land of Elyon" series in this question and answer feature.
How does someone who grows up under Soviet Communism develop his creativity and get to meet the Beatles? Peter Sis responds to these inquiries in this interview about his critically acclaimed new book, The Wall.
Why does a Pulitzer Prize winning columnist for the New York Times decide to write a series for middle school readers? Michael Winerip, author of Adam Canfield of the Slash and Adam Canfield, Watch Your Back, provides thoughtful comments to this and other questions.
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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.