March 2008
Search Tip of the Month
This Month's Features
Spreading the News
My favorite season will return this month and my favorite color with it: spring green. That's the color of the leaves on the trees just before they burst open. To me, it is the color of life springing forth. After the cold of the winter, the days are beginning to lengthen, the sun is higher and warmer, and people are coming out of their winter cocoons. It is a time of hope and promise, and a call to "Read Across America." I begin to feel a spring in my step. My energy level is higher and I accomplish much more. And speaking of accomplishing more, The Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database (CLCD) can help you do so at work, whether you are working on end of the year buying lists, replacement lists, or preparing bibliographies for teachers. Our monthly features apprise you of new Children’s and YA materials, but they are just the tip of the asparagus plant (we are talking spring here, folks).
Be sure to consult the CLCD for all your media needs. With its quick response time, the CLCD will have you springing into action in no time.
Quote of the Month
"Before CLCD I needed to use several very thick books, and journals, to gather the information I needed. Now I can look up books by subject, and find details about the books and reviews – all in one easy to use package!"
Barbara Shaffer, Education Librarian, Penfield Library -- SUNY Oswego
If you need to weed your collection and are looking for new titles to replace those outdated books; don't forget about the Browse feature--a very powerful way of looking at all of the books in CLCD by subject, Dewey classification, author, etc.
Here are some tips to help when the results of your browse search may not seem to be correct:
- When I enter a Dewey Decimal catalog number, why does the browse function sometimes returns no matching records? Rather than entering the full number, start your browse by entering the root classification number (e.g., 204.5).
- When I enter a subject term, why does the browse function sometimes return a list of author names? The browse function defaults to browsing the author index. To browse the subject term index, be sure to select the Subject Term index before clicking on the BROWSE button.
- How do I display the list of titles associated with one or more subject terms? Click on one or more of the boxes to the left of the subject terms, so that the boxes contain a check mark, and then click on the SELECT button at the top of the screen. A search will be performed that will create a new results set containing all of the records for the selected index entries. The results set can be used in the same way that other result sets generated by the Search page are used.
Easter has taken us all by surprise this year. It will be celebrated on March 23rd. My First Easter by Tomie dePaola is just the right size for an Easter basket gift for a young child. For other display and gift ideas, click here.
March is Adopt-a-Rescued-Guinea Pig Month. There are lots of wonderful books featuring guinea pigs and their human friends. Presented here is a sampling of the very best fiction and nonfiction featuring "everything cavy." Why not start off with Great Big Guinea Pigs by Susan Roth?
St. Patrick's Day is March 17th. Author Eve Bunting provides "just a little bit of sentiment, a little bit of tradition, and a little bit of home" as she talks about the tradition of sending shamrocks for St. Patrick’s Day but it can also describe her book, S Is for Shamrock: An Ireland Alphabet. It is one of the titles on our list that will acquaint your readers with the Celtic Tiger as well as the history and lore of its past.
The titles in our themed reviews list certainly reflect the 2008 theme for National Women's History Month: Women's Art: Women's Vision. There are books about the history of the women's movement and individual biographies. One of my favorites is Patience Wright: America's First Sculptor, and Revolutionary Spy by Pegi Deitz Shea.
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Author Features
When asked if he likes to scare kids, David Lubar responds that he likes to entertain them. His sense of humor certainly comes through this entertaining mini interview in which he talks about some of the short stories in The Curse of the Campfire Weenies, and Other Warped and Creepy Tales.
Our sister company, Children's Literature, has recently published a trilogy of Civil War stories by Carolyn Reeder called, Before the Creeks Ran Red. Carolyn explains why she selected this title for the trilogy and talks about each of the titles, Timothy Donovan's Story, Joseph Schwartz's Story, and Gregory Howard's Story, in this interview.
Carmella Van Vleet, author of Amazing Ben Franklin Inventions You Can Build Yourself, answers questions about Ben Franklin, why she wrote about him and why children will find him to be an interesting person to read about. While your students are building his inventions, you might want to ask them what they think is Ben Franklin's most important contribution to society.
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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.