| Children's Literature
Almost everyone has a book or series of books that they treasured as
a child. Maybe it was the Anne of Green Gables books or the Hardy Boys
series or Little Women. In our imaginations, we saw Anne Shirley jump
off the roof on a dare, helped Joe and Frank Hardy solve mysteries, and
agonized over Jo March not being in love with Laurie. What books will
become part of the collective imaginations of today's young people?
Sample some of the following activities to learn more about children's
literature.
Places To Go | People
To See | Things To Do | Teacher
Resources | Bibliography
Places To Go
The following are places to go (some real and some virtual) to find out
about children's literature.
Magic
School Bus
Go everywhere that the Magic Bus goes--inside the human body, inside the
earth, inside a hurricane, inside a beehive!
Roald Dahl
Travel the world in a giant peach.
 Inside
the Wardrobe
Journey to Narnia and have tea with the beavers; go on adventures with
Lucy, Edmund, Peter, and Susan; and ride on Aslan's strong back.
Mem Fox
Take a trip to Australia and visit with Mem Fox. Her delightful picture
books such as Possum Magic, Wombat Divine, and Koala Lou often feature
the unique animals of the "land down under".
Paul Bunyan
Trail
Take a walk down the Paul Bunyan Trail. Along the way, you'll find an
illustrated re-telling of Paul's story. 
People To See
Scholastic
- Harry Potter
If you're one of the few people who has not yet met Harry Potter, spend
some time with him and see what all the fuss is about.
 Stuart
Little
Talk to Stuart Little. This site is about his new movie, but you can also
find out about his adventures in his classic book written by E.B.White.
Paddington
Bear
Chat with Paddington Bear. Find out if he knows Winnie the Pooh. Learn
about the famous Paddington books.
Caldecott
Medal
Become acquainted with Randolph Caldecott. He was an English illustrator.
He is famous for his illustrations of a series of 16 children's books
in the mid 1800s at a time when books written specifically for children
were just coming into vogue. The Caldecott Medal for excellence in children's-book
illustration is named for him. From this site, you can see a listing of
all Caldecott winners and honor books beginning in 1938.
Newbery
Medal
Spend time with John Newbery. He was an English publisher and bookseller
in the 1700s. He was one of the first to include juvenile literature as
an important branch of the publishing business. The Newbery Medal for
excellence in children's-book writing is named for him. From this site,
you can see a listing of all Newbery winners and honor books beginning
in 1922. How many of them have you read?
Arthur
Hang out with Arthur and Francine and D.W. and the Brain. In the FAQ about
author, Marc Brown, see if you can find out how Arthur's appearance changed
from the original Arthur books (it has to do with his nose).
Charlotte's
Web
Re-acquaint yourself with Fern, Wilbur, Charlotte, Templeton, and the
rest of the crew at the farm. Discover this charming website created by
2nd grade students who read Charlotte's web. The site has chapter summaries
and teacher resources.
Things To Do
Carol Hurst's Children's
Literature Site
Experience this collection of reviews of great books for kids, ideas of
ways to use them in the classroom, and collections of books and activities
about particular subjects, curriculum areas, themes and professional topics.
 Children's
Literature Association of Utah
Become a member of the Children's Literature Association of Utah (CLAU).
CLAU is composed of parents, teachers, and school and public librarians.
CLAU sponsors the Utah Children's Book Awards.
100
Picture Books Everyone Should Know
Read through this list of recommended children's picture books which includes
Strega Nona, Horton Hatches the Egg, Goodnight Moon, Corduroy, and 96
more.
Coretta Scott
King Award
This award is given annually to authors and illustrators of African descent
whose distinguished books promote an understanding and appreciation of
the "American Dream." Find out the winners for this year.
 KidLit
Reviews of Kids' Books
Read reviews of kids' books written by other kids.
Children's
Literature Web Guide
Become familiar with this useful guide to children's literature. One of
the fun sections of this site begins about September or October with an
online forum about the upcoming Newbery and Caldecott Awards. Readers
submit the books that they think will be the winners, and a lively and
discussion ensues.
Vandergrift's
Children's Literature Page
Browse through many topics relating to children's literature.
 BookHive
Find books to read. The site, sponsored by a public library, is divided
into subject areas such as adventure, biographies, classics, mystery,
fantasy, and folklore. You can enter in the kinds of books you like to
read and receive a listing of pertinent titles. You can also narrow a
review category to a specific age level.
Webtime
Stories
Discover this incredible resource page full of websites geared to children's
literature and reading.
The
Scoop
The Scoop has reviews of current children's literature, links to author/illustrator
information, suggested activities to use with popular fiction for young
people, and more.
Redwall
Club
Join the Redwall Club if you are a fan of Brian Jacques's Redwall series
of books.
KidLit
Students are often interested in what other young people their age are
reading and enjoying. This site offers reviews of popular books written
by kids.
Teacher Resources
Hotlists from UEN provide internet sites to
visit to find out more about specific topics--in this case, children's
literature! (You can learn how to use this WWW
Activities tool created by UEN for Utah educators).
Online activities are a listing of internet
sites with fun, interesting, and educational tasks attached to each one.
(You can learn how to use this WWW
Activities tool created by UEN for Utah educators).
Lesson Plans/Webquests
Bibliography
- Blishen, Edward. Children's Classics to Read Aloud. New York, N.Y.
: Kingfisher, 1995
- Brown, Muriel. Newbery and Caldecott Medalists and Honor Book Winners
: Bibliographies and Resource Material Through 1991. New York : Neal-Schuman
Publishers, 1992.
- Horn, Pamela. Read-aloud Classics. New York, NY : Black Dog &
Leventhal : Distributed by Workman Pub. Co., c1995.
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