Children's Literature in Action: A Librarian's Guide (Library and Information Science Text)

An introduction to children and their literature, an activity-oriented survey of books which should be in your library, focused on librarians with practical applications for librarians to share books with children, plans for book-based programs, and ways to collaborate with teachers and families in sharing books with children. Help is given for the selection and sharing of books in each genre. Each chapter has brief insets of author comments, collaborative activities, featured books, special topics and activities, selected awards and celebrations, historical connections, recommended resources, issues for discussion, and assignment suggestions.

The author, a former President of the U.S. Board on Books for Young People, has written an affordable text especially for school and children's librarians and faculty teaching both undergraduate and graduate students who are studying to be school and children's librarians. While similar texts on this subject are designed for teachers, this is an activities-oriented survey of children's literature written especially for students seeking licensure and degrees leading to careers working with children in schools and public libraries. All the pieces are there, the explanations of the genres, introductions to authors and illustrations, and the use of specific titles with their audiences, and the literature is carefully linked to active practice in libraries. Chapters are enriched by brief insets of authors' comments, collaborative activities, selected awards and celebrations, historical connections, recommended resources, issues for discussion, and assignment suggestions.

The framework for this text adds a layer of practical application in every chapter for the librarian who shares books with children, plans book-based programs, and collaborates with teachers and families in sharing books and developing literature-based instruction. What does a librarian need to know about how to select and share books in each genre? What are the usual promotion and collaboration activities associated with each genre? This book answers those questions while maintaining its focus on literature for children. Embedded in a genre approach to literature, it has a unique focus on the librarian or future librarian.

Sylvia M. Vardell is professor in the School of Library and Information Studies at Texas Woman's University. She holds a BS from the University of Texas in Elementary Education and a PhD from the University of Minnesota in Curriculum and Instruction, Children's Literature, and Language Arts. She has been president of the U.S. Board on Books for Young People. Vardell received the 2014 American Library Association Scholastic Library Publishing Award.