Children's Literature

Critical evaluation, analysis or commentary on social issues reflected in books. Interviews with authors and illustrators. Accounts of classroom practice and experience.

Publishes high-quality fiction and nonfiction, folktales; poetry; articles on other countries, customs, and traditions; exciting true adventure stories; serialized longer selections; and science articles and experiments. Children get involved with craft projects, puzzles, and contests.

The most complete provider of news, information and reviews for librarians and media specialists who serve children and young adults in school and public libraries.

Includes reviews of the best children's books published, articles about children's books, explorations of children's books from every perspective and news of the children's book world.

Based on “Ten Quick Ways to Analyze Children’s Books for Racism and Sexism.” Updated in 2013.*

Children’s books continue to be an invaluable source of information and values. They reflect the attitudes in our society about diversity, power relationships among different groups of people, and various social identities (e.g., racial, ethnic, gender, economic class, sexual orientation, and disability). The visual and verbal messages young children absorb from books (and other media) heavily influence their ideas about themselves and others. Depending on the quality of the book, they can reinforce (or undermine) children’s affirmative self-concept, teach accurate (or misleading) information about people of various identities, and foster positive (or negative) attitudes about diversity. Children’s books teach children about who is important, who matters, who is even visible. Consequently, carefully choosing quality children’s books is an indispensable educational and child-rearing task.

"Traditional-values groups are demanding the removal or restriction of books with explicit sex education, and books that unflinchingly document LGBTQ realities and the Black American experience. The American Library Association — in its unofficial tally — reports that challenges of library books have jumped fourfold, from 416 books in 2017 to 1,597 book challenges in 2021."