Database of Award-Winning Children's Literature
A Website for Classic Children’s Books, Authors, and Illustrators
Jul 26, 2009
There are so many good children’s books being published now, for so many different ages and in so many different genres. The good news is that with so many different books there is surely one to get every child excited about and interested in reading. The bad news is that it is often difficult to find that perfect fit.
The Database of Award-Winning Children’s Literature Helps Find Quality Children’s Books
In 1997, reference librarian Lisa R. Bartle created the Database of Award-Winning Children’s Literature as a free resource for anyone looking for quality children’s books. As of February 2009, she has added 7,477 books to this site. DAWCL is the perfect tool for finding the perfect book for every reader.
How to Find Children’s Books in the Database of Award-Winning Children’s Literature
Interested readers can search for books using any combination of the following criteria, with “doesn’t matter” always being an option to leave a field clear:
- Suggested age of reader [from baby/toddler to 14+]
- Setting [a specific country/continent, or urban/rural]
- Historical Period [from prehistoric to future]
- Ethnicity/Nationality of Protagonist of Tale
- Includes Languages other than English [choose secondary language]
- Format [picture book, chapter book, graphic novel, etc.]
- Genre [art, historical fiction, mystery/thriller, reference, etc.]
- Multicultural [yes/no choice]
- Gender of Protagonist
- Publication Year
Particularly useful is a section in which Bartle explains these fields and the choices offered.
Children’s Book Authors and Children’s Book Illustrators
One can also search for specific keywords or phrases, or search for winners of a specific award or books written by a specific author, illustrator, or translator.
Suggested Age of Reader
Parents and educators will particularly appreciate her explanation of “suggested age of reader,” as Bartle understands that children mature differently and what may be appropriate for one child may not be so for another of the same age. Instead, she carefully explains what type of book she categorizes for each age so that parents can make an informed decision about whether the book will suit their child.
Multicultural Children’s Literature
Bartle also concedes that her divisions for ethnicity/nationality are more specific when it comes to European cultures, but assures that this is just because of the number of English-language books with European or American protagonists. And although all of the books in this database are either written in or have been translated into English, there is also a search option for books with a significant number of words in a foreign language.
Children’s Literature Genres
There are so many choices in DAWCL’s children’s literature genres, from the general genres “fiction—all kinds” or “non-fiction” to the specific topics of “alphabet” or “mathematics,” that a searcher can get happily sidetracked selecting choices just to see what comes up.
History buffs will be particularly delighted by the “historical period” search option, which sorts books into twenty different historical periods. Almost half of these periods are within the 1900s, but that’s to be expected with the number of books written about this period. And there are still quite a few books grouped under the more “historic” historical periods.
Children’s Book Reviews
There is an option to sort results by title, author, illustrator, or publication year. These children’s book reviews give a short but clear overview of each book. Each entry includes the title, author, illustrator (if applicable), publication year, award(s) won, and a brief, one-to-two line synopsis of the book.
The Database of Award-Winning Children’s Literature is a fun, comprehensive resource for anyone interested in quality children’s books.
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