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Children's Literature

Tools and resources to assist research/assignments on children's literature

Intellectual Freedom Resources

American Library Association Office of Intellectual Freedom

The Office of Intellectual Freedom manages information regarding banned/challenged books from libraries in the United States. Included in these webpages are lists of banned books, infographics, datasets, and other important information regarding banned/challenged books.

National Council of Teachers of English Intellectual Freedom Center

Information gathered by NCTE regarding challenged/banned books in schools, including the Students' Right to Read and other position documents and data.

National Coalition Against Censorship - Kids' Right to Read Project

Offers support, education, and direct advocacy to people facing book challenges or bans in schools and libraries and engages local activists in promoting the freedom to read.  

National Coalition Against Censorship - Defend LGBTQ Stories

Offers an overview of common arguments made by would-be censors and techniques for advocating for LGBTQ stories in your schools and communities.

PEN America

Freedom to write organization involved in book bans and educational censorship. This site includes the 2022 report Banned in the USA.

 

Websites

Below are some helpful websites about banned/challenged books:

National Coalition Against Censorship Youth Censorship Database

A database of K-12 student censorship incidents includes book challenges in schools and libraries, as well as censorship of student art, journalism, and other types of student expression in schools.

EveryLibrary Legislation Tracker

EveryLibrary has identified numerous states where bills have been introduced that would restrict teaching about race and sex, censor school library collections, or limit access to educational databases.

Unite Against Book Bans

A national initiative to empower readers everywhere to stand together in the fight against censorship. The site includes aggregate information from the American Library Association's Office of Intellectual Freedom, a toolkit to help fight censorship with activism.

Comic Book Legal Defense Fund

Non-profit organization dedicated to the protection of the First Amendment rights of the comics art form and its community of retailers, creators, publishers, librarians, and readers. The CBLDF provides legal referrals, representation, advice, assistance, and education in furtherance of these goals.

We Need Diverse Books - Google Form to Collect Soft Censorship

WNDB is gathering these stories to better understand where this censorship is happening and which books are getting targeted. This will help us create programming to best support teachers, librarians, and the educators affected.

#FReadom Fighters

Committed to highlighting the positive work of librarians, to speak up in support of authors and students, and to provide professional resources for librarians, teachers or authors facing book challenges.

Banned Books Week

The official site of Banned Books Week, which occurs every September. Site contains information on banned books and events related to Banned Books Week.

Videos

Freely Available Online:

How Book Bans and Classroom Efforts Impact LGBTQ+ Authors, Educators and Students

Panel conversation presented by the American Civil Liberties Union, the Hatchette Book Group, Lambda Literary, and We Need Diverse Books.

National Hispanic Media Coalition: Banned Books

Panel conversation about banned books featuring speakers from the American Library Association, National Coalition Against Censorship, and PEN America.

Banned Comic Books

Panel discussion about comic books and book banning featuring authors Jerry Craft and Phoebe Gloeckner.

Censorship in Prisons

Panel discussion hosted by the San Francisco Public Library and featuring Dr. Tammi Arford, Kurtis Tanaka, and Hari Gopal.

Journals and Databases

These resources may require Fresno State ID and password to access as they are subscription resources.

School Library Journal

The leading magazine for reviews and other articles for school librarians, media specialists, and public librarians who work with young people

Journal of Research on Libraries and Young Adults

Peer-reviewed journal that publishes research concerning the informational and developmental needs of young adults; the management, implementation, and evaluation of library services for young adults; and other critical issues relevant to librarians who work with young adults.

Young Adult Library Services

Non-peer reviewed, professional journal for librarians who work with young people.

Children & Libraries

Refereed journal of the Association for Library Service to Children that showcases current scholarly research and practice in library service to children.

ALAN Review

Peer-reviewed (refereed) journal that devoted solely to the field of literature for young adults.

Children's Literature Review

Children's Literature Review covers authors and illustrators of books for children and young adults from around the world. This resource provides biographical information and insights along with scholarly essays, reviews and other critical responses. Note: This resource links at the database level. To search only Children's Literature Review, select it from the "Your Library's Databases".

Academic Search Ultimate

An excellent starting point for any topic, Academic Search Ultimate contains over 13,000 academic journals, magazines, and newspapers. 

Academic OneFile

Full-text, peer-reviewed articles from over 17,000 scholarly journals covering key subject areas.