Children's Literature Interdisciplinary Collection - CLIC: Special Topics

This project encourages and supports sharing good books and stories about death and loss with children and teens throughout their lives.

http://www.notifbutwhen.org/

The Schneider Family Book Awards honor an author or illustrator for a book that embodies an artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences.

Every other year IBBY presents the Hans Christian Andersen Awards to a living author and illustrator whose complete works have made a lasting contribution to children's literature. The Hans Christian Andersen Award is the highest international recognition given to an author and an illustrator of children's books.

Here is a handful of books - to get started. Our library has many additional titles! To search the WWU Library holdings, use OneSearch and select Advance Search. Then, combine your topic with “juvenile materials” to limit your results to our children’s collections.

Picture Books

Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns: A Muslim Book of Colors by Hena Khan (Owned by WWU Libaries) With breathtaking illustrations and informative text, Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns magnificently captures the world of Islam, celebrating its beauty and traditions for even the youngest readers.

Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote by Duncan Tonatiuh (Owned by WWU Libraries) In this allegorical picture book, a young rabbit named Pancho eagerly awaits his papa’s return. Papa Rabbit traveled north two years ago to find work in the great carrot and lettuce fields to earn money for his family. When Papa does not return, Pancho sets out to find him.

The Journey by Francesca Sanna (Owned by WWU Libraries) With haunting echoes of the current refugee crisis this beautifully illustrated book explores the unimaginable decisions made as a family leave their home and everything they know to escape the turmoil and tragedy brought by war. (Read this book before you share with young children – suitable for all ages.)

Migrant by Maxine Trottier (Owned by WWU Libraries) Historical Fiction - Anna is the child of Mennonites from Mexico, who have come north to harvest fruit and vegetables. Sometimes she feels like a bird, flying north in the spring and south in the fall, sometimes like a jackrabbit in an abandoned burrow, since her family occupies an empty farmhouse near the fields, sometimes like a kitten, as she shares a bed with her sisters . . . But above all Anna wonders what it would be like to be a tree rooted deeply in the earth, watching the seasons come and go, instead of being like a "feather in the wind."

Middle Readers

Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan (Owned by WWU Libraries) Historical Fiction - Esperanza thought she'd always live with her family on their ranch in Mexico--she'd always have fancy dresses, a beautiful home, and servants. But a sudden tragedy forces Esperanza and Mama to flee to California during the Great Depression, and to settle in a camp for Mexican farm workers.

Return to Sender by Julie Alvarez (Owned by WWU Libraries) After Tyler’s father is injured in a tractor accident, his family is forced to hire migrant Mexican workers to help save their Vermont farm from foreclosure. Tyler isn’t sure what to make of these workers. Are they undocumented? And what about the three daughters, particularly Mari, the oldest, who is proud of her Mexican heritage but also increasingly connected to her American life. Her family lives in constant fear of being discovered by the authorities and sent back to the poverty they left behind in Mexico.

Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai (Owned by WWU Libraries) Inspired by the author's childhood experience as a refugee—fleeing Vietnam after the Fall of Saigon and immigrating to Alabama—this coming-of-age debut novel told in verse has been celebrated for its touching child's-eye view of family and immigration. Hà has only ever known Saigon: the thrills of its markets, the joy of its traditions, and the warmth of her friends close by. But now the Vietnam War has reached her home. Hà and her family are forced to flee as Saigon falls, and they board a ship headed toward hope—toward America.

Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman (Owned by WWU Libraries) A vacant lot, rat-infested and filled with garbage, looked like no place for a garden. Especially to a neighborhood of strangers where no one seems to care. Until one day, a young girl clears a small space and digs into the hard-packed soil to plant her precious bean seeds. Suddenly, the soil holds promise. Thirteen very different voices and perspectives—old, young, Haitian, Hispanic, tough, haunted, and hopeful—tell one amazing story about a garden that transforms a neighborhood.

The Arrival by Shaun Tan (Owned by WWU Libraries) Illustrated depictions of the immigrant experience. A shockingly imaginative graphic novel that captures the sense of adventure and wonder that surrounds a new arrival on the shores of a shining new city. Wordless, but with perfect narrative flow.

Angel Island: Gateway to Gold Mountain by Russell Freedman (Owned by WWU Libraries) Angel Island, off the coast of California, was the port of entry for Asian immigrants to the United States between 1892 and 1940. Following the passage of legislation requiring the screening of immigrants, "the other Ellis Island" processed around one million people from Japan, China, and Korea. Drawing from memoirs, diaries, letters, and the "wall poems" discovered at the facility long after it closed, Freedman describes the people who came, and why; the screening process; detention and deportation; changes in immigration policy; and the eventual renaissance of Angel Island as a historic site open to visitors. Includes archival photos, source notes, and bibliography.

Young Adult

The Arrival by Shaun Tan (Owned by WWU Libraries) Graphic depictions of the immigrant experience. A shockingly imaginative graphic novel that captures the sense of adventure and wonder that surrounds a new arrival on the shores of a shining new city. Wordless, but with perfect narrative flow.

Angel Island: Gateway to Gold Mountain by Russell Freedman (Owned by WWU Libraries) Nonfiction - Angel Island, off the coast of California, was the port of entry for Asian immigrants to the United States between 1892 and 1940. Following the passage of legislation requiring the screening of immigrants, "the other Ellis Island" processed around one million people from Japan, China, and Korea. Drawing from memoirs, diaries, letters, and the "wall poems" discovered at the facility long after it closed, Freedman describes the people who came, and why; the screening process; detention and deportation; changes in immigration policy; and the eventual renaissance of Angel Island as a historic site open to visitors. Includes archival photos, source notes, and bibliography.

Al-Kindi: The Father of Arab Philosophy by Tony Abboud (Owned by WWU Libraries) Nonfiction - Great Muslim philosophers and scientists of the Middle Ages Series. This life-and-times biography examines the enormous contributions of al-Kindi, a giant of Arab thought and science during the ninth century. The book delves into al-Kindi's work in philosophy, medicine, music, calligraphy, and mathematics, introduces the reader to the age and locale in which al-Kindi operated, and wraps up with his legacy and influence.

The Journey by Francesca Sanna (Owned by WWU Libraries) This is a picture book but contains illustrations and themes for teens and adults. With haunting echoes of the current refugee crisis this beautifully illustrated book explores the unimaginable decisions made as a family leave their home and everything they know to escape the turmoil and tragedy brought by war.

Search the library catalog and type in your topic keywords or Library of Congress (LC) subject terms.

General Terms: children with disabilities, people with disabiliities, speech disorders, speech therapy, hearing disorders

Specific Terms: deaf, deaf culture, cancer, psychosomatic speech disorders, cerebral palsy, autism, asperger's syndrome

Remember to LIMIT to Location: Children's Collection for children's literature

Bibliographic Resources
Go to the reference area of the Children's Literature Interdisciplinary Collection (CLIC) for bibliographic resources.

You will find a rotating sample of United States, Canadian, and Washington State publications in CLIC. For example, there are coloring books, puzzles, nature guides and special topics like bullying, pollution awareness, and nutrition on the shelves.

These materials are available for checkout!

You can an ADVANCED KEYWORD search the library catalog for these topics and LIMIT the LOCATION to Government Documents.