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Subject guide for Children’s Literature and Media

On this page, you will find a selection of resources concerning children’s literature and media. You are welcome to contact us in case you need any help or if you have suggestions for additional information on the page.

Google Scholar is popular and can be used as a first entry point to find scientific literature.
But Google Scholar only shows the tip of the iceberg.
Always use the reference works and the databases on this subject guide for further literature search.

Reference works

  • Keywords for Children’s Literature 2nd. ed.
  • Historical Dictionary of Children's Literature
  • The Oxford Encyclopedia of Children's Literature
  • International companion encyclopedia of children's literature  / Peter Hunt. 2nd ed.
  • The Routledge Companion to Picturebooks
  • Litteraturleksikon is a reference work which explains concepts, methods, phenomena and genres in literature. The reference work gives the reader an overview of the field of comparative literature, including literature references and suggestions for further reading. It is written and edited by specialists and covers both classic topics and new trends in literary research.

  • The Literary Encyclopedia
    An international encyclopedia on authors, publications, and topics in world literature. The content is also arranged by its historical context, enabling search within historical topics and events. The encyclopedia is continuously updated.

  • Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Literature
    The Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Literature (ORE) encompasses a wide range of literary topics from all over the world: literature from Africa, Asia, England, Ireland, North America and Western Europe as well as topics such as children's literature, cultural studies, poetry, drama, film, media, literary concepts, comparative literature, etc. All articles are peer-reviewed and written by literary experts. Contains literature references for further reading.

  • Literature Online
    This work includes an encyclopedia on world literature, a text archive with classic fiction in English, access to the bibliography ‘Annual Bibliography of English Language and Literature’ (ABELL) and access to a large number of full-text journals and introductions to literary classics. Access to the literary introductions: Click ’Publications’ on the front page and search for study guides.

  • Kindlers Literatur Lexicon
    Online version of the comprehensive German language reference work of world literature. Includes bibliographical references for each author and some specific works or genres.

  • Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory & Criticism
    The encyclopedia is a central resource of literary theory and discourse. It includes more than 300 entries relating to critics, theorists, critical schools, and movements within literary theory, aesthetics, philosophy, cultural studies etc.
  • Oxford Reference Online
    A large collection of acknowledged encyclopedias and dictionaries within the English language, as well as English-to-French, Spanish, German, Italian, Latin, Irish and Welsh dictionaries. Furthermore, it includes collections of quotes, illustrations, maps, and historical timelines. It is suitable for references on classical texts through the many reference works on classical studies – as well as for references on children’s literature.
  • Den Store Danske
    The Danish general encyclopedia with many entries on specifically Danish matters.

Bibliographies

  • MLA International Bibliography
    References to articles and books within literature and language studies. Often articles are available in full text. Covers European, Asian, American, and African languages and literary fields.

  • PsycINFO
    An international database. Contains references to psychological publications as well as publications dealing with psychological aspects in fields such as medicine, psychiatry, nursing, sociology, education, pharmacology, physiology, anthropology, economy and law. Full-text access to articles from PsycArticle.
  • ERIC (Educational Resources Information Center)
    The most extensive bibliography on pedagogics with references to journal articles, books, conference records, papers etc. within all the disciplines of pedagogy and other related literature. There is usually full-text access to articles and papers.
  • Bibliography of Metaphor and Metonymy
    An international bibliography which covers the term ‘metaphor’ widely. All articles have keywords, many also an abstract. The database is updated once a year.
  • Bibliotek.dk
    The national bibliography of all publications in Denmark dating back to 1841. Also contains catalogues of all Danish libraries (public and academic libraries).
  • Dansk Litteraturhistorisk Bibliografi
    Contains references to books and articles on Danish literature and Danish writers, having been published all over the world since 1967.
  • Education Research Complete
    Full-text bibliography giving access to articles in one of the world’s most complete collections of pedagogical journals.
  • NORA. Research Portal Denmark
    The portal to comprehensive national research infrastructure, dedicated to collecting and organizing data on Danish research – input, output, impact and building public user services that facilitate the discovery and exploration of Danish research.
    Under construction: new data and features are added continuously.

    Notice: The earliest research data tentatively from 2011.

Article databases

  • Bibliotek.dk – Search for articles
    This Danish article database register Danish newspaper- and journal articles.

  • Project Muse
    A journal database with full-text access to high quality journals within the humanities and social science. The database provides access to the most recent issues and sometimes to older issues (back issues) as well.
  • Communication & Mass Media Complete
    CMMC contains references to articles in journals focusing on communication, mass media and related topics – including children and media, children and fiction etc. CMMC offers a complete indexing and abstracts for most journals.
  • JSTOR
    A journal database with full-text access to the leading academic journals within all subject areas. NB: it is usually not possible to access the most recent 3-5 volumes, but it is possible to access previous publications.

E-books and text archives

  • Ebook Central 
    A multidisciplinary e-book database covering all subject areas, including many titles within literary history. The books, which are mainly in English, have been published by established publishers such as Blackwell, Brill, Oxford University Press, Springer, and Wiley. The base is regularly updated with new titles.
    Search for e.g. ‘Children’s literature’ or ‘Children and media’.
  • Arkiv for Dansk Litteratur (ADL)
    An archive for the classical Danish literature, mostly older date. Each entry has information such as biography, bibliography, and a literary portrait of the author in question.
  • Cambridge Companions Online 
    The online version of the renouned Cambridge Companions series published for students. Contains introductions to classical and central authors, artists, philosophers, topics, and periods. Continuously updated.
    Enables search across all companions on a specific topic – e.g. ‘Children’s literature’.

Dictionaries

Early children’s books

  • Bibliotek.dk
    The national bibliography of all publications in Denmark dating back to 1841, including children’s books. It also contains catalogues of all Danish libraries (public and academic libraries).
  • Early European Books
    An archive with digitalized literature from before 1701, covering all subject areas. Gives access to a comprehensive selection of printed sources, regardless of language. Supplement to Early English Books Online (EEBO), mostly concerned with non-English books. Includes precise searchable reproductions of the publications. Continuously updated and expanded.
  • Børnebogssamlingen på Campus Emdrup
    Includes publications dating back to the 18th century.
  • Børnebøger m.m. på Det Kgl. Bibliotek, Aarhus
    Includes unlisted publications from the 1840’s and forward.

Special collections at the Royal Danish Library

  • Netarkivet
    Part of the Danish internet – collected and preserved to ensure the material for future research purposes according to the Danish Legal Deposit Act (2005).

Newspaper and media

  • Infomedia
    InfoMedia is a large newspaper database with full-text access to a number of Danish newspapers. The articles date back to around 1990.

  • Mediestream
    Mediestream contains radio- and TV broadcasts from selected Danish broadcasts since 2005. Continuously updated. Available in English.
  • Factiva
    Global news. Only 5 users have access simultaneously.
  • Kulturmonitor
    Kulturmonitor is a digital news media which covering news, debates and analysis within the area of film, performing arts, art, music, literature and cultural politics. Published by Monitormedier A/S.

Search Engines

  • Via Google Scholar you can find links to Det Kgl. Biblioteks licensed resources and access full texts within these.
  • Enable direct access via Google Scholars settings (the three dashes at your left).
    Select ‘library links’ and choose ‘Det Kgl. Bibliotek, The Royal Danish Library’.
    Use ‘Advance Search’ for best results.

  • Google Scholar is popular and can be used as a first entry point to find scientific literature.
    But Google Scholar only shows the tip of the iceberg.

    Always use the reference works and the databases on this subject guide for further literature search.

Websites


Libraries online

Bibliotek.dk
The Danish national library database. It includes references to all Danish public and academic libraries and their materials. Makes it possible to book materials from all Danish libraries for pick-up at your own library.

Bibliothèque nationale de France

The British Library

Deutsche National Bibliothek

Reference management

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AU Studypedia

AU Studypedia is an academic tool for you to use in regard to writing assignments, searching for literature, and other approaches related to your studying. Here, you will find concrete advice, inspiration, and exercises.

Copyright

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Information seeking

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