The VIU Library collection has books for younger readers, across different grade levels, and related to different subjects. You can search for specific titles that you come across from book lists online, or you can check for reviews after you find a book in our collection.

Keyword search: Run a search using relevant keywords for the material you're looking for. Think about the topic or theme, synonyms or related words and age groups you're interested in. Add "curriculum lab" to include books that relate to the educational childrens books in our collection.

For example: 

"curriculum lab" (ocean OR sea)

Learn more about using keywords to search the library. 

Also check out the Curriculum resources tab in this guide.

You might want to check online reviews to assess the book's quality, educational value, cultural inclusivity and suitability for a particular age group. You can try a few strategies below: 

Books about Indigenous people

• For children's books about Indigenous people it is especially important to evaluate the work as they can sometimes be problematic. UBC librarians discussed problematic children's books about Indigenous people in their article titled Repurposing problematic books into critical literacy kits.  
• Xwi7xwa Library, the Indigenous library at UBC, has created a guide on Indigenous children's literature with information on evaluation tools and Critical Indigenous Literacy. Check through their guide on how to evaluate children's books that you select about Indigenous people as a student and a professional. 
• American Indians in Children's Literature: This is a great review website created by Dr. Deebie Reese and co-edited by Dr. Jean Mendoza providing critical analysis of Indigenous people in children's and young adult books. 

Searching the Library

VIU Library - You can search for the title of the book and author. Then filter for book reviews on the lefthand side.

Example: "Saving American Beach" Heidi Tyline King

You might run across some great magazines that the library subscribes to during your search that you might want to search individually for reviews, including:

• School Library Journal - reviews of children's books by and for librarians.
• Kirkus - a great resource for searching reviews on children's books and illustrations.

Note: You will lose access to these sources after you leave the university. You may seek alumni privileges after that point. 

Searching in online search engines

Try searching in any online search engine for your book title + author + reviews. Example: Old Wood Boat Nikki McClure reviews.

As always, evaluate the website and author's background and credentials to offer further context for their review. Some notable review websites include:

• Publishers Weekly - This is a good review site that you will have access to even after you leave VIU and start working as a professional in your field.  
• Horn Book - reviews of children's books, articles and interviews with authors.
• Common Sense Media - provides reviews for children books, games and movies.
• Booklist - book reviews on children's picture books, including content and illustrations

Sites like Amazon books and Goodreads offer broader forums with comments shared by anyone and everyone.

• You can try to access the book through VIU Library's catalogue or public library (Vancouver Island Regional Library).  
• You might find that the book is not available at VIU or the public library. You might be able to interlibrary loan the book which is free but will take at least 1-2 weeks to be mailed to VIU. If you plan to take an interlibrary loan, please do so as soon as possible.