Links
An Alphabet of Links

Hornbook Intended to teach children their ABCs, hornbooks like this one consisted of a sheet of paper glued to wooden paddle and covered with translucent horn.
Used by permission of Corbis Images for Education

Kindergarten Class
Used by permission of Corbis Images for Education

dventure Stories
Click here to read an online essay about 19th-century adventure stories by Dr. Christopher Gordon-Craig. This piece contains links to the actual texts of books like R. M. Ballantyne’s The Gorilla Hunters (1861).
anned Books
Click here to view a list of the most commonly challenged books, compiled by the American Library Association.
hildren’s Defense Fund
Founded by Marian Wright Edelman, this nonprofit organization fights to protect the rights of American children, especial poor and minority children and those with disabilities. Click here to view of list of legislation that they helped pass, and to discover how you can participate in future lobbying efforts.
r. Seuss
Famous for children’s books like The Cat in the Hat (1957) and Green Eggs and Ham (1960), Dr. Seuss also created advertising artwork and political cartoons. Click here to see his ads for products like FLIT bugkiller, and here to see some of the editorial cartoons he drew during World War II.

dward Gorey
If this ABC is too tame for you, check out author/illustrator Edward Gorey’s macabre alphabet book The Gashlycrumb Tinies (1963), which begins “A is for Amy who fell down the stairs. B is for Basil assaulted by bears…”

ables by Aesop
Click here to view an online collection of hundreds of Aesop’s fables, including “The Ant and the Grasshopper” and “The Dog in the Manger.”
rimm Brothers Home Page
Click here to learn more about the Brothers Grimm, and to read annotated versions of their famous fairy tales, including “Little Red Riding Hood,” “Snow White,” and “Cinderella.”
arry Potter
Click here to read Chris Suellentrop’s amusing and insightful essay “Harry Potter: Pampered Jock, Patsy, Fraud.” Or click here to check out Christine Schoefer’s provocative piece “Harry Potter’s Girl Trouble.”
nternational Children's Digital Library (ICDL)
Click here to read hundreds of international children's books free online!
. M. Barrie, author of Peter Pan
Click here to visit a lavishly illustrated website focused on the creator of the children’s classic Peter Pan.
ay Vandergrift’s Children’s Literature Page
Among other resources, this website features lists of picture books with Hispanic, African-American, Asian-American, and Native American themes. Click here to access it.

Dr. Vandergrift has also compiled a useful list of young adult literature, which you can view by clicking here.

ouisa May Alcott
Click here to find out more about the author of the children’s classic Little Women (1868). This site, the “Louisa May Alcott: Teacher Resource File,” was created by the Internet School Library Resource Center, which features webpages on other famous children’s authors as well.
other Goose
Click here to find out all sorts of information about Mother Goose nursery rhymes! This website is part of Project ECLIPSE, an online children’s literature site directed by Professor Kay E. Vandergrift.
ewbery Medal Home Page
Every year, the American Library Association awards the Newbery Medal to the book judged to be the most distinguished contribution to American children’s literature. Click here to see what books have won this year (and in the past).

The most distinguished American picture book of the years receives the Caldecott Medal. Click here to view those titles.

rson Scott Card
If you haven’t read Card’s stunning story Ender’s Game (1985), you should. A movie version is currently in the works. Visit the Orson Scott Card website to find out more by clicking here.
hilip Nel’s List of Children’s Literature Links
Professor Philip Nel has assembled an amazing list of links to websites focused on children’s literature. Click here to find out more about authors like Beverly Cleary, Laura Ingalls Wilder, L. M. Montgomery, Walter Dean Myers, and many, many more!
ueer Children’s Literature
Wendy E. Betts has compiled “Rainbow Reading,” an annotated, illustrated list of children’s books that feature gay and lesbian characters and themes. Click here to check it out.
oald Dahl Website
The official website of the author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964) features a biographical essay on Dahl and lots of fun animation. Click here to visit it.
choolbooks
Click here to check out the Nietz Collection of Nineteenth-Century Schoolbooks, an online database of American textbooks held by our very own University of Pittsburgh library!
Or click here to browse through over 100 Sunday school books published in America between 1815 and 1865, drawn from the collections of Michigan State and Central Michigan University.
wain in His Times
Click here to visit Professor Stephen Railton’s Mark Twain website, which features manuscripts, images, contemporary reviews, and interactive exhibits which illuminate the life and work of the author who created Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.
nicef
The United Nations Children’s Fund raises money to help children all over the world. Learn more about their various campaigns and how you can help by clicking here.
irginia Hamilton
A prolific author whose books for children have met with both popular and critical success, Virginia Hamilton can (and has) been favorably compared to such celebrated writers as Ralph Ellison and Toni Morrison. If you don’t know her work, check out her website by clicking here.
hitbread Children’s Book Award
Click here to reach the main website of the Whitbread Book Awards, which include a prize for the best British children’s book of the year.
: A Fabulous Child’s Story
This short story by Lois Gould first appeared in Ms. Magazine in 1972. Aimed illustrating how heavily people rely on gender stereotypes when deciding how to treat children, it depicts the fuss that ensues when two parents name their child Baby X and refuse to reveal its sex. Read it online by clicking here.
ALSA
Click here to visit the website of the Young Adult Library Services Association, which lists current and past prize-winning books for young adults, including “Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers” and “Great Graphic Novels for Teens.”
ip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah
This Oscar-winning song was featured in Walt Disney’s controversial movie Song of the South (1946). Currently, it is impossible to buy a copy of the film; click here to visit one fan’s informative website and find out what all the fuss is about!