Children's Literature Comprehensive Database (CLCD): Introduction

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harvested from reviews in authoratative sources like Booklist and Kirkus Reviews.

Lexile Range:

standard measure for reader or text. See "A Word About Lexile Scores."

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measures established by Scholastic's "Reading Counts!" and the Accelerated Reader programs.

Children's Literature Comprehensive Database provides reliable one search access to all important and relevant information about Pre K-12 books and media of all types, including reviews from respected publications for those professionals who work with Pre K-12, reading program metrics, interest level, and more. Their goal is to connect subscribers with information about books, authors, and illustrators around the world; and to connect children and young adults with the books that will make a significant difference in their lives.It is a web-based database service that can be accessed anytime, anywhere, 24/7! Off-Campus access is available to UWF students, faculty and staff through their UWF username and password.

Follow this link to CLCD!

Be sure to set up a user account in CLCD to take advantage of all the features offered by this database like

• creating booklists,
• accessing your search history, and
• accessing your saved searches.

To set up your user account

• Select “My CLCD Login” at the top right of the page.
• Select “Request Access” and enter your UWF username and password, and additional personal information.
• Refresh the page, and log in with your UWF username and password.

One of the CLCD's functions is to connect subscribers with information on reading programs for Pre K-12 materials. One such reading program is the Lexile Measure.

What is a Lexile Measure?

A Lexile measure is a valuable piece of information about either an individual's reading ability or the difficulty of a text, like a book or magazine article. The Lexile measure is shown as a number with an "L" after it — 880L is 880 Lexile.

A student gets his or her Lexile reader measure from a reading test or program. For example, if a student receives an 880L on her end-of-grade reading test, she is an 880 Lexile reader. Higher Lexile measures represent a higher level of reading ability. A Lexile reader measure can range from below 200L for emergent readers to above 1600L for advanced readers. Readers who score below 0L receive a BR for Beginning Reader. In some cases, for readers, a BR code is followed by a number and L (e.g., BR150L). A Lexile reader measure of BR150L indicates that the Lexile measure of the reader is 150 units below 0L. The smaller the number following the BR code, the more advanced the reader is. For example, a BR150L reader is more advanced than a BR200L reader.

A book, article or piece of text gets a Lexile text measure when it's analyzed by MetaMetrics. For example, the first "Harry Potter" book measures 880L, so it's called an 880 Lexile book. A Lexile text measure is based on the semantic and syntactic elements of a text. Many other factors affect the relationship between a reader and a book, including its content, the age and interests of the reader, and the design of the actual book. The Lexile text measure is a good starting point in the book-selection process, with these other factors then being considered. Lexile text measures are rounded to the nearest 10L. Unlike the reader measure, all text measures below 0L are currently reported as BR. MetaMetrics has conducted research to differentiate the BR text measures, and these measures will be available at a later date.  --from About Lexile Measurements 

Lexile-to-Grade Correspondance  Read how the lexile scores for readers and texts correspond to a typical grade level.  This is descriptive only and are "appropriate for norm-referenced interpretations only.

The CLCD allows subscribers to search for items on the basis of awards or honors received. Additional information and lists of award winning books can be found in the links below:

1. Caldecott Medal   The Caldecott Medal was named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children.
   • Caldecott Medal and Honors Books 1938-Present
2. Geisel Award  The Geisel Award is given annually to the author(s) and illustrator(s) of the most distinguished American book for beginning readers published in English in the United States during the preceding year.
   • Geisel Award Winners and Honor Books 2006-Present
3. Batchelder Award The Batchelder Award is given to the most outstanding children’s book originally published in a language other than English in a country other than the United States, and subsequently translated into English for publication in the United States.
   • Batchelder Award Winners, 1968-Present
4. Belpré Award  The award is named after Pura Belpré, the first Latina librarian at the New York Public Library. The Pura Belpré Award, established in 1996, is presented annually to a Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth. It is co-sponsored by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), and REFORMA, the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-Speaking, an ALA affiliate.
   • Pura Belpré Award Winners 1996-Present
5. Newbery Medal The Newbery Medal was named for eighteenth-century British bookseller John Newbery. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.
   • Newbery Medal and Honor Books , 1922-Present
6. Sibert Medal  The Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal is awarded annually to the author(s) and illustrator(s) of the most distinguished informational book published in the United States in English during the preceding year. The award is named in honor of Robert F. Sibert, the long-time President of Bound to Stay Bound Books, Inc. of Jacksonville, Illinois. ALSC administers the award.
   • Sibert Medal and Honor Books 2001-Present
7. Laura Engals Wilder Award  The Wilder Award honors an author or illustrator whose books, published in the United States, have made, over a period of years, a substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children.
   • Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, Past Winners
8. Notable Children's Books Each year a committee of the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) identifies the best of the best in children's books. According to the Notables Criteria, "notable" is defined as: Worthy of note or notice, important, distinguished, outstanding. As applied to children's books, notable should be thought to include books of especially commendable quality, books that exhibit venturesome creativity, and books of fiction, information, poetry and pictures for all age levels (birth through age 14) that reflect and encourage children's interests in exemplary ways.
   • Past Notable Children's Books These lists have been created since 1940, however, older books are available only in printed lists.
9. Schneider Family Book Award 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.
   • Schneider Family Book Award Winners, 2004-Present
10. Coretta Scott King Book Awards The Coretta Scott King Book Awards are given annually to outstanding African American authors and illustrators of books for children and young adults that demonstrate an appreciation of African American culture and universal human values.  The award commemorates the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and honors his wife, Mrs. Coretta Scott King, for her courage and determination to continue the work for peace and world brotherhood.   
    • Coretta Scott King Book Awards, 1970-Present
11. Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction  In 1982, Scott O'Dell established The Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction. The annual award of $5,000 goes to an author for a meritorious book published in the previous year for children or young adults.  Scott O'Dell established this award to encourage other writers--particularly new authors--to focus on historical fiction. He hoped in this way to increase the interest of young readers in the historical background that has helped to shape their country and their world.

Special thanks to Victoria Quante-Dulaney, library student at University of South Carolina, for assembling this libguide.

Some portions of this libguide were borrowed from Joann Janosko at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Please follow these links for information to help make your use of CLCD more rewarding: