Guide to Collective Biographies for Children and Young Adults($89.00Value)

Description

Aids the public librarian, media specialist, classroom teacher, and the student in finding biographical information about people from early to modern times by indexing over 700 titles. The book's two main sections include an alphabetical list of individuals, along with works in which they are included, and an extensive subject guide listing the person by occupation, nationality, awards, and distinguishing characteristics, such as disabilities. Therefore allowing students who need to do research on a 'famous Hispanic woman' or a 'hero who has overcome a physical handicap' to find a suitable candidate with ease. Not only are 'Inventors' and 'Medical Researchers' listed under their respective citizenry, but their inventions and medical discoveries are indicated as well, quickly enabling the student to find a subject of interest. A comprehensive guide to over 5,760 people currently listed in collective biographies, this work is a vast undertaking. There are three reasons why a current guide such as this one is essential: the frequency with which young people discover too late that all single monographs about a particular person are gone from the library shelf; the need for students to locate print sources other than encyclopedias for assignments; and, finally, the fact that some individuals are still relatively unknown, even on the Internet. A search on Miriam Pulwer, a Polish Jewish Holocaust survivor, will result in little information, but she is a subject in Elaine Landau's Holocaust Memories: Speaking the Truth . The book has three main sections: an alphabetical listing of all of the titles indexed and their codes; the biographees, with information on their dates, nationality, occupation, or contribution, and the code for the book or books in which they can be found; and a subject guide. Hats off to this resource, which is a must-have for libraries serving grades 4 through 12. -Teresa Pfeifer, Alfred Zanetti Montessori Magnet School, Springfield, MA Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. This text indexes 721 titles for children and young adults in order to provide access to 5,760 notable individuals from early to modern times. All of the referenced titles were published between 1988 and 2002. The book is divided into two main sections. In the first, each individual is listed alphabetically with data about his or her birth date, death, nationality, and occupation or other field of activity. This entry concludes with the codes for the books in which one can find information about the person. The second part of the volume consists of a subject guide to the various individuals profiled, listed alphabetically under headings of occupation, nationality, or other distinguishing characteristic. Many people are listed under more that one subject. Some of the headings include Colonists , Human Rights Activists , Inventors (who are subgrouped by nationality), and Outlaws . This book would be helpful for students doing biography reports and useful for both school and public libraries, as there is little else that provides access to information in collective biographies. Maren Ostergard Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved “From the brief description given of the contents of this work, any teacher or librarian who has worked with young people seeking biographical information can readily see its value as a guide to the literature in the field. It can also be an invaluable reference book for library collection development.” ― American Reference Books Annual “Collective biographies are an excellent resource for gathering information on both historical and contemporary figures; the contents of such resources may not, however, show up in a search of the library catalog or a quick skim of the 920s. This extremely useful guide offers a practical means of locating entries in collective biographies; designed with the patron in need of information on either an obscure (in which case it might be hard to find) or popular (in which case all materials may already be checked out) personage in mind, Barancik's volume maps the contents of 721 collective biographies published between 1988 and 2002....This valuable resource offers a tremendous means of putting biographical materials already on the library shelves to better and more efficient use.” ― The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books “As a youth services librarian for 20 years Sue Barancik is well aware of what makes a good reference book-meeting researchers' needs and ease of use. In her Guide to Collective Biographies for Children and Young Adults she demonstrates her knowledge of both of these areas by crafting a book that is incredibly useful and easy to use....incredibly useful for collective biographies that are already available in many libraries...” ― Reference Reviews “This book would be helpful for students doing biography reports and useful for both school and public l