A Rack of Journals:Research in Children's Literature Jim Silverman (bio) [Correction] Click for larger view View full resolution "Varia" illustration by Hilary Knight. The scholar searching for critical essays and journals about children's literature has few places to begin. There is no list of journals relevant to studies in children's literature. Nor is there a standard index to journals in the humanities that includes many journals about children's literature. In addition, standard indices have deficient subject headings for in-depth children's literature research. Children's Literature Review (1975-) indexes nearly ninety journals to form "a digest of criticisms concerning children's literature . . . in which excerpts of recent reviews of both fiction and nonfiction [are] arranged in a useful collection for teachers, librarians, and researchers in the field." It provides, however, no access to research and analytical essays, and it is further weakened as a research tool because it excerpts only modern reviews, even of historical literature. The index to journals cited as sources in Children's Literature Review does list some scholarly children's literature journals, however. William Katz's Magazines for Libraries also lists some children's literature journals. They are filed alphabetically by the name of the popular children's book author (Lyman Frank Baum or Edgar Rice Burroughs) or by subject heading (Comics). Children's literature, A Guide to Reference Sources, prepared by the Library of Congress Children's Literature Center is a better source than Katz for finding journals that regularly publish scholarly, critical, historical, or bibliographic information about children's literature. But the best place to begin the search is Phaedrus, An International Journal of Children's Literature Research (1973-). Volumes one to three contain at least thirty useful [End Page 193] reviews of children's literature journals. The total listing of children's literature journals from the above sources exceeds one hundred titles. The combined list of children's literature journals obtained from these publications may be divided into categories according to special interests. Professional and trade journals, such as School Library Journal, Elementary English, and Kirkus, focus more on the interaction of children and books than on textual literary analysis or historical studies of the literature. Another category of children's literature journals comprises publications exclusively about children's books by one author (Jabberwocky [1969-]), one series (The Baum Bugle: A Journal of Oz [1957-]), or books of a type (The Eildon Tree, A Journal of Fantasy [1974-]). These journals are frequently published by enthusiasts and vary in reliability. Some, like The Baum Bugle and Jabberwocky, regularly publish significant scholarly articles and are achieving increasing recognition; others, like Dime Novel Round-Up (1932-), are important for their elaborate bibliographies. Distinct from the other categories are journals that publish special issues about children's books (AB/Bookman's Weekly) or irregularly publish relevant essays (History of Childhood Quarterly). The final category consists of journals defined by comprehensive, thematic criticism of children's literature as a genre. Listed in the order of their founding, they are The Horn Book; Bookbird; Children's Literature in Education; Signal: Approaches to Children's Literature; Children's Literature; Phaedrus: An International Journal of Children's Literature Research; Canadian Children's Literature; and The Lion and the Unicorn. Analytical criteria are needed to assess the value of these eight journals of research in children's literature. The researcher should ask the following questions: Is the focus of the journal modern/ historical or national/international? Is the journal designed for a special interest group, such as librarians, teachers, and academicians, or is it designed for generalists? Are the contributors from similar backgrounds or are they a heterogeneous group? Are the contents textual analysis, historical studies, bibliography, or biography? Are [End Page 194] the essays well presented and documented? Does the journal have any special distinguishing features, such as a regular index to Ph.D. dissertations? Does the journal advertise or review recent publications, exhibitions, book fairs, conferences, or other noteworthy events? And is the journal indexed, either by issue or by volume? Phaedrus: An International Journal of Children's Literature Research (1973-) Phaedrus provides a sophisticated international and thematic approach to children's literature. James...