Skip to Main Content

Multicultural Children's Literature: Find Books

This guide provides resources to assist in finding multicultural children's literature including fairy tales, folk tales, fables, poems, picture books, short stories and fiction from countries other than America or Western Europe.

Like to Browse?

To browse the library shelves for fairy tales & folk tales use the general call numbers below:

  • BL range: Includes children's books of mythology from all cultures
  • GR 99.6 - GR 390: Includes folklore from specific countries or regions
  • PZ 7: Includes stories, fables, fairy tales and folktales
  • PZ 8 - PZ 8.3: Includes fairy tales and folktales

Library Reference Sources - Online

Below are some of the library's online resources which can help you get literary criticism on your story:

Where is That Book?


Ever wonder how books are shelved?

In this library we use The Library of Congress Classification System to organize books on the shelves. The LC SYSTEM organizes material in libraries according to twenty-one branches of knowledge called classes. The system uses letters to represent the twenty-one broad branches of knowledge. The letters I, O, W, X AND Y are not used.

 The twenty-one classes are:

A – GENERAL WORKS

B – PHILOSOPHY, PSYCHOLOGY, RELIGION

C – AUXILIARY SCIENCES OF HISTORY

D – HISTORY: GENERAL & OUTSIDE THE AMERICAS

E – HISTORY: UNITED STATES

F – HISTORY: UNITED STATES LOCAL & AMERICAS

G – GEOGRAPHY, ANTHROPOLOGY, RECREATION

H – SOCIAL SCIENCE

J – POLITICAL SCIENCE

K – LAW

L – EDUCATION

M – MUSIC & BOOKS ON MUSIC

N – FINE ARTS

P – LANGUAGE & LITERATURE

Q – SCIENCE

R – MEDICINE

S – AGRICULTURE

T – TECHNOLOGY

U – MILITARY SCIENCE

V – NAVAL SCIENCE

Z – BIBLIOGRAPHY, LIBRARY SCIENCE & INFORMATION RESOURCES

These twenty-one broad subject areas are further divided into more specific subject areas by adding one or two additional letters as well as some numbers. For a more detailed breakdown of any subject, go to the Library of Congress web page

So, How Do I Find a Book on the Shelf?

Try this exercise, which was put together by the librarians at Kent State University, to see if you have figured out the Library of Congress system!

Books

Finding Folktales & Fairytales in the Library  walking book

Use will need to use the Library Catalog to find.  You can search for books by author, title, subject, or keyword. 

Use some of the terms below to search by SUBJECT to help you find books in the library:

  • Fairy tales 
  • Folklore
  • Tales 
  • Children's poetry
  • Children's stories

HINT: To find books from a certain country, add the name of the country to the search. For example: Fairy Tales Russia, Folklore Mexico, Tales Haiti. 

Remember your professor does NOT want you to use children's literature from  America or Western Europe (Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and United Kingdom - Great Britain, Scotland and Wales).

Electronic Books

Below are few E-books available electronically through the libraryMost E-books require a login for off-campus use.  Enter your Cerritos College login when prompted.  For more login information see the Database Login page.

Books in the Library

Below are some fairy & folk tale books available in the library:

Cerritos College Library | 11110 Alondra Blvd., Norwalk, CA 90650 | 562-860-2451 | Reference ext 2425 | Circulation ext 2424