Resources by Collection
The Juvenile collection is housed on the lower level of Murray Library. This collection features award winning books, as well as books that span the decades and a variety of topics. The collection continues to grow with new purchases.
Book arrangement
Juvenile Non-Fiction: Dewey Decimal
Juvenile Fiction: Shelved alphabetically by the first three letters of the authors last name
Graphic Novels: Shelved alphabetically by the name of the publisher
- Alphabet Books
- Bilingual Books
- Books about Braille
- Books featuring Pennsylvania
- Books in Foreign Languages
- Books with Deafness
- Books with Neurodiversity and Autism
- Careers and Professions
- Cinderella Stories
- Counting Books
- Dictionaries (English and other languages)
- Differently Abled Books
- Fairy Tales
- Fraction/Decimal/Percentage Books
- Money Books
- Native American Books
- Novels in Verse/Poetry
- Poetry Books
- Rhyming Books
- Rock Books
- Shape Books
- Sign Language Books
- Time Books
- Word Game Books
- Wordless Books
Other topics of interest
This collection is designed to help K-12 educators find materials related to subject area and grade-level instruction. The Library provides access to materials that support the professional needs of teachers. An overview of these resources is below.
English Language Learners (ELL/ESL)
Teaching English as a Second Language (TESOL)
What is a Big Book?
Colorful oversized books enable teachers to share and model the reading of fiction and nonfiction, and engage PreK-2 students in learning to write different types of genres:
- Classic Fiction: Beautifully illustrated stories engage students in developing literacy skills and a love of reading.
- Content Area: Students build understanding of nonfiction text and features, plus vocabulary and knowledge of key topics.
- Genre: Interactive books engage young children in learning to read and write journals and other types of text.
Where are Big Books located?
Find over 100 Big Books in the Fiddlehead Forest, located on the lower level of Murray Library.
Find Big Books in Primo, the Library Catalog
Murray Library is committed to buying several award winning titles each year. Please enjoy these award winners.
Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12
Coretta Scott King Award
Mathical Books
Some of these award winning titles are included in the library's collection.
Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People
Below is a thorough list of juvenile book awards. Murray Library may or may not have the most recent winners.
What is a Graphic Novel?
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a graphic novel is “a full-length (esp. science fiction or fantasy) story published as a book in comic-strip format.” A key feature of graphic novels is the use of color and panels in the work. There are graphic novels that are a single box per page with text. There are also completely wordless graphic novels that tell a story solely through pull page illustrations.
Graphic novels cover a broad array of genres.
Different types of Graphic Novels
There are five predominant types of graphic novel:
- Manga
- ​Superhero Stories
- Non-superhero Stories
- Personal Narratives
- Non-fiction
This gets into the gray area of what distinguishes a graphic novel from comics and manga. There is a lot of overlap but ultimately it comes down to style, content and design of the work. Graphic novel is used as the most common umbrella term for all three.
Finding Graphic Novels at Murray Library
Use limits in your Primo search (Narrow your results)
Location: Graphic Novels Room
Genre: Comics (Graphic works)
Benefits of Graphic Novels
- Allows students to read above their independent reading level so they can engage with more challenging text
- Builds comprehension and critical thinking skills
- Gets reluctant readers excited about reading
- Artwork helps clarify and reinforces the meaning behind the text, especially useful for ESL students
The Textbook Collection, located in the lower level Murray Library, has PreK through 12th grade textbooks, covering many subject areas and representing many major textbook publishers. Complete sets are often available.
The collection is separated into Elementary Texts (pink labels) and Secondary Texts (blue labels).
Know of a title we should have? Please let us know!