EUREKA Agora


Trade Books

Search for a single book

Thematic Collections

Teaching Ideas

General Suggestions

Using Books Thematically

Understanding the Symbols


Trade Books

"Trade books" is another way of describing published literature, the kind often referred to as library books. Today trade books for children and young adult readers offer rich language, sophisticated characters, engaging stories-both fiction and non-fiction--, and captivating illustrations that emotionally appeal to a wide range of adult readers. Books on the Eureka! database are selected for their texts, illustrations, or the interaction of the two that are appropriate for adults. For additional background on using trade books with adults, check out the OLRC publication Bringing Children's Books to the Adult Classroom.

Eureka! database users can Search a single book and obtain a list of books on a topic/keyword subject, by a specific author or illustrator, and/or on GED descriptors. Thematic Collections on common classroom subjects, such as Civil War and Slavery, Work, Poetry, and Easy Reading, list books identified by title, author, level of difficulty, type, and sub-topics. Other teaching materials using Eureka! tradebooks are Teaching Ideas, Lesson Plans, Teaching Strategies, and Other Resources. General Suggestions provides suggestions on how to use tradebooks. Teachers will find helpful tips on using text sets (different books on the same topic) in the OLRC article Using Books Thematically.

Searches lead to individual book pages, which contain the following information:

  • bibliographic information;
  • a general description of the type of book (e.g., short stories, non-fiction, biography);
  • GED connections
  • recommendations for use in specific programs (Easy, ESOL, YA, Workplace);
  • a brief summary of the book;
  • several teaching ideas;
  • suggested teaching strategies;
  • keywords related to the book.

    For further explanation of the information on book pages, see Understanding the Symbols.



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