Browse Items · Children's Picture Book Database at Miami University

Tags: play

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Be boy buzz

hooks, bell

bell hooks poetically describes the pleasures of being a boy. Boys are beautiful. Sometimes, they are all boy. Sometimes, they like to laugh and talk, and sometimes they like the quietness of being alone. Boys have many moods, actions, and emotions.

Tags

affection, anger, assertiveness, behavior, emotions, exercise, feelings, gender, happiness, love, moods, play, quiet, self confidence, self esteem, verbal communication

I saw your face

Dawes, Kwame

A poem and child portraits illustrate the shared beauty and heritage of African people living throughout the world.

Tags

africa, african, animals, birds, body parts, games, geography, ghana, history, identity, maps, market, multicultural, park, play, travel, tree

Baby danced the polka

Beaumont, Karen

While mom and dad are trying to do the chores, baby is supposed to be sleeping. However, baby canﾒt sleep and is dancing with the farm animals.

Tags

animals, assertiveness, chores, conflict resolution, cow, dancing, exercise, family, farm, goat, parents, pig, play, responsibilities, sheep, verbal communication

La La Rose

Ichikawa, Satomi

La La Rose and her girl, Clementine, are the best of friends. The do everything together! One day, their afternoon at the Luxembourg Gardens goes awry when La La Rose mistakenly gets left behind. She is forced to face the world alone and can only hope to be reunited with Clementine.

Tags

animals, appreciation, birds, bodies of water, caring, conflict resolution, confusion, direction, dog, duck, exercise, family, garden, language, love, maps, missing, park, pigeon, play, playground, rabbit, toys, understanding, worry

The monster behind the wall

Herbert, Barbara N.

Danny moves to a new house and discovers a monster on the other side of their garden wall. The monster throws Dannyﾒs soccer ball back to him, talks, plays, and eats candy with Danny. At school the next day, Danny plays soccer and gets tripped. Both boys yell nasty names at each other. Then, Danny goes home to talk to the monster, Fred, but he wasnﾒt there. Later, a huge thunderstorm tears down the wall, and Danny sees that ﾓFredﾔ is the child that tripped him during soccer. They become fast friends, tear the wall down, and play soccer together

The biggest soap

Shaefer, Carole

Kessy loved to listen to stories told by his Mama and his cousins on laundry days. One laundry day, Kessy is asked to go to the store and bring back the biggest piece of laundry soap. Kessy returns and tells his story about the biggest soap.

Tags

accidents, assertiveness, beach, cleanliness, clothing, colors, decision making, exercise, family, feelings, happiness, helping, injury, kindness, monsters, parents, peer resistance, play, running, sadness, storytelling, verbal communication, water

Frog and toad

Lobel, Arnold

Frog and Toad are friends, and they have many adventures together. They run, play and swim together. They cheer each other up when they are feeling down.

Tags

adventures, amphibians, feelings, friendship, frog, play, recreation, self esteem, toad

Off to the sweet shores of Africa: And other talking drum rhymes

Unobagha, Uzo

African-inspired nursery rhymes.

Tags

africa, animals, beach, birds, bodies of water, camel, cattle, celebration, chicken, community, cooking, desert, dog, donkey, eagle, elephant, fable, fish, fruit, giraffe, goat, grasshopper, instruments, lion, mice, monkey, multicultural, music, ocean, parade, play, rainbow, rhyme, rhythm, river, sand, song, tree, village, zebra

Jubela

Kessler, Cristina

When a baby rhino leaves his mother, he must rely on his own resources to survive until he is adopted by an old female rhino.

Tags

africa, animals, baby, caring, confusion, death, elephant, family, fear, feelings, lizard, loneliness, parents, play, protection, reptiles, rhinoceros, sleep, zebra

Lake of the big snake

Olaleye, Isaac

Two boys outwit a hungry snake in an African rain forest village.

Tags

africa, animals, argument, bodies of water, chores, conflict resolution, disobedience, family, fear, feelings, forest, friendship, lake, multicultural, nigerian, parents, play, reptiles, responsibilities, snake, stress management, teamwork, village

Ashanti to zulu: African traditions

Musgrove, Margaret

Explains some traditions and customs of twenty-six African tribes beginning with the letters from A to Z.

Tags

africa, african, alphabet, animals, boat, bodies of water, cattle, celebration, clothing, community, crocodile, dancing, family, farmer, fishing, geography, instruments, language, maps, multicultural, music, nonfiction, nonverbal communication, parrot, play, prayer, river, symbols, traditions, transportation

Emeka's gift: An african counting story

Onyefulu, Ifeoma

As Emeka sets off to visit his grandmother in the next village, he wonders what he can take her for a present. He passes through the market and sees lots of things Granny would like - there were four brooms, five big hats to keep the sun off, six necklaces, eight water pots. But with no money, Emeka can not buy anything. Will Granny understand?

Tags

africa, african, decision making, dreams, family, food, friendship, games, geography, giving, grandparents, jewelry, jungle, market, money, multicultural, music, numbers, photograph, photography, play, traditions, travel, work

A child story in a south african city

Wulfsohn, Gisele

Presents a day in the life of a child living in Johannesburg, discussing the social life, customs, religion, history, and language of South Africa.

Tags

africa, african, animals, art, bath, cooking, dancing, dog, exercise, family, food, friendship, games, history, instruments, language, learning, market, multicultural, music, photograph, play, rabbit, routine, school, soccer, sports, technology, work

Thank you for me!

Bauer, Marion

Join in with this storybook rhyme about exploring the body parts and what they do! From your hands, to your feet, and from your ears to your nose, learn about body actions and senses through rhyme, alliteration and a fun steady beat!

Tags

alliteration, animals, body parts, drawing, exercise, five senses, food, grandparents, health, height, numbers, parents, picnic, play, playground, poetry, prayer, rhyme, rhythm, running, sequence, sight, singing, sleep, sounds, umbrella, weather

A is for africa

Onyefulu, Ifeoma

The author, a member of the Igbo tribe in Nigeria, presents text and her own photographs of twenty-six things, from A-Z, representative of all African peoples.

Tags

affection, africa, african, alphabet, bodies of water, colors, exercise, family, food, friendship, games, grandparents, home, jewelry, jumping, jungle, language, multicultural, music, muslim, nonverbal communication, photograph, play, religion, river, school, spiritual, traditions, verbal communication, work

I lost my tooth in africa

Diakite, Penda

Amina and her parents take a trip to Mali to visit family. On the way, Amina realizes that her tooth is loose! While visiting her father's family, Amina loses the tooth and places it under a calabash tree. She receives a hen and a rooster from the African Tooth Fairy.

Tags

africa, african, airplane, animals, birds, body parts, cattle, change, chicken, community, cooking, cow, culture, differences, donkey, family, food, games, garden, goat, grandparents, language, loss, maps, morning, multicultural, music, night, parents, pattern, pheasant, play, prayer, recipe, singing, sleep, song, storytelling, teeth, traditions, travel, tree, vacation, village, wish

My painted house, my friendly chicken, and me

Angelou, Maya

Thandi, an eight-year-old Ndebele girl who lives in a village in South Africa with her mother, aunts, sisters, and mischievous younger brother, shares her secrets with her best friend, a chicken.

Tags

africa, african, animals, art, bicycle, chicken, colors, customs, dragonfly, family, friendship, jewelry, language, mischief, multicultural, nonverbal communication, parents, pattern, photograph, play, siblings, storytelling, village

Loon chase

Diehl, Jean Heilprin

A boy discovers that his domesticated dog still has powerful instincts similar to animals in the wild. There is a surprise encounter between the dog and a mother loon: the bigger animal doesn't necessarily prevail. In his moment of wonder, the boy finally meets the loon himself.

Tags

animals, birds, bodies of water, critical thinking, dog, family, fear, feelings, independence, lake, loon, multicultural, native american, nature, parents, play, relief, teamwork, transportation

The fox in the box

Gregorich, Barbara

Fox and his friends venture out to discover all that fox can do with the box. With a rhyming pattern, the fox sits, eats, plays and jumps on the box. Come discover fox and the box.

Tags

animals, butterfly, chipmunk, discovery, exercise, exploration, fox, friendship, grasshopper, insects, jumping, mouse, pattern, play, rabbit, rhyme

The big game

Gikow, Louise A.

Jose is a young boy who likes to play soccer everyday. He has trouble kicking the ball and running, but he still has fun. He becomes the goalie, stops the ball, and wins the game for his team.

Tags

accomplishment, day, determination, excitement, exercise, feelings, fun, happiness, play, rhyme, running, soccer, sports, teamwork

Setting the turkeys free

Nikola-Lisa, W.

A young artist begins his journey by painting turkeys with his handprints. His imagination makes the turkeys come alive as he protects them from the hungry fox. The hungry fox chases them away until pieces of corn call them back home.

Tags

animals, art, birds, body parts, creativity, dog, fox, imagination, play, safety, turkey

Beverly billingsly takes a bow

Stadler, Alexander

A young girl receives a trunk full of costumes for her birthday. Her new found love for acting has her trying out for the school play. On the day of auditions she gets stagefright. While, at first she is disappointed with the outcome, she makes the best of it in the end.

Tags

acting, friendship, performance, play, practice, progress, stagefright, stress management, support, theatre, uniqueness, verbal communication

The marshmallow incident

Barrett, Judi

The town of Right and the town of Left do not have anything to do with one another. Someone had even painted a yellow line that nobody ever dared cross. The Order of the Ambidextrous Knights of the Dotted Yellow Line, watch over the line as well as guarding their marshmallows. In June, the town of Right has their picnic, and someone accidentally trips over the yellow line. The knights immediately grab the closest ammunition: their marshmallows, and minutes later both towns are covered with marshmallows, until they realize how silly it was. The towns hold town meetings and no one could think of reasons why they should keep the yellow line. The two towns join together to wash the yellow line and socialize for the first time.

Tags

castle, celebration, colors, community, conflict, conflict resolution, creativity, dancing, decision making, differences, fable, food, goal setting, kite, neighbors, peace, play, poetry, puppets, royalty, teamwork, verbal communication

Pick a pumpkin, Mrs. Millie!

Cox, Judy

Silly Mrs. Millie is at it again. In the fall, she takes her kindergarten class on a trip to pick pumpkins for their harvest party. The class has fun guessing the meanings of their favorite teacher's nonsense words. They go on a dragon (wagon) ride, pet the boats (goats), and drink apple spider (cider). Coupled with hilarious artwork in pen, pencil, and colored dyes by Joe Mathieu, this lighthearted text sets a class trip on its ear with subtle lessons in wordplay.

Tags

animals, bus, clothing, farm, food, garden, goat, holidays, humor, mule, nutrition, play, scarecrows, school, sheep, spider, transportation, vocabulary

Trouble gum

Cordell, Matthew

Ruben is a troublesome piglet. his grandma gives him a piece of gum to keep him quiet. His mom gives him three rules, but each time she leaves, Ruben breaks a rule and gets into trouble. He finally stops, but then they find Julius, his younger brother, making an even bigger mess!

Tags

animals, body parts, decision making, onomatopoeia, parents, pig, play, rescue, rules

How I captured a dinosaur

Schwartz, Henry

Liz captures an Albertosaurus dinosaur while in Baja, California with her family. Albert soon becomes a friend and moves back to Los Angeles with them where he enjoys running through the sprinkler.

Tags

critical thinking, dinosaur, family, friendship, nonverbal communication, play, recreation, travel

Things that go

Rockwell, Anne

Tractor trailers, convertibles, police cars, and tankers are some of the things that travel on the road. Food is delivered in some of these vehicles. Things that go in the air, in the city, in the yard, and in the park are also described. Can you ride a bicycle?

Tags

airplane, bicycle, boat, bus, car, exercise, food, kite, motorcycle, nutrition, park, play, skating, skiing, sledding, snow, toys, train, transportation, truck, weather

Count on your fingers African style

Zaslavsky, Claudia

This beautifully illustrated four color picture book takes children through the markets, showing traditional finger counting of various African people - the Maasai, the Kamba, and the Taita in Kenya, the Zulu of South Africa, and the Mende of Sierra Leone. This book examines the role that numbers play in creating a common language across cultural boundaries.

Tags

africa, african, author's note, body parts, cattle, chicken, counting, cow, food, fruit, games, language, learning, market, multicultural, nonverbal communication, numbers, parents, play, school, siblings, verbal communication

A child's day in a Ghanaian city

Provencal, Francis & McNamara, Catherine

Nii Kwei gets up with the sun, and at half past five, he's already hard at work chasing the chickens and sweeping the compound clean with his straw broom. As the city begins to wake up, he washes, changes into his school uniform, and sits down to chocolate milk and sandwiches for breakfast. Photographs capture the lively rhythms of West African daily life, and this delightful dawn-to-dusk journal will encourage young readers, wherever they live, to compare and contrast Nii Kwei's day with their own.

Tags

africa, african, author's note, band, bath, bodies of water, chores, cooking, family, ghana, hygiene, language, math, multicultural, music, parents, play, school, sea, siblings, soccer, sports

One child, one seed: A south african counting book

Cave, Kathryn

Play a simple counting game. Watch a pumpkin grow. Follow young Nothando and discover the rhythms of her daily life in her South African village.

Tags

africa, african, cattle, chicken, cleanliness, cooking, counting, cow, dog, family, farm, friendship, games, garden, hard work, home, language, numbers, parents, photograph, plants, play, preparation, siblings, summer, walking

The boy who wouldn't go to bed

Cooper, Helen

Not wanting to go to sleep, a little boy rides away in his car to find someone to stay up and play with him all night. As the determined little boy drives off, he encounters exciting things such as a lion and a parade of soldiers. After searching for someone to play with him, the little boy finds someone who is still awake.

Tags

animals, assertiveness, bedtime, car, conflict resolution, disobedience, family, imagination, instruments, moon, music, night, parade, play, shadows, sizes, sleep, train, transportation

Murmel murmel murmel

Munsch, Robert

A little girl finds a baby in a hole in her sandbox. She walks him around town but no one is willing to take him. She is only five years old!What will she do with a baby?

Tags

assertiveness, baby, child care, conflict, frustration, goal setting, identification, play, sand, self esteem, stress management, transportation, truck, verbal communication

The everyday train

Ehrlich, Amy

Jane lives near a train track. She would stop whatever she was doing to go and watch the train. She would play a game that corresponded to the color of each train cart.

Tags

colors, games, imagination, play, train, transportation

The ball bounced

Tafuri, Nancy

A ball bounces through a house and during its journey describes what is happening in the house.

Tags

animals, birds, cat, dog, five senses, play, toys

The blue balloon

Inkpen, Mike

A young boy finds a magical blue balloon. The boy and his dog try to burst the balloon but it never breaks. The balloon takes the boy on a wonderful trip to space.

Tags

animals, balloon, clouds, critical thinking, dog, nonverbal communication, play, toys

Pig william

Dubanevich, Arlene

William takes his time doing everything. One day he messes around so long that he misses the bus and also the school picnic. At home, William takes his fish and radio outside for his own picnic. At the school picnic, it starts to rain and the picnic is cancelled. By the time his brothers arrive home, it stopped raining and they join in his picnic.

Tags

decision making, family, music, picnic, play, procrastination, rain, recreation, school, self esteem, siblings, time, transportation, weather

Song and dance man

Ackerman, Karen

When the children go to visit their grandpa, he takes them to the attic to show his three grandchildren what he used to do for entertainment before television was invented. He dresses up in his hat, vest, and cane, then begins to dance and sing for his grandchildren. When they go downstairs, they wonder how much he misses the good old days.

Tags

aging, clothing, dancing, exercise, family, grandparents, imagination, memories, nonverbal communication, play, recreation, respect, self esteem, technology, television

Rockin' reptiles

Calmenson, Stephanie//Cole, Joanna

Allie the Alligator is a typical young girl. She and her two girlfriends have lots of fun together playing games and dressing up. The three of them will do anything to be able to go to the Rockin Reptiles concert, their favorite band. There's a catch though -- only two can go.

Tags

alligator, basketball, bias, biking, boat, challenges, competition, conflict resolution, cooking, dancing, dedication, exercise, family, friendship, fun, games, humor, jumping, moving, music, neighbors, peer resistance, play, relationship, reptiles, selfishness, song, sports, technology, telephone, verbal communication

The pig in the pond

Waddell, Martin

Neligan's pig jumps into the pond on a hot summer day. Neligan sees his pig and decides to go for a swim himself. All the other animals jump in for one giant splash!

Tags

animals, bodies of water, conflict resolution, exercise, friendship, pig, play, pond, recreation, seasons, summer, swimming

River parade

Day, Alexandra

A young boy goes boating with his father. The boy's toys fall in the river so his father puts them on a string to keep them together. The boy also falls in the river and joins his toys on the string.

Tags

boat, bodies of water, conflict resolution, decision making, exercise, family, nonverbal communication, parents, play, river, safety, swimming, toys, transportation, verbal communication

The moon jumpers

Udry, Janice May

A group of children, who call themselves the moon jumpers, love to play outside at night under the moon. They dance, play tag, make a camp and pretend they are on an island. When their mother calls them in to go to sleep, they dream of tomorrow's sun.

Tags

bedtime, camping, dancing, dreams, exercise, island, jumping, moon, night, nonverbal communication, play, running, sleep, sun, verbal communication

How tom beat captain najork and his hired sportsman

Hoban, Russell

Tom is always fooling around. His aunt decides to teach him a lesson. She has Captain Najork come to compete with Tom. Tom ends up teaching the captain a lesson by always winning.

Tags

assertiveness, competition, critical thinking, family, learning, play, success

A near thing for captain najork

Hoban, Russell

Tom finds that Captain Najork is not as hard to beat at games after all. Tom wins at more than games.

Tags

competition, conflict resolution, determination, games, imagination, play, recreation, success

My yellow ball

Lillegard, Dee

Five times a young girl throws her ball into the sky. With each throw, her imagination grows more and more as her ball travels to different parts of the world where it encounters various people and animals. On her last throw, the ball strikes a star and the girl makes a delightful wish.

Tags

animals, birds, chimpanzee, coyote, desert, fish, geography, hawk, imagination, jungle, octopus, pets, play, recreation, seal, stars, swordfish, toys, travel, tuna

Let's play as a team!

Halliman, P. K.

Kids like to play as a team no matter what they do -- football, soccer, baseball and all kinds of sports. When they're done playing, it doesn't matter who wins or loses as long as they all had a great time while they were playing. Join these kids in their fun-filled day of teamwork.

Tags

acceptance, baseball, basketball, change, cooperation, decision making, disability, excitement, exercise, football, friendship, fun, games, kindness, play, playground, recreation, responsibilities, rules, running, soccer, sports, success, teamwork

Best friends think alike

Reiser, Lynn

Ruby and Beryl are best friends. They spend an afternoon in the park using their imaginations, proving that best friends really do think alike.

Tags

animals, colors, conflict resolution, friendship, fun, games, horse, imagination, park, play, similarities

The sea view hotel

Stevenson, James

Hubert and his family go on vacation to a beach. Hubert expects to play with other youngsters, but there are none. He never expects a grown-up could be fun too!

Tags

activities, animals, friendship, fun, goal setting, helping, mouse, play, shelter, stress management, travel, vacation

Next door to Laura Linda

Udry, Janice May

Laura Linda was not happy with anything she had. She wished she had a perfect little girl to play with in her tree house and yellow house next door. Finally, a little boy moved in next door and invited her to play in his treehouse if he could swing on her tree.

Tags

conflict resolution, feelings, friendship, moving, neighbors, plants, play, recreation, sadness, self esteem, sharing, shelter, verbal communication

All those secrets of the world

Yolen, Jane

Janine's father goes off to World War II. She wonders why her mother is so upset. Janine spends the day playing with her cousin in Chesapeake Bay where she learns the secrets of near and far. Two years later her father returns and she shares her secrets with him.

Tags

conflict resolution, family, feelings, history, parents, play, sadness, secrets, war

Suki the very loud bunny

D'Amico, Carmela

Suki does not act the same way as the other bunnies. He is loud and always excited to play and explore. One day his curiosity takes him out into a new world and he gets lost. In the end it is his loud voice that helps him find his way back home.

Tags

adventures, animals, butterfly, curiosity, decision making, differences, family, fear, feelings, hopping, insects, jumping, lost, noise, play, quiet, rabbit, self esteem, uniqueness

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