Children's Picture Book Database at Miami University

To be a drum | by Coleman, Evelyn

Daddy Wes whispers to his two young children about the history of Africans forced into slavery and how the pulse of the drum has moved through them over time. Daddy Wes promises his children that as long as they can hear the heartbeat of the earth, they will be free.

Keywords: africa, african, bodies of water, careers, colors, community, culture, five senses, freedom, hearing, history, instruments, language, multicultural, music, nonverbal communication, ocean, playing, pride, rhythm, sea, ship, slavery, sounds, spiritual, storytelling, symbols, time, verbal communication, war

All aboard, owney! | by Sattler, Jennifer

Climb aboard with Owney the mail dog as he travels the Adirondack railroad! Meet his new wilderness friends and enjoy the colorful view.

Keywords: animals, caring, colors, communication, companion, conflict resolution, dog, five senses, problem solving, sounds, train, transportation, travel, wilderness

Cock-a-doodle-moo! | by Most, Bernard

When a rooster can only whisper cock-a-doodle-doo, he must get help from the cow to wake everyone up on the farm. Unfortunately, the cow has trouble making the right sound. Eventually, the cow learns how to make a sound that will wake up the farm and she and the rooster work together.

Keywords: animals, cat, cow, dog, duck, farm, five senses, friendship, hearing, helping, learning, noise, pig, sleep, sounds, stress management, teamwork, verbal communication

Moo who? | by Palatini, Margie

Hilda Mae Heifer, the cow, was singing, running, and having a good old time. Suddenly from out of nowhere a hard flying cow pie whacks her in the head. It causes her to lose her moo. She forgets what sound she makes. She meets a goose, chickens, a pig, and a cat and copies their sounds until she becomes familiar with her own sound again.

Keywords: animals, birds, cat, chicken, confusion, cow, excitement, feelings, five senses, forgetful, goose, injury, noise, pig, running, singing, sounds, stress management, verbal communication

Little fur family | by Brown, Margaret Wise

A father bear goes to work, and the younger bear goes exploring. He comes across many animals different from him. He comes home for dinner and bed.

Keywords: animals, bear, bedtime, bodies of water, bug, comparisons, critical thinking, curiosity, environment, exploration, family, fish, five senses, flowers, food, forest, grandparents, home, nonverbal communication, nutrition, parents, rhyme, river, sounds, tree, wildlife, wind

I kissed the baby | by Murphy, Mary

A new baby duck arrives on the farm and everyone is making a fuss. They all tickle, kiss, sing, and feed the baby duck.

Keywords: affection, animals, ant, baby, community, duck, family, farm, insects, parents, sounds, verbal communication

I dream of trains | by Johnson, Angela

A young boy from Mississippi listens for the sound of the train whistle while doing his work as a sharecropper. As he picks cotton, he dreams of someday leaving on a train. He refers to the train whistle as a call to his soul.

Keywords: accidents, careers, dreams, family, farm, friendship, geography, hard work, history, hope, multicultural, parents, slavery, sounds, spiritual, storytelling, stress management, train, transportation

Trucks: Whizz! zoom! rumble! | by Hubbell, Patricia

Trucks come in different sizes, shapes, and colors. They travel to different places on the map and in various directions. Trucks also have multiple uses and jobs.

Keywords: colors, community, direction, five senses, maps, moving, signs, sounds, toys, transportation, travel, truck, variety

Tyson the Terrible | by Fox, Diane//Fox, Christyan

Tyson is rumored to be the most terrible dinosaur in all of Stone Valley. So, when three friends hear him coming they head for cover...until they see a tiny tyrannosaurus emerge. But is their new friend really Tyson the Terrible?

Keywords: acceptance, animals, anticipation, beliefs, bias, comparisons, dinosaur, fear, feelings, loneliness, repetition, sadness, soccer, sounds, sports, surprises

Gerald Mcboing boing | by Dr. Suess

A little boy makes unique noises instead of talking. He doesn't seem to fit in anywhere and is lonely. He is found by a man who has a radio station. He appreciates the boy's abilities.

Keywords: acceptance, challenges, conflict resolution, differences, family, feelings, frustration, loneliness, nonverbal communication, parents, radio, rhyme, rhythm, sadness, sounds, technology, uniqueness, verbal communication

Whales passing | by Bunting, Eve

A father and his son go to the beach to whale watch through binoculars. The father teaches his son about the lives of an orca whale and how they communicate. They talk about what they see in vibrant words, colors, and pictures.

Keywords: animals, baby, birds, bodies of water, colors, family, fish, ocean, parents, pelican, perspective, sounds, vision, whale

The water hole | by Base, Graeme

Enjoy this counting book from one to ten using various animals and wildlife. It takes place around a watering hold and follows the rain cycle. The pictures spring to life and realistically depict life around the world from countries to continents.

Keywords: africa, animals, australian, catfish, china, counting, cycle, drought, europe, fish, habitat, india, insects, island, jungle, kangaroo, ladybug, leopard, moose, mountains, multicultural, panda, pattern, rain, rhinoceros, sounds, tiger, tortoise, toucan, water, wildlife

Sleep, big bear, sleep! | by Wright, Maureen

It's time for Big Bear to hibernate, so Old Man Winter keeps telling him sleep, Big Bear, sleep. But Big Bear doesn't hear very well. He thinks Old Man Winter has told him to drive a jeep, to sweep, and to leap. Big Bear just can't seem to hear what Old Man winter is saying. Finally, Old Man Winter finds a noisy way to get Big Bear's attention.

Keywords: animals, autumn, basketball, bear, bee, birds, camping, cardinal, clouds, frog, hibernation, insects, jeep, moon, moose, mountains, owl, rabbit, seasons, sleep, snow, sounds, squirrel, tree, winter

Pumpkin day! | by Wallace, Nancy Elizabeth

When a rabbit family decides to visit Pumpkin Hollow Farm one beautiful fall day, they learn about various types of pumpkins and what they are used for, how they grow, and how to respect the plants.

Keywords: animals, colors, community, family, five senses, halloween, holidays, humor, plants, rabbit, recipe, respect, seasons, seed, sequence, siblings, sizes, sounds

Wolf christmas | by Pinkwater, Daniel

Stinkyface and the rest of his wolf family are so excited for Uncle Louis to come visit. When he arrives, he shows them how humans celebrate Christmas. Everyone is fascinated by the new smells and sounds.

Keywords: affection, animals, christmas, closeness, exploration, family, five senses, habitat, holidays, sight, snow, sounds, weather, wolf

Who's in my bed? | by Piers, Helen

A donkey is tired and wants to go to sleep but he finds a pig inside his stable. The pig says that he is there because there is someone in his pigsty. The donkey goes to the pigsty and finds the dog there. The dog is in the pigsty because the hen is in his basket. A mouse is in the henhouse because a beetle is sitting in his mousehole. Does the donkey ever get to sleep?

Keywords: animals, bedtime, beetle, chicken, dog, donkey, farm, insects, mouse, night, pig, problem solving, sequence, sleep, sounds

John Willy and Freddie Mcgee | by Meade, Holly

Two guinea pigs, John Willy and Freddy McGee, are bored of sitting in their cage where nothing ever changes. One day, when their cage door is left open, the guinea pigs decide to go exploring throughout the house. They end up traveling through the tunnel of a pool table and run for their lives when pool balls start rolling through the tunnel. The guinea pigs run for the safety of their cage but when they get there and see how everything is the same, they leave to start a new adventure.

Keywords: adventures, animals, boredom, cat, colors, courage, discovery, dog, escape, exploration, games, guinea pig, independence, recreation, sounds

Little swan | by London, Jonathan

Ko-hoh cracks through his eggshell to find his parents towering over him. His trumpeter swan family stays close together as Ko-hoh and other cygnets learn how to feed themselves, to honk when predators are nearby, and to develop flight feathers. Little swan grows up and learns to migrate with his family.

Keywords: author's note, bear, birds, bodies of water, eagle, family, five senses, growing up, lake, migration, plants, pond, raven, safety, seasons, sounds, swan

Thunder-boomer! | by Crum, Shutta

A family is sitting outside on the farm trying to cool off in the summer heat, when storm clouds roll in. They quickly prepare for the storm. They pick up laundry, roundup chickens and run inside only to realize one chicken is left outside. The father runs out and rescues the chicken, who is especially grumpy. After the storm, the children return to the barn and they find that the chicken is protecting a lost kitten.

Keywords: animals, birds, cat, chicken, dog, fear, feelings, noise, onomatopoeia, preparation, rain, sounds, stress management, tractor, transportation, weather

Boom bah! | by Cummings, Phil

A mouse starts a musical trend by tapping a cup. Other animals join in and the music soon turns into a band. The band meets other animals with louder music and they join together to make a large orchestra of musical animals.

Keywords: animals, band, body parts, cat, communication, counting, cow, direction, dog, five senses, horse, instruments, mouse, numbers, pig, rhythm, rooster, sheep, sounds

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