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

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The year of the perfect christmas tree

Houston, Gloria

This Christmas story describes the struggles and sacrifices that a mother and daughter experience while the father is off at war. Hard work and faith are rewarded when the father returns on Christmas Day.

Tags

assertiveness, christmas, conflict resolution, critical thinking, decision making, family, fear, feelings, goal setting, hard work, holidays, parents, war

The year of the ranch

McLerran, Alice

A family moves from their house in town to a homestead ranch in 1919 The family feels many uncertainties about the move and has several adjustments to make. Together they make the best of their situation while Papa pursues his farming dreams.

The year without a santa claus

McGinley, Phyllis

Santa Claus was going to take a vacation one year because he was so tired. All the little children sent him Christmas presents for a holiday treat. Santa decided to have Christmas after all.

Tags

appreciation, christmas, conflict resolution, decision making, goal setting, holidays, peer resistance, presents, relaxation, self esteem, stress management, teamwork

The yellow balloon

Dematons, Charlotte

A balloon travels through the air and around the world. While sailing through the air, the balloon fly's over many different people and places (a wordless book).

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art, balloon, bodies of water, buildings, culture, desert, discovery, farm, geography, lake, mountains, nonverbal communication, ocean, river, sea, ship, skiing, sky, travel, village, witches

The yellow umbrella

Drescher, Henrik

Mother monkey and son are in a zoo. They fly away with a yellow umbrella that is caught in the wind and are then reunited with their father,husband. (A Wordless Book)

Tags

animals, baby, caring, critical thinking, decision making, family, feelings, monkey, nonverbal communication, parents, travel, weather, wind

The young artist

Locker, Thomas

Adrian loves to paint landscape pictures, but portraits are more popular. He always paints the truth. When the king asks him to paint a portrait of twenty-seven nobel men and women, he is asked to make the people nice looking.

Tags

art, bully, careers, compromise, honesty, royalty

The youngest marcher: The story of Audrey Faye Hendricks, a young civil rights activist

Levinson, Cynthia

Audrey is a very confident and brave nine-year-old girl who knows all about segregation. She sees how others treat black people, and she wants to speak up and go to places like anybody else. After a church service, Audrey volunteers to go to jail to make a statement about freedom. Jail was quite hard, and the food was awful. After five days, Audrey is released to go home. Two months later, the City of Birmingham Alabama wipes segregation laws off the books. From then on, Audrey Faye Hendricks is known as the "Civil Rights Queen" and the youngest known marcher in the Children's March in May 1963. Audrey can now enjoy her ice cream at the parlor counter like everybody else.

Tags

african american, author's note, children, church, civil rights, comparison, discrimination, equality, faith, family, food, freedom, grandparents, history, marching, multicultural, parents, prison, recipe, signs, timeline

The z was zapped

Van Allsburg, Chris

This is an alphabet book that takes each letter and uses a verb to make something happen to it.

Tags

alphabet, sequence

The zabajaba jungle

Steig, William

A fiesty little boy named Leonard encounters many fascinating and exciting adventures in the Zabajaba jungle.

Tags

adventures, critical thinking, decision making, determination, goal setting, jungle, nature

Theodor and mr. balbini

Mathers, Petra

Mr. Balbini no longer wants his talking dog, Theodor, so he gives him to Madame Paulet in exchange for her dog.

Tags

animals, change, dog, friendship, pets, verbal communication

Theodore

Ormondroud, Edward

A stuffed bear goes through the washer and dryer because Lucy is careless with him.

Tags

animals, bear, hygiene, responsibilities, self esteem

Theodore turtle

MacGregor, Ellen

Theodore turtle is a very forgetful turtle. He forgets where he puts everything. When a fire starts in his home and he remembers where the hose is, he thinks he is very clever.

Tags

critical thinking, fire, forgetful, memory, reptiles, self esteem, turtle

There still are buffalo

Clark, Ann Nolan

In the Dakotas, a buffalo bull baby is born to the Sioux. Its life is traced as it learns from the herd and grows to eventually become its leader.

Tags

animals, bull, cowboys, critical thinking, growing up, multicultural, native american, nonverbal communication, parents

There was an old lady who swalled fly guy

Arnold, Tedd

Buzz take Fly Guy with him to visit Grandma. During Grandma's excited hug, she accidentally swalllows Fly Guy! She proceeds to swallow animal after animal in an attempt to catch Fly Guy and all the animals she swallows until Fly Guy finally escapes, followed by the rest.

Tags

animals, barn, birds, cat, cow, dog, family, feelings, five senses, fly, goat, grandparents, happiness, light, repetition, rhyme, sadness, sight, spider

There was an old lady who swallowed a fly

Taback, Simms

There once was a lady who ate so much that it got her into trouble. She eats everything from a fly to a horse. In the end her body cannot take the horse and she dies. The moral of the story is stop at the cow and don't eat the horse.

Tags

animals, art, author's note, birds, cat, classification, cow, death, dog, fly, horse, humor, insects, loss, rhyme, spider

There was an old lady who swallowed a trout

Sloat, Teri

An old woman swallows a trout and must keep swallowing different creatures to try and catch the trout. She gets quite a mouthful of animals and fish, then they all swim out.

Tags

animals, bodies of water, dolphin, fish, ocean, otter, rhyme, salmon, seal, sequence, swimming, trout, walrus, whale

There was an old woman

Kellogg, Steven

Retelling of the tale of the old woman who swallows a fly, a spider, a bird, a cat, a dog, a cow, and a horse. This version tries to explain her crazy appetite.

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animals, birds, cat, fame, fly, food, goal setting, insects, nutrition, spider

There'll be a hot time in the old town tonight

Quackenbush, Robert

New verses are added to an old song describing the Chicago Fire of 1871 The story blames a cow for starting the fire.

Tags

accidents, animals, assertiveness, community, cow, decision making, fire, history, music, safety, song

There's a cow in the road!

Lindbergh, Reeve

As this girl gets ready for school, a cow and many other animals show up outside of her house. When the bus finally comes, there is chaos with people, cars, and animals in the neighborhood.

Tags

animals, bus, car, chaos, cleanliness, cow, goat, goose, horse, hygiene, neighbors, pig, rhyme, school, sheep, time, transportation

There's a crocodile under my bed

Schubert, Ingrid

Peggy finds out that a crocodile is not such a bad friend after all. The two become good friends and enjoy many adventures together.

Tags

adventures, assertiveness, critical thinking, crocodile, fear, feelings, friendship, imagination, reptiles, self esteem, stress management, verbal communication

There's a little bit of me in jamey

Amadeo, Diana M.

Jamey has leukemia and becomes very sick. His brother feels like his family cares more about Jamey than they do him. His mother assures him that he is loved just as much as Jamey. When Jamey needs a bone marrow transplant he agrees to be the donor.

Tags

bravery, caring, decision making, envy, family, fear, feelings, grandparents, illness, love, moods, parents, sadness, self esteem, siblings, verbal communication, worry

There's a monster under my bed

Howe, James

Alex is convinced that there are monsters under his bed that want to get him. He eventually decides to confront the monster, and discovers that his frightened brother is under his bed. The boys sleep together, comforted by each other's company.

Tags

assertiveness, bravery, conflict resolution, critical thinking, decision making, family, fear, feelings, imagination, self esteem, siblings, sleep

There's a nightmare in my closet (Una pesadilla en mi armario)

Mayer, Mercer

A little boy is afraid that the nightmare in his closet will get him. One night, he decides to shoot the nightmare, but soon befriends the monster.

Tags

assertiveness, bedtime, critical thinking, dreams, fear, feelings, happiness, monsters, mythical, nonverbal communication, sleep, trolls

There's a wocket in my pocket!

Seuss, Dr.

By rhyming everyday objects with nonsense words, the character tells exactly what kind of house he lives in.

Tags

affection, fantasy, friendship, fun, imagination, rhyme, self esteem, shelter

There's an alligator under my bed

Mayer, Mercer

A little boy has to get rid of an alligator under his bed. So he develops a plan to trap the alligator in the garage and keep it out of his bedroom.

Tags

alligator, conflict resolution, critical thinking, decision making, fear, feelings, goal setting, nonverbal communication, problem solving, reptiles, stress management

There's nothing to do

Stevenson, James

Mary Ann and Louie are really bored, but a story about their Grandpa and his brother when they were young and bored, keeps them busy for awhile.

Tags

boredom, decision making, family, feelings, grandparents, memories, storytelling

There's something in my attic

Mayer, Mercer

A little girl thinks she hears something in the attic. Her parents won't go look, so she investigates. She finds the nightmare, catches it, then helps it escape.

Tags

assertiveness, bedtime, critical thinking, dreams, escape, family, goal setting, mythical, night, parents, sleep, trolls

They thought they saw him

Strete, Craig

A little chameleon is very smart. He uses his wisdom to hide from all the different animals that try to capture and eat him. By changing colors quickly he is able to outsmart the animals.

Tags

animals, birds, chameleon, change, colors, community, critical thinking, deception, desert, escape, fox, insects, jungle, owl, reptiles, snake

They were strong and good

Lawson, Robert

The author's grandparents and parents have many ordeals and challenges that they overcome in order to meet each other.

Tags

animals, assertiveness, boat, conflict resolution, critical thinking, decision making, escape, family, grandparents, horse, multicultural, native american, nonverbal communication, parents, slavery, war

Thidwick the big hearted moose

Seuss, Dr.

Thidwick was nice enough to let the other animals live on his antlers, but they took advantage of his generosity. Thidwick's life is threatened by a hunter, so he sheds his antlers and frees himself of all his guests.

Tags

anger, animals, change, coping, feelings, moose, nonverbal communication, refusal skills, safety, stress management, verbal communication

Things i like about grandma

Haskins, Francine

A grandmother and granddaughter have a special relationship together. They share moments of teaching, sharing, and bonding.

Tags

african american, family, giving, grandparents, multicultural, nonverbal communication, sharing, teaching, verbal communication

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

Things that sometimes happen

Avi

This collection of short stories are exaggerated to intrigue your imagination. The stories are full of odd events involving animals, traveling, and much more.

Things to play with

Rockwell, Anne

Bicycle, pinwheels, balloons, sand, slides, and kites are some of the things to play with in the park. Noisy things to play with in the yard, things to play with at school, and things to play with at a party are some of the other areas described.

Tags

beach, bicycle, books, exercise, five senses, games, jumping, kite, noise, park, party, play, school, seasons, skating, snow, sounds, sports, toys

Thirteen

Charlip, Remy//Joyner

Thirteen dramas such as a magic show and a sea disaster are illustrated in pictures.

Tags

art, bodies of water, magic, sea

This is the bear

Hayes, Sarah

Bear is pushed in the garbage by mistake. He goes on a great adventure to find his home.

Tags

adventures, animals, bear, helping, lost, shelter

This is the bear and the scary night

Hayes, Sarah//Craig, Helen

A boy leaves his bear behind in the park. The bear begins an exciting nighttime adventure. After the boy realizes he forgot his bear, he goes back to the park to retrieve him.

Tags

adventures, animals, assertiveness, bear, conflict resolution, decision making, fear, feelings, loneliness, lost, night, sadness

This is the bird

Shannon, George

The existence of and passing down of a cherished family heirloom depicts one family's history of women. This carved wooden bird is given to the women of each generation, and it brings with it memories of its owners and their lives.

This is the farmer

Tafuri, Nancy

A farmer kisses his wife and sets off a sequence of happenings on the farm.

Tags

animals, farm, marriage, sequence

This is the hat

Van Laan, Nancy

Cumulative verses describe an old man's hat as it becomes a home for a spider, a mouse and many other creatures. The hat eventually returns to the old man.

Tags

animals, clothing, insects, mouse, shelter, spider, verbal communication

This is the house where jack lives

Heilbroner, Joan

While Jack takes a bath he does not realize what is going on downstairs.

Tags

adventures, bath, cleanliness, hygiene, shelter

This is the matzah

Levine, Abby

A Jewish family shops, cooks, and prepares for Passover. The traditions and the meanings behind them are explained in a rhyme.

Tags

alcohol, beverage, celebration, ceremony, cooking, drugs, family, food, grandparents, hebrew, Jewish, multicultural, nonverbal communication, nutrition, parents, party, religion, responsibilities, reunion, shopping, siblings, verbal communication

This is the sunflower

Schaefer, Lola M.

A tall and bright sunflower follows the cycle of a plant. A variety of different birds help scatter the seeds, rain and sun nourish the seeds and before you know it, there are more and more vibrant sunflowers.

Tags

author's note, birds, bluejay, cardinal, cycle, flowers, garden, mockingbird, nature, poetry, rhyme, song, sun

This is the way

Dalton, Anne

A family goes through the routine of their day in the rhythm of the tune here we go round the mulberry bush.

Tags

climbing, exercise, family, food, games, hygiene, jumping, nutrition, rhyme, school, song, teeth, weather

This is the way we eat our lunch

Baer, Edith

Time for lunch! What will it be? Come along - let's taste and see! Journey across the world as children eat lunch. Discover many new foods and recipes you can make and eat.

Tags

african, american, australian, british, canadian, chinese, columbian, differences, egyptian, feelings, food, friendship, hunger, indian, israelian, italian, japanese, maps, moroccan, nutrition, puerto rican, recipe, rhyme

This land is your land

Guthrie, Woody

The traditional lyrics of the popular song, This Land Is Your Land, are combined with painted illustrations that represent the words and meaning of the song. America and her countryside are portrayed in a positive light through the text and illustrations.

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