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

Tags: author's note

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The bunyans

Wood, Audrey

A storyteller explains how Paul Bunyan and his family are responsible for Niagara Falls, Bryce Canyon, the Great Sand Dunes of Colorado, and other natural wonders.

Tags

author's note, fable, family, geography, mythical, nonverbal communication, parents, self esteem, siblings, storytelling, verbal communication

Virgie goes to school with us boys

Howard, Elizabeth Fitzgerald

After President Lincoln frees the slaves a man opens up a school for African Americans. All boys attend the school. Five boys that go to this school have a little sister that badly wants to go also. They tell her the hourney is too treacherous. After asking to go all summer, her parents finally allow her to go to school with her brothers.

Abigail takes the wheel

Avi

Every morning Abigail and her brother go to school on board their father's boat. One morning they see an accident and decide to help one of the boats. Abigail has to steer while her father helps on the other boat. On her way down the river, Abigail must make some quick decisions. With Captain Abigail in charge everyone arrives safely.

Tags

accidents, adventures, author's note, boat, bodies of water, careers, cooperation, critical thinking, decision making, family, geography, maps, market, parents, river, school, ship, siblings, transportation, trust, verbal communication

Basket moon

Ray, Mary Lynn

When a young boy learns through nature his purpose in life, he has a hard time dealing with it. He has to overcome peoples' judgement on the career he chooses. But in the end he comes to se the true meaning of his work.

Tags

author's note, autumn, bias, bodies of water, critical thinking, decision making, family, feelings, food, market, nature, nonverbal communication, parents, rain, river, sadness, seasons, snow, spring, stress management, summer, time, tree, weather, wind, winter, woods, work

Amelia's road

Altman, Linda Jacobs

Amelia, the daughter of migrant farm workers, is tired of moving around and dreams of a permanent home. She finds a special place for herself so she doesn't feel so bad about leaving. The family continues to harvest peaches, apples, carrots, and tomatoes.

Tags

author's note, family, farm, food, garden, mexican american, moving, multicultural, nutrition, parents, plants, school, secrets

Robby visits the doctor

Davison, Martine

Robby wakes up one morning with an earache. His father takes him to the doctor in order to get medicine which will make him feel better. After he sees his friend in the doctor's office and is told about what the doctor will do, Robbie is not scared anymore.

Tags

author's note, Days of The Week, doctor, exercise, family, feelings, friendship, health, hospital, hygiene, illness, medicine, nonverbal communication, nurse, parents, routine, school, stress management, teeth, temperature

The language of doves

Wells, Rosemary

On her sixth birthday Julietta is given a dove by her grandfather, and he shares a story about his doves being used for communication during World War I. Julietta is comforted by the dove after her grandfather's death.

The butterfly

Polacco, Patricia

When a little girls meets a ghost which turns out to be a girl that is hiding in the cellar with the rest of her family from the Nazi's. They form a friendship that is strong. But the friendship is broken up by the sudden movement of her and her family. But butterflies show that everything is fine even though they are apart.

Tags

animals, author's note, bedtime, butterfly, decision making, family, feelings, french, hanukkah, happiness, hiding, holidays, Jewish, language, multicultural, parents, prejudice, racism, religion, sadness, self esteem, separation, stress management, verbal communication, war

Turtle spring

Zagwyn, Deborah Turney

One summer, as young Clee finds herself lost in the shuffle with the arrival of a new baby brother, Uncle Fishtank Hal comes to the rescue when he asks her to care for his special southern-breed turtle. For Clee, caring for the turtle is like therapy to cope with the new changes in her life. That is until the turtle dies due to the harsh cold winter and Clee is forced to bury him out in the yard. Without the turtle, Clee spends time with her new brother and learns to enjoys his company. In spring however, the turtle springs back to like in the compost pile and Clee gains a new outlook on the changes in her life.

Tags

affection, author's note, autumn, baby, caring, change, closeness, cold, coping, disappointment, environment, excitement, family, feelings, friendship, geography, grief, guilt, happiness, hibernation, jealousy, loneliness, nonverbal communication, parents, radio, reptiles, sadness, seasons, siblings, snow, spring, stress management, summer, surprises, survival, technology, telephone, turtle, weather, wind, winter

Trick-or-treat for diabetes: A halloween story for kids living with diabetes

Gosselin, Kim

Halloween is quickly approaching. Sarah is feeling sad because she knows that she cannot eat as many sweets as her friends. This is because Sarah has diabetes. Sarah and her mother eventually learn that Halloween is not all about candy; it's about having fun.

Tags

author's note, autumn, bedtime, caring, diabetes, family, feelings, food, friendship, fun, games, grandparents, halloween, happiness, holidays, medicine, money, nonverbal communication, nurse, parents, party, sadness, school, seasons, verbal communication

A band of angels: A story inspired by the jubilee singers

Hopkinson, Deborah

A young girl listens to a story told by her aunt. Her story is about the young girl's great great grandmother and how she used her voice and dedication to fight for her education after the slaves were freed. The story was also tells how a group of singers toured and sang slave songs. They were trying to save their school, but ended up creating a university.

The matzah that papa brought home

Manushkin, Fran

A little girl and her family celebrate the Passover Seder in repeating rhyme form. The family feasts on matzah, bitter herbs, green vegetables, and haroset.

Tags

author's note, celebration, family, food, holidays, Jewish, multicultural, nutrition, parents, passover, prayer, rhyme, song, traditions, vegetables

Tadpoles

James, Betsy

Growing up is an exciting process, especially for Molly and her brother, Darvy. Molly discovers frog eggs while she is at the pond and is allowed to bring them home until they develop into frogs. While Darvy experiences developmental changes of his own, he learns how to walk. In the end, Darvy teaches Molly an unexpected lesson.

The cat and the cook and other fables of krylov

Heins, Ethel

Twelve fables from Ivan Krylov of Russia are presented. Some of the fables include The Cat and the Cook, The Swan, the Pike, and the Crab, and The Miser. Many of these fables feature animals with a valuable moral built in.

Tags

animals, author's note, bear, birds, butterfly, cat, conflict resolution, crab, critical thinking, crustaceans, decision making, donkey, eagle, fable, fish, food, goal setting, goat, goblins, insects, monkey, nutrition, spider, swan, verbal communication, wolf

Mother osprey

Nolan, Lucy

What if Jack and Jill had been playing on a nice soft sand dune instead of that treacherous hill? And suppose Mary's pet wasn't really a lamb? What if Mary had a little clam? This collection retells Mother Goose rhymes and celebrates America's coastlines and waterways from sea to shining sea.

Tags

activities, adventures, animals, author's note, birds, boat, bodies of water, clams, fish, flamingo, jellyfish, lighthouse, lobster, mermaids, ocean, pelican, poetry, rhythm, sand, seagull

Baby owl's rescue

Curtis, Jennifer Keats

What if you found a baby owl in your backyard? Would you know what to do? Where would you go to find help? Join young Maddie and Max as they learn a valuable lesson. Includes For Creative Minds section.

Tags

author's note, baseball, noise, owl, parents, rescue, siblings, sounds, sports, tree, truck

Sea-fari deep

Woodman, Nancy

The JASON Project is studies underwater life in Mexico. When Dusty finds out about this, she writes the scientists to ask if she can go along. During her adventures, Dusty learns all about deep sea plants and animals. It is the adventure of her life!

Tags

adventures, animals, assertiveness, author's note, boat, bodies of water, car, careers, discovery, dolphin, exploration, family, fish, garden, geography, letters, lobster, maps, mexican, numbers, photograph, plants, science, sea, sequence, siblings, storm, temperature, transportation, travel, verbal communication, volcano, water, weather, whale

Taking seizure disorders to school: A story about epilepsy

Gosselin, Kim

Jamie is a girl who has a seizure disorder. Jamie explains what happens when she has a seizure and shares how others can help her.

Tags

author's note, critical thinking, disability, discovery, diseases, emergency, encouragement, epilepsy, kindness, school, verbal communication

Bonjour, lonnie

Ringgold, Faith

Lonnie is an orphan who learns his family heritage through the help of the Love Bird. He eventually finds his adoptive parents.

Tags

adoption, african american, author's note, birds, culture, family, french, grandparents, Jewish, language, love, multicultural, orphan, parents, war

A gift for abuelita: Celebrating the day of the dead

Luenn, Nancy

Rosita and her grandmother are very close. Rosita's grandmother teaches Rosita how to braid, garden, and make tortillas. When Rosita's grandmother dies, Rosita feels a great loss without her around and misses her terribly. Her family tells Rosita that she can make a gift to give to her grandmother on the Day of the Dead. Rosita braids a cord that is filled with love and memories for her grandmother.

Tags

author's note, change, culture, death, family, food, garden, grandparents, language, loss, love, mexican american, multicultural, nutrition, parents, presents, reunion, siblings, spanish, stress management, traditions, verbal communication

Seven brave women

Hearne, Betsy

A young girl tells the story of her family's history. She explains how each of her female ancestors played a very important role in the shaping of this family's history.

Tags

aging, airplane, anger, animals, art, author's note, basketball, boat, careers, coping, farm, feelings, flowers, german, god, grandparents, history, horse, hospital, instruments, loneliness, loss, medicine, multicultural, music, native american, parents, school, science, sports, storytelling, transportation, war

Uncle willie and the soup kitchen

DiSalvo-Ryan, DyAnne

A little boy has an Uncle Willie who works at a soup kitchen during the day. The little boy doesn't understand what a soup kitchen is so Uncle Willie takes him to work. They prepare and serve a meal to the poor people of the community.

Tags

author's note, community, family, food, helping, hunger, nutrition, parents, poverty

Sam and the tigers: A new telling of little black sambo

Lester, Julius

A boy named Sam picks out bright clothes for his first day of school. On his way to school he runs into some tigers who want to eat him but he trades his bright clothes for his life. His bright clothes cause such a ruckus among the tigers that they fight each other and Sam gets his clothes back.

Tags

adventures, african american, anger, animals, art, author's note, clothing, colors, conflict resolution, elephant, fable, family, feelings, fight, food, fox, giraffe, hunger, lion, monkey, multicultural, numbers, nutrition, school, tiger, umbrella, wolf

In arctic waters

Crawford, Laura

An arctic adaptation of ﾓThis is the House that Jack Builtﾔ follows polar bears, walruses, seals, narwhals, and beluga whales as they chase each other around ﾓthe ice that floats in the Arctic waters.ﾔ Learn how these animals live in the cold, icy arctic region.

Tags

adaptation, animals, arctic, author's note, bear, birds, bodies of water, exercise, fish, hunting, ice, owl, pattern, seal, swimming, teasing, walrus, whale

Over in the ocean: In a coral reef

Berkes, Marianne

Count one through 10 while using rhymes to talk about different activities between mother fishes and their babies. Move to the rhythm of this poem about ocean creatures !

Tags

animals, author's note, counting, dolphin, fish, illustrator's note, music, numbers, ocean, octopus, pattern, poetry, repetition, rhyme, rhythm, song, starfish

Danilo the fruitman

Valens, Amy

Danilo, the fruitman, sells oranges to all the people in town. One day he discovers a new fruit, but when he tries to sell it, people just laugh at him. When he discovers the secret of this fruit, he becomes very popular with all the people.

Tags

author's note, careers, dancing, discovery, exercise, five senses, food, island, italian, multicultural, music, nutrition

The chocolate cow

Obligado, Lilian

Pierre is worried that his father might sell Melody, his cow. Melody can no longer give milk and Pierre's father has no need for her. Pierre decides to do all he can for Melody so she will produce milk. He feeds her the best food, and she turns into a very special cow.

Tags

animals, author's note, beverage, careers, cow, family, farm, food, mountains, multicultural, nutrition, parents, siblings, swiss, traditions

Butterfly house

Bunting, Eve

A young girl and her grandfather save a caterpillar and keep it while it goes through its changes. They build it a beautiful house and care for it until it turns into a butterfly. Although it was hard for her to let it go, she has mysterious visitors surprise her every spring, even when she grows up to be a grandmother herself.

Tags

aging, art, author's note, butterfly, caterpillar, change, cocoon, colors, feelings, flowers, freedom, friendship, garden, grandparents, growing up, happiness, insects, nature, pets, sadness

The house of wisdom

Heide, Florence Parry//Gilliland, Judith Heide

The House of Wisdom, an ancient library in Baghdad, is the center for new ideas and a quest for knowledge from all parts of the world. As scholars study and translate the ancient manuscripts, one boy, Ishaq, learns the wisdom on Aristotle through his expedition and a special book.

Tags

africa, animals, arab, author's note, books, camel, critical thinking, culture, greek, history, language, library, market, multicultural, reading, russian, ship, time, transportation, travel, wealth

Erandi's braids

Madrigan, Antonio Hernandez

Erandi has thick, long, beautiful hair that her mother braids each morning. One day while making dinner with her mother, Erandi hears voices from the street offering money for the women's hair. Mama' explains that the hair buyers would pay well for Erandi's braids. That day they go fishing and mama' discovers that they need a new fishing net badly but they do not have money for one. The next day is Erandi's birthday and Erandi picks out a new dress for her present. On the way home mama' and Erandi stop at the barber shop where Erandi allows the barber to cut her hair so her mama' can afford a new net.

Tags

author's note, birthday, body parts, clothing, critical thinking, culture, decision making, dolls, embarrassment, fish, fishing, food, language, market, mexican, multicultural, nutrition, playing, poverty, pride, recreation

The island-below-the-star

Rumford, James

Five brothers decide to go on an adventure to discover the Island-below-the-Star. They each have a love for something in nature. By using their talents and working together, the brothers overcome obstacles on their journey to the island.

Tags

adventures, assertiveness, author's note, birds, boat, bodies of water, clouds, discovery, exploration, family, fish, fishing, food, goal setting, hawaiian, history, island, moon, multicultural, nature, nutrition, ocean, rain, siblings, stars, storm, sun, transportation, weather, wind

Snowballs

Ehlert, Lois

Children wait for a big snowday to make their snow family. They create a dad, mom, boy, girl, baby, dog, and cat by using objects found around the house. When the sun comes out, the family melts away.

Tags

animals, author's note, birds, cardinal, cat, clothing, critical thinking, decision making, dog, food, goal setting, nutrition, recipe, seasons, snow, spring, squirrel, sun, winter

Nene

Coste, Marion

The female nene keeps watch over her eggs, while the male nene stays close by watching for danger. When the eggs finally hatch, the birds must keep close watch over the baby goslings so that no cats, rats, or mongooses eat the young. The family must stay in this area for a few months, waiting until the babies get their flying wings. Not all of the goslings survive the wait, but when all the new feathers grow in, the family flies from the land near the ocean to the mountain.

Tags

animals, author's note, birds, birth, bodies of water, cat, challenges, change, escape, family, goose, habitat, mountains, ocean, parents, protection, rat, seasons, summer, survival, winter

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

Bird talk

Jonas, Ann

Come hear the enchanting sounds of the wild in all its wonder by taking a walk through nature. Shh!Quiet!Listen!The language of birds has many connections to the language of people.

Tags

author's note, birds, bluejay, canary, cardinal, chickadee, crow, food, language, listening, mockingbird, nature, nonverbal communication, owl, robin, seagull, song, sounds, sparrow, turkey, woodpecker

Days of the blackbird: A tale of northern italy

dePaola, Tomie

Gemma and her father, Duke Gemma, love to sit in their courtyard where birds of all colors decorate the trees and sing beautiful songs. When her father becomes ill, Gemma realizes that the only hope for her father's recovery comes from the bird songs. Unfortunately, it is winter and all of the birds fly south, all except the Duke's favorite bird, La Colomba. La Colomba withstands the cold wind and snow in order to sing the Duke back to health.

Tags

author's note, birds, blackbird, colors, family, hope, illness, italian, month, multicultural, music, seasons

David goes to school

Shannon, David

David is quite the mischievous student, full of energy and always keeping his teacher on her toes. His entertaining antics make it impossible not to enjoy him.

Waiting to sing

Kaplan, Howard

A young boy loves playing the piano but especially listening to his father play while his mother sings along. The boy's mother also listens to him play. Shortly after the boy, his sister, and his father come back from a vacation at the beach, the mother dies. Playing the piano helps the young boy and his father cope with their loss.

The babe and I

Adler, David A.

A young boy and his family are living through the Great Depression of 1932. When he learns that his father does not have a job, he gets a job with his friend selling newspapers to help make money for his family. He sells all of his papers outside of Yankee Stadium due to the popularity of Babe Ruth and his stories in the paper. He even gets to meet the Babe!

Tags

author's note, baseball, business, conflict resolution, depression, family, feelings, food, friendship, frustration, hard work, history, money, newspaper, parents, poverty, responsibilities, sadness, shopping, sports, stress management, work, worry

The unbreakable code

Hoagland Hunter, Sara

A young boy is insecure about moving away and leaving what is familiar to him. His grandfather tells about the time when he felt the same way and how he grew proud of his accomplishments.

Peace crane

Hamanaka, Sheila

A young African American girl learns about the Peace Crane, created by Sadako Sasaki, survivor of Hiroshima. The girl wishes the Peace Crane would take her away from the violence in her own world to a place without racism and violence.

Tags

african american, author's note, birds, crane, death, dreams, feelings, hope, japanese, love, multicultural, nonverbal communication, peace, prejudice, racism, sadness, self esteem, verbal communication, violence, war

Uno, dos, tres: One, two three

Mora, Pat

Two sisters go shopping in a Mexican market for their mother's birthday. They count the number of presents in Spanish and English as they go along, and also create a rhyme about the gifts.

Tags

author's note, birthday, counting, family, feelings, goal setting, happiness, holidays, mexican, multicultural, nonverbal communication, parents, presents, rhyme, shopping, siblings, spanish, verbal communication

Little cliff and the porch people

Taulbert, Clifton

As Cliff grows up, he is entrusted more and more to do things on his own. Cliff's great-grandmother has him run an errand for her and along the way Cliff continually gets stopped by neighbors. Each of the neighbors assists Cliff in accomplishing his errand.

Grandfather's christmas tree

Strand, Keith

A young couple embarks on their own to an unknown land to build their life. When times get hard for their family, they adjust their lifestyles to make things work.

Anna's art adventure

Sortland, Bjorn

Anna is at the museum with her uncle and comes into contact with many new friends. Anna befriends all of the painters whose art is inside the museum. All of these encounters take place because Anna needs to find a toilet.

Home to medicine mountain

Santiago, Chiori

Benny Lee and his brother Stanley must leave their famiy and Indian tribe to go to a boarding school run by the government. At school, the boys must wear uncomfortable clothes, speak English only, and learn lessons in a classroom. The boys visit their family and tribe in their dreams at night. Whem summer comes, the boys do not have a ticket to go home so they figure out a plan to get home to Medicine Mountain.

I walk at night

Duncan, Lois

A cat enjoys spending time with its owner, but yearns for adventures of the night. The cat waits for night to fall so that all the memories will come back again. When morning dawns, the cat returns to being a familiar pet.

Tags

adventures, animals, attention, author's note, bedtime, birds, cat, cleanliness, critical thinking, dreams, fish, love, loyalty, memories, morning, night, nonverbal communication, sleep, tree, walking

Water beds: Sleeping in the ocean

Karwoski, Gail Langer

How do marine mammals - animals that breathe air - sleep in the deep waters of the ocean? Meet ten marine mammals, including sea otters, bottlenose dolphins, manatees, harbor seals, humpback whales, and walruses. Learn about each animal's unique habitat as you drift into a peaceful sleep on the gentle waves of imagination.

Tags

animals, author's note, bodies of water, classification, dolphin, dreams, habitat, imagination, nature, ocean, otter, river, sea, seal, sleep, walrus, whale

Tomas and the library lady

Mora, Pat

Tomas and his family are migrant workers who travel between Iowa and Texas to find work. Tomas loves to listen to his grandfather's stories but he knows all of them and decides to go to the library to learn some new stories. The librarian welcomes Tomas in and offers him cold water to drink and stories to read. Tomas visits the library lady whenever he can and even teaches her some of his native language, Spanish. When Tomas' family must leave the library lady gives Tomas a book to take with him.

Tags

author's note, books, careers, dinosaur, family, farm, geography, grandparents, immigrants, language, library, mexican american, multicultural, parents, playing, reptiles, siblings, sleep, soccer, spanish, sports, storytelling, water, work

Cold feet

DeFelice, Cynthia

Playing the bagpipes is Willie McPhee's favorite form of entertainment, but because his audience is unable to pay for his entertainment, Willie is forced to leave. On his journey to find money, he becomes tired and his clothes wear out. Across the forest he sees a dead man and since his shoes are torn, he takes the dead man's boots. As he approaches a house to find hospitality, see how the dead man comes back to haunt him.

Tags

animals, author's note, behavior, body parts, caring, clothing, cold, compromise, consequences, cow, critical thinking, death, decision making, exercise, folktale, giving, instruments, snow, sounds, storytelling, survival, travel, walking, weather, winter

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