Children's Picture Book Database at Miami University

Ruby's wish | by Bridges, Shirin Yim

Ruby is known for wearing red and being an exceptionally bright student. Even during a time in China when ...most girls were never taught to read and write. However, Ruby's grandfather hires a teacher to come to the house, making it possible for any grandchild living in the house to learn. This initiates a desire in Ruby to attend university, a place that women in China were not encouraged to go.\r\n*Based on a true story of the author's grandmother.

Keywords: acceptance, accomplishment, ambition, appreciation, art, asian, assertiveness, beliefs, change, china, chinese, conflict, conflict resolution, courage, culture, customs, decision making, dedication, depression, determination, disappointment, emotions, encouragement, equality, excitement, family, frustration, generations, giving, goal setting, grandparents, happiness, independence, individuality, intelligence, kindness, language, learning, listening, new year, nonverbal communication, obedience, parade, patience, persistence, poetry, prevention, progress, reading, recognition, refusal skills, relationship, relief, resentment, resolution, role model, school, self confidence, self esteem, skills, stress management, support, symbols, sympathy, teaching, traditions, understanding, verbal communication, wealth, wish, writing

Dancing feet | by Agell, Charlotte

Diversity in the world is shown through rhythmical lyrics and warm pictures. Diversity also includes the names of major body parts and functions.

Keywords: acceptance, african, asian, body image, body parts, community, dancing, diversity, equality, exercise, family, food, friendship, multicultural, poetry, rhyme, walking

Candy shop | by Wahl, Jan

A young boy, Daniel, and his aunt Thelma take a trip to the market with money that he has earned. The boy is looking forward to visiting the candy shop but when they arrive they see a crowd and are faced with prejudice acts toward the owner of the store. Daniel and his aunt help comfort the owner and show true friendship.

Keywords: african american, asian, challenges, conflict, conflict resolution, coping, culture, discrimination, feelings, helping, kindness, market, money, multicultural, nonverbal communication, problem solving, racism, respect, sadness

Amy's travels | by Starke, Kathryn

Come along with Amy on her wonderful journey to all seven continents on earth. Read about the desert in Asia, the rainforest and jungles of Africa, the mountains of South America, and the cities of Europe. Feel the bitter cold of Antarctica, go on a safari, and meet people around the world who speak different languages. Traveling to brand new places is one of the most exciting ways to learn, and it's a trip you'll never forget!

Keywords: africa, america, animals, antarctica, asian, australia, bodies of water, camel, change, culture, desert, differences, europe, exploration, geography, home, honduran, jungle, kangaroo, kenyan, koala, language, maps, mountains, moving, multicultural, rainforest, river, safari, seasons, south american, spanish, transportation, travel, united states

The chinese siamese cat | by Tan, Amy

In this beautifully illustrated book, Ming Miao tells her kittens the tale of why they look like siamese cats, but are truely Chinese. This tale goes back thousands of years to their ancestor, Sagwa Miao of China.

Keywords: animals, asian, cat, chinese, conflict resolution, multicultural, peer resistance, problem solving, resolution, royalty, self esteem, storytelling, verbal communication

Pumpkins: A story for a field | by Ray, Mary Lyn

A man is sad to see a beautiful field become a residential development, so he raises money to buy the field by growing pumpkins and selling them all over the world.

The park bench | by Takeshita, Fumiko

Describes a day in the park from a park bench's perspective. Written in English and Japanese.

Keywords: asian, biking, change, community, japanese, multicultural, park

The whispering cloth | by Shea, Pegi Deitz

Mai loves to watch her grandmother and others sew something called a pa'ndau, a cloth from Thailand that tells of someone's story. Mai wants to learn how to stitch and spends much time practicing, but needs to find a story that goes along with her own pa'ndau. Find out what she comes up with.

Keywords: accomplishment, asian, clothing, family, goal setting, grandparents, hard work, language, multicultural, sewing, storytelling

Yoshi's feast | by Kijikawa, Kimiko

Yoshi is a fan maker in the city of Yedo. His favorite food in the whole world is broiled eels. Every night, his neighbor Sabu goes off to catch eels, broils them on his hibachi, and waits for customers, but they never come. Yoshi thinks that Sabu should share the leftover eels with him, but he is too greedy to give Sabu any of his money. Yoshi continues to sit day after day smelling Sabu's eels, but never buying any of them. Finally, Sabu presents Yoshi with a bill for smelling his eels. Yoshi dances around the town shaking his money box and tells Sabu that he will charge his for listening to…

Keywords: asian, assertiveness, clothing, conflict resolution, cooking, culture, dancing, decision making, exercise, fish, fishing, food, friendship, goal setting, greed, hunger, japanese, kindness, money, multicultural, nutrition, selfishness, sharing, smell, sounds, verbal communication

Dear juno | by Pak, Soyung

A little boy name Juno receives a letter from his grandmother in Seoul, Korea. He's unable to read the letter since it is written in her native language, but he's able to gain an understanding of it from the photograph and dried flower that accompanies it. Juno decides to send a letter of his own in a very inventive way.

Keywords: animals, asian, asian american, cat, communication, dog, family, flowers, grandparents, korean, language, letters, multicultural, nonverbal communication, photograph, uniqueness, verbal communication

The foxes of chironupp island | by Takahashi, Hiroyuki

An old man and his wife return every spring to Chironupp Island, an island off the coast of Japan. Right before the war, the couple befriends a young fox cub, Tiny.

Keywords: adventures, aggression, animals, asian, boat, critical thinking, death, disappearance, family, fox, friendship, island, japanese, multicultural, reunion, seasons, spring, stress management, war

A good morning's work | by Zimelman, Nathan

When Mitsuo hoes his garden, he finds rare things in nature which he tries not to harm. All the while, his dad makes sure he's working.

Keywords: asian, beauty, critical thinking, decision making, family, garden, hard work, multicultural, nature, nonverbal communication, parents, plants, responsibilities, sight, sun, verbal communication

The moon lady | by Tan, Amy

Grandma Nai-Nai tells her granddaughters the stories of when she was a seven year old girl in China. One story was about going to see the moon lady and being granted a wish.

Keywords: animals, asian, assertiveness, boat, chinese, determination, family, grandparents, multicultural, self esteem, siblings, storytelling, tiger, verbal communication, wish

Tree of cranes | by Say, Allen

A young Asian boy learns of Christmas when his mother decorates a tree with cranes for him. She teaches him that it is a day of giving and receiving and he makes a promise to her as a gift. She gives him a kite in return.

Keywords: asian, christmas, critical thinking, decision making, family, giving, holidays, nonverbal communication, parents, presents, verbal communication

Cleversticks | by Ashley, Bernard

Ling Sung feels that he's not able to do anything at his school. One day by accident, his use of pretend chopsticks amazes his classmates and teachers.

Keywords: african american, asian, assertiveness, challenges, conflict resolution, critical thinking, family, multicultural, parents, school, teaching

The dwarf giant | by Lobel, Anita

A Japenese prince and princess come upon a dwarf who enchants the prince and makes him do foolish things. The prince finds a clever way of disenchanting the prince.

Keywords: asian, boredom, critical thinking, decision making, dwarfs, evil, games, japanese, multicultural, mythical, peer resistance, refusal skills, royalty, verbal communication, wish

Fly high, fly low | by Freeman, Don

Sid and Marge, a pigeon and a dove, choose to live and settle down in an old city sign. One day, when Sid is gone and Marge is left behind, the sign is demolished.

Keywords: asian, birds, dove, family, loss, peer resistance, pigeon, shelter

A helpful alphabet of friendly objects | by Updike, John

Poems are provided with various pictures of objects which begin with each letter of the alphabet such as apple, bird, jam, egg, nickel, oatmeal, toy and zero.

Keywords: african american, alphabet, animals, asian, birds, bluejay, cat, clothing, colors, dog, environment, five senses, food, italian, multicultural, nutrition, pets, plants, poetry, rabbit, rhyme, self confidence, self esteem, sight, sounds, taste, touch

Mei-mei loves the morning | by Holloway, Tsubakiyama Margaret

Join in the adventure as Mei-mei and her grandfather enjoy the morning in a big city in China. Along the busy streets, they ride on a bicycle through the round moon gate to the park to meet friends. While at the park, they hang their songbird's cage, practice tai-chi, and drink tea before they peddle home.

Keywords: activities, animals, asian, beverage, bicycle, biking, birds, china, chinese, contentment, culture, customs, exercise, family, food, generations, grandparents, happiness, morning, multicultural, nonverbal communication, nutrition, park, pig, transportation

Camels | by Jango-Cohen, Judith

The word camel comes from the arabic word jamil, meaning beauty. Learn more about this animal through reading about its diet, birth and growth, and even camels on a racetrack! A glossary and index give you more information for other texts and websites.

Keywords: africa, animals, arabian, asian, australian, author's note, behavior, camel, china, desert, diversity, drought, glossary, iranian, mountains, multicultural, nonverbal communication, sand, science, south american, sun, temperature, verbal communication

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