Children's Picture Book Database at Miami University

Rocks! Rocks! Rocks! | by Wallace, Nancy Elizabeth

Buddy likes looking at and collecting rocks so Mama suggests they visit the local nature center. They hike the Blue Diamond Trail to five learning centers where they meet Roxie, a Rock Ridge Ranger. Buddy learns about bedrock, erosion, and how three types of rocks are formed. He finds out many surprising things about rocks, rocks, rocks!

Keywords: author's note, careers, collection, direction, food, geology, learning, nature, parents, rocks, school, shapes, sizes, travel, vocabulary, walking

Inside-outside dinosaurs | by Munro, Roxie

Enjoy a giant dinosaur, a flying reptile, a dinosaur with plates and spikes on its body, and even a baby dinosaur cracking out of their shells. There is a ferocious dinosaur that eats meat and vegetarian dinosaurs that hide from carnivores. Look inside the dinosaurs and you'll see a dynamic view of eight dinosaur skeletons. Look outside the dinosaurs and you'll see sweeping paintings of these creatures as they once lived on our planet.

Keywords: adaptation, archeology, author's note, body parts, bones, comparisons, dinosaur, extinction, history, nonfiction, reptiles, rocks, swamp, teeth, tree

Three names of me | by Cummings, Mary

Ada is a Chinese American girl. Ada shares her experiences of being adopted and moving to a new country. She collects new names that melt into one compelling identity for her.

Keywords: acceptance, adoption, airplane, american, author's note, body parts, chinese american, culture, differences, family, feelings, food, grandparents, happiness, identity, language, love, multicultural, orphan, parents, poverty, sleep, stars, transportation, travel, writing

Meet the gizmos | by Tocco, John V.

Pong, a young Chinese Gizmo, journeys to the International Space Station (ISS) for the first time. She is welcomed by Gizmos from other parts of the world, such as Russia, Africa and America. The other Pong is given a tour of the station while sharing the creative and imaginary world of the other Gizmos. The Gizmos do a fabulous job in working as a team to welcome Pong into her new space.

Count on your fingers African style | by 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.

Keywords: 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

Gorilla doctors: Saving endangered great apes | by Turner, Pamela

African mountain gorillas are fascinating creatures that have been studied for many years. African gorillas are presently endangered due to disease and human interaction. Join the journey as scientists race against time to save these gentle giants.

Keywords: african, animals, ape, author's note, challenges, conflict resolution, cooperation, crisis, critical thinking, decision making, environment, goal setting, gorilla, helping, maps, medicine, mountains, nonverbal communication, protection, rescue

In the time of the drums | by Siegelson, K.

Raised by his grandmother Twi, a young boy named Mentu learns of the toils and tragedies of slavery and how one day he too will have to be strong in the cotton fields. As Mentu grows, Twi shares her talks of living in Africa through the use of drums. When Twi's spirit calls her home to Africa, Mentu's day to be strong arrives.

Keywords: africa, african, aging, author's note, beliefs, boat, bodies of water, customs, escape, family, fear, garden, grandparents, hard work, history, island, language, memories, mischief, music, running away, ship, slavery, spanish, storytelling, transportation, travel, verbal communication, water

My rows and piles of coins | by Mollel, Tololwa M.

What would you buy if your mother gave you some money? Saruni wants a bicycle- a bicycle of his very own! Saruni saves his coins and works hard to help his mother. Unfortunately, Saruni is disappointed because he does not have enough to buy his very own bicycle. Where there is a will, there is a way, so Saruni finally gets a bicycle to help his mother to the Tanzanian market.

Keywords: accidents, accomplishment, africa, african, author's note, bicycle, decision making, dedication, disappointment, goal setting, happiness, hard work, language, market, money, multicultural, parents, practice, pride, self esteem, tanzanian, transportation, wagon, walking

Recycle every day! | by Wallace, Nancy Elizabeth

Through a poster contest at school, Minna and her family discover many ways they can recycle. Many of the other contestants' posters demonstrate ways to recycle, however Minna ultimately wins the contest through her poster that reminds everyone to re-re-remember, re-re-recycle every day.

A child's day in a Ghanaian city | by 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.

Keywords: 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

If a dolphin were a fish | by Wlodarski, Loran

A dolphin imagines that she is a fish, a turtle, a bird, an octopus, a shark, and a manatee. Learn how special she really is and how special each of her other sea animal friends are too.

Keywords: acceptance, author's note, birds, bodies of water, dolphin, fish, habitat, hearing, ocean, octopus, reptiles, shark, smell, turtle

ABC safari | by Lee, Karen

Go on an around-the-world rhyming journey with animals, in different habitats, biomes, and geographic regions. From the cold tundra to the hot deserts and from the jungles of Africa to the high mountains, find the hidden safari boy and his pet parrot in each illustration.

Keywords: alligator, alphabet, amphibians, animals, author's note, beaver, birds, classification, dolphin, elephant, frog, gorilla, hippopotamus, iguana, koala, lion, mountains, newt, owl, parrot, penguin, pets, quail, rabbit, rhinoceros, snow, tiger, vulture, wolf, yak, zebra

The rainforest grew all around | by Mitchell, Susan K.

Imaginations soar while following the circle of life in the rainforest. Children learn about the wide variety of creatures lurking in the jungle. Search each page to find unique rainforests with bugs and butterflies hiding in the illustrations.

Keywords: adaptation, amphibians, animals, ant, author's note, bat, birds, bodies of water, cat, dragonfly, flowers, frog, habitat, insects, pattern, plants, rainforest, rhythm, river, seed, sloth, snake, south american, tree

River beds: Sleeping in the world's rivers | by Karwoski, Gail Langer

Take an around-the-world boatride to learn how mammals sleep in or around ten of the world's major rivers. Row down the Mississippi and watch two river otters slip into a hollow tree, or look to the bank of the Bribane River as a platypus pops into a hole and disappears into a narrow tunnel.

Keywords: africa, animals, australia, author's note, beaver, bodies of water, canada, comparisons, dolphin, dragonfly, england, germany, habitat, hippopotamus, insects, maps, mole, platypus, river, sleep, vietnamese

Animals are sleeping | by Slade, Suzanne

Lyrical text provides fascinating information onnimals such as location, position, and duration of their sleep patterns on animals living in different habitats. Learn about the interesting sleeping habits of different animals that live on land, in water, and fly through the air.

Keywords: animals, author's note, bear, bodies of water, cat, elephant, fish, flamingo, giraffe, groundhog, habitat, lion, lizard, otter, owl, reptiles, rhyme, rhythm, sea, sleep, sloth, snow

Bessie Smith and the night riders | by Stauffacher, Sue

Emmarene always loved to listen to Blues music. When Bessie Smith comes to town, Emmarene can't wait to hear Bessie sing. Not everyone likes Bessie though. Emmarene and Bessie Smith have to stand up against people who tried to destroy their nights. And boy, could Bessie sing on stage and off!

Keywords: african american, anger, author's note, bravery, clothing, courage, dancing, discrimination, feelings, fire, flowers, happiness, history, multicultural, music, nature, night, performance, sadness, show, singing, stars

Freedom river | by Rappaort, Doreen

John Ripley shows courage and perseverence in Southern Ohio through his actions. John crosses the Ohio River into the slave state of Kentucky to help other African Americans escape to freedom. John listens to nature as he rows a slave family across the Ohio River to freedom along the Underground Railroad.

Keywords: african american, author's note, baby, boat, bodies of water, cabin, community, courage, escape, family, fear, feelings, fight, freedom, happiness, history, illustrator's note, listening, maps, money, multicultural, night, parents, prayer, quiet, relationship, rhythm, river, running, sadness, safety, secrets, slavery, transportation, underground railroad, woods, work, worry

The bus ride | by Miller, William

Sara stands up for justice on her city bus. Sara gets tired of sitting in the African American section of the bus. Sara does not undertsand why she does not have the same rights as the white Americans, so she takes a stand to change that law.

Keywords: african american, america, anger, author's note, body parts, bus, car, change, community, courage, crowd, discrimination, equality, feelings, freedom, heroism, hunger, money, newspaper, parents, pride, school, segregation, support, transportation

Molasses man | by May, Kathy L.

A young boy and his family make molasses every summer. This summer the sourghum turns into a recipe that the boy's Grandfather has perfected. The boy spends his summer days helping his family make molasses and playing outside during the cooking process. While some molasses is cooling, Mama and her sisters pour it into glass jars and set up a stand near the road for passers-by.

Keywords: african american, animals, author's note, books, community, cooking, family, farm, five senses, food, games, generations, glasses, grandparents, happiness, hard work, horse, moving, mule, neighbors, noise, observation, plants, playing, pretend, recreation, sequence, smell, teamwork, traditions

Say hey: A song of Willie Mays | by Mandel, Peter

Willie Mays grows up in a time when black athletes were separate from white athletes in America. But due to Willie's baseball skills, the New York Giants recruit him. Willie breaks many baseball records because of his fast running and powerful hitting power.

Keywords: african american, america, author's note, baseball, body parts, careers, crowd, fame, feelings, friendship, future, happiness, history, jumping, moving, multicultural, photograph, relationship, rhythm, running, seasons, song, sports, teamwork

Browse Abstracts (245 total)