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

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Papa's magical water-jug clock

Trejo, Jesus

Papa is working today so Jesus tags along to help him with planting, cutting grass, and trimming trees. The family business works on Saturdays too so Jesus is in charge of filling Papa's big water jug. The two work around the neighborhood with all the tools rattling in the work van, stopping to work in 14 yards. Does the water hold out for them even though Jesus splashes some water on his face and gives water to some animals. Even though Jesus panics when the water is gone by 10:30 am, Papa explains that Jesus is still part of the family business. At the end of the day, Papa says "Time and water are precious. We don't want to waste them".

Tags

animals, beverage, birds, calendar, community, counting, Days of The Week, family, fun, garden, hard work, humor, language, multicultural, neighbor, numbers, nutrition, parents, peacock, spanish, teamwork, tools, water

How do you spell unfair? MacNolia Cox and the national spelling bee

Weatherford, Carole Boston

In 1936, an eighth grader becomes the first African American to win the spelling bee in Akron, Ohio. MacNolia gets a military band send off to the National Spelling Bee in Washington DC with her mother. MacNolia learns about racism and discrimination when she crosses into Maryland and arrives in Washington. She and another black girl are seated away from the other spellers and their families. MacNolia spells word after word with a calm and focused performance. The judges throw a curveball to stump her and MacNolia is determined out. Her triumph is that folks now learn that African American students are as smart as anyone.

Tags

african american, book, community, comparison, competition, discrimination, emotions, epilogue, feelings, foreword, hard work, history, homework, learning, letters, multicultural, newspaper, parents, performance, racism, respect, school, spelling, travel

No mirrors in my nana's house

By looking in her nana's eyes, this little girl sees beauty in ways that others may not see. When her grandmother reflects love back to the little girl, she discovers the beauty in herself and doesn't learn hate. The little girl finds beauty in everything.

Tags

african american, animals, beauty, body parts, book, buildings, cat, clothing, colors, community, flowers, jump rope, jumping, mirror, multicultural, multigenerational, music, neighbors, self esteem

Lin's uncommon life

Shackelford, Scott//Castle, Emily

Elinor Ostrom, also known as Lin, worked "little by little, bit by bit, family by family" in order that the world could become a better place. Lin wanted to study the way that people could share resources because she believed that "so much good can be done on so many levels". Lin was discouraged from going to graduate school but she did and studied hard until she earned her PhD degree in political science. She wanted to create a research center where people could work together and ask hard questions. With her husband, they established the Vincent and Elinor Ostrom Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis at the University of Indiana. With their groundbreaking research, Elinor taught people how to share common resources around the world. She also earned the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences - the first woman to do so.

Tags

argument, baking, behavior, books, careers, community, continent, curiosity, divorce, economics, education, family, garden, government, grandparents, hard work, investigation, music, nature, parents, perspective, research, respect, rules, school, stuttering, teamwork, timeline, travel, writing

Happy feet: The savory ballroom lindy hoppers and me

Michelson, Richard

A father loves to dance. He also loves to retell the story about the opening of the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem. He works hard and saves money so he can put up a shoe shine sign for his own business. When his son is born that day, the new club opens to a sharp-dressing, happy-dancing people from all backgrounds with black people and white people dancing together. The son is named Happy Feet, and he too dreams of dancing at the legendary ballroom someday.

Tags

african american, author's note, body parts, business, car, cleanliness, clothing, community, dance, dancing, feelings, friendship, happiness, hard work, history, language, multicultural, music, new baby, party, performance, shoes, signs

My parents won't stop talking

Hunsinger, Emma & Walden, Tillie

Waiting is hard, and every kid knows it's not fun. Molly wants to go the park but her parents have started talking with the neighbors for a very long time.

Tags

alphabet, body parts, chipmunk, community, conversation, counting, dancing, dentist, family, food, grandparents, imagination, instruments, music, neighbors, onomatopoeia, parents, patience, sequence, siblings, travel

I am you: A book about ubuntu

Moahloli, Refiloe

Ubuntu is an ancient philosophy from many African cultures. The word promotes the idea that a person is known through other people - a concept of shared humanity, compassion, and oneness. Observe the many ways that we are all connected.

Tags

caring, community, dancing, differences, friendship, home, kindness, language, listening, love, lyrics, publisher's note, similarities, song, teasing, vision, walking

Fridge-opolis

Coffey, Melissa

Lots of recycling and composting ideas fill the pages of the microwave, dishwasher, and refrigerator storage. The mayo, meats, and cheeses spoil and the tofu was swimming in goo. So many foods are rancid and decaying. And just when things couldn't get any worse....a food fight erupts in Fridge-opolis! Enjoy the Food for Thought at the end of it all.

Tags

cleanliness, community, conservation, five senses, food, onomatopoeia, problem solving, recycling, safety, science, smell

The phone booth in Mr. Hirota's garden

Smith, Heather

Makio and his neighbor, Mr. Hirota, loved looking out at the ocean every morning while watching Makio’s father and Mr. Hirota’s daughter working. One day, a tsunami came and killed their family members, prompting Mr. Hirota to build a telephone booth as a way to cope with his grief. Soon after, Makio and Mr. Hirota began speaking into a disconnected telephone while communicating with the loved ones they lost.

Tags

bodies of water, community, companion, construction, death, earthquake, feelings, games, grief, loss, ocean, onomatopoeia, respect, sadness, sea, storytelling, technology, telephone, wish

A home in the barn

Brown, Margaret Wise

In the winter, it is too cold for the animals to be outside but the barn is warm. All the horses, cattle, mice, birds, and cats stay there together to keep away from the cold. Even though there are a lot of animals in the barn, they all get along and help to keep each other warm.

Tags

african american, animals, author's note, baby, barn, birds, birth, bluejay, cardinal, cat, chicken, cold, community, cow, dog, farm, goat, horse, insects, mouse, multicultural, night, onomatopoeia, pig, pony, problem solving, rhyme, rhythm, sparrow, squirrel, time, wasp, winter

Seven spools of thread

Medearis, Angela

Whether working on their family farm or eating dinner, the seven Ashanti brothers always fight amongst themselves to the dismay of their father. However, when their father passed away, the seven Ashanti brothers were tasked with creating gold from seven different color spools of thread. After completing this seemingly impossible task by working together, the brothers taught their community the value of the lessons they learned.

Tags

african, argument, author's note, colors, communication, community, culture, fable, farm, ghana, language, peace, problem solving, siblings, success, support, teamwork, vocabulary, weaving

Stitch by stitch: Cleve Jones and the AIDS memorial quilt

Sanders, Rob

Cleve Jones was an advocate for gay rights and showed support for his community through volunteering, protesting, and creating artwork. As a part of his work, Cleve made the NAME Project AIDS Memorial Quilt to recognize and remember members of the LGBTQ+ community who lost their lives to this disease. This project shows the interconnectedness of a suffering community and the importance of staying together to fight for what is right.

Tags

aids, author's note, bully, change, community, courage, discrimination, diseases, emotions, glossary, government, health, history, homosexuality, law, love, memories, monuments, numbers, politics, sequence, sewing, sexuality, symbols, time

All different now: Juneteenth, the first day of freedom

Johnson, Angela

A young girl wakes up on what she believes to be a normal day, working with her family to complete the daily tasks of her work as a slave. Then, everyone is told that slavery has been abolished and that now they are finally free people. The young girl celebrates with her family and community, excited by the prospects of what their future, independent life will bring.

Tags

author's note, bodies of water, celebration, community, depression, discrimination, farm, five senses, freedom, illustrator's note, ocean, picnic, prejudice, racism, slavery, storytelling, vocabulary

Imagine!

Colon, Raul

A young boy living in New York City rides his skateboard to the Museum of Modern Art where he meets figures in paintings. Soon after, these characters leave their paintings and spend the day with the boy, going to a hot dog stand and riding roller coasters together. Eventually, the characters must return to their paintings and, in order to remember them, the boy makes his own artwork and goes to bed dreaming of the day he had.

Tags

art, author's note, bedtime, bridge, community, imagination, monuments, museum, park, singing, skateboarding, sleep, subway, taxi

The sea maidens of Japan

Bell, Lili

Kiyomi's mother, Okaasan, is an ama diver who harvests shellfish from the deep ocean in Japan. As a young girl, Kiyomi practices with her mom to become an ama diver, but she is very afraid of the sea. Kiyomi gains the strength to overcome this fear and become a diver when she swims with the star turtle, an animal she helped to save when it was born.

Tags

author's note, beach, birds, bodies of water, careers, community, courage, diving, emotions, encouragement, fear, feelings, fishing, fog, identification, japan, night, ocean, parents, safety, sea, swimming, traditions, turtle

Over the shop

Lawson, Jon Arno

A little girl and her grandparent show the apartment over their store to a couple looking for a fixer-upper place to stay. Little by little the place and the neighborhood take on a fresh new life and love (A Wordless Book).

Tags

acceptance, cleanliness, community, cooking, love, multicultural, neighbors, numbers, party, plants, preparation, shopping, signs, sleep

Ready, set, brush! A pop-up book

American Dental Association

Elmo and his gang teach you how to brush your teeth. First, Elmo teaches you about how much toothpaste to use, and Marvin Monster helps you learn about where you should brush. Then Zoe reminds you to brush your tongue, and you learn about rinsing from the Cookie Monster. Next, Martha Monster visits the dentist for a checkup, and he tells her that she, and all of her friends, do a great job of taking care of their mouth by brushing and rinsing twice a day!

My wiggly smile

Woodruff, Amira

Olive wakes up one day and finds that she has a loose tooth! She runs downstairs to tell her parents and keeps wiggling it all day, but it won't come out! At school, Olive talks to a girl named Jordan who tells her about the "My Wiggly Smile" which says to keep track of the teeth she's lost. When Olive gets home, her dad surprises her with a "My Wiggly Smile" book of her own, and they leave for the dentist where Olive's tooth is finally pulled by the dentist. That night, while she is fast asleep, the Tooth Fairy comes to visit Olive, and she wakes up with a gift under her pillow!

The runaway wok

Compestine, Ying Chang

Ming lives in a poor family. He goes to the market to trade and receive food so he and his neighbors can share a Chinese new year feast. Instead of buying food, Ming chooses a magical wok. The wok rounds up the food and prized possessions of the rich to bring food to Ming's family and poor neighbors. Ming celebrates a wonderful new year, and he sells more woks to help other poor families.

Tags

author's note, birds, celebration, chinese, community, conflict resolution, dragon, folktale, food, giving, helping, instruments, kite, magic, market, money, multicultural, neighbors, new year, poverty, problem solving, recipe, rhyme, seagull, song, stress management, trading, village

Mama Panya's pancakes: A village tale from Kenya

Chamberlin, Mary and Rich

A young child from Kenya makes pancakes with her mother. The two gather supplies from local resources to make the pancakes together. Then they invite others over to enjoy the feast.

Tags

communication, community, decision making, family, food, kenyan, maps, nutrition, preparation, problem solving, sharing

Different: Just like me

Mitchell, Lori

The visit to Grammie's house is a week away, and April can't wait! She comes across different people who look differently, sense differences, and move differently. Regardless of their differences, April can find ways she is like these other people. Finally, it is time to visit Grammie. Grammie's flowers from her garden are all different, and April is not allowed to pick her favorite flower. April realizes this is like all things and people. She learns to appreciate the differences in all things and people.

Happy like soccer

Boelts, Maribeth

Nothing makes Sierra happier than soccer does. Sierra eats meals with her aunt after soccer games. Sierra's big game is cancelled one day. Sierra plans a makeup soccer game so that her aunt can see her play. What a great day to play at home in her own neighborhood!

Tags

bicycles, body parts, bus, clothing, community, critical thinking, dancing, Days of The Week, decision making, dreams, encouragement, exercise, family, food, game, goal setting, listening, love, neighbors, problem solving, rain, restaurant, shoes, sleep, soccer, sport, support, teamwork, telephone, transportation, umbrella, walking, weather

You and me and home sweet home

Lyon, George Ella

A young girl helps her family build a new home. The family celebrates the new milestone by sharing a meal together. The family then adjusts to the new house together.

Saturday Sancocho

Torres, Leyla

Chicken Sancocho is a traditional family meal for Maria Lili and her grandmother. When there is a shortage of ingredients, Maria Lili is determined to complete the meal.

Tags

animals, assertiveness, birds, cat, chicken, community, cooking, decision making, dog, family, food, fruit, goal setting, grandparents, market, money, numbers, recipe, sleep, trading, vegetables, verbal communication

The seven gods of luck

Kudler, David

Saohiko, Kenji, and their mother take a trip into town, to the market to sell their crafts and goods. They come across the famous Shrine of the Seven Gods of Luck.

Tags

beauty, bedtime, clothing, community, family, five senses, food, happiness, japan, luck, market, money, new year, parents, poetry, seasons, snow, sound, trading, weather, wisdom, work

One million men and me

Lyons, Kelly Starling

A young high school girl goes with her father to a march on the United States capitol during a civil rights gathering. She is surrounded by "one million men" and she experiences pride as she and her father witness history in Washington, D.C.

Tags

african american, american, author's note, bus, careers, civil rights, community, faith, family, feelings, future, history, hope, marching, money, multicultural, music, parents, peace, pride, responsibilities, subway, train, transportation, verbal communication

Flags

Trottier, Maxine

A young child enjoys a neighbors garden when spending time at his grandparents house. Mr. Hinoshi's garden allows the children to learn until one day Mr. Hinoshi is taken away. The child cares for Mr Hinoshi's garden in his absence until new neighbors move in. The child plants her own garden in honor of Mr. Hiroshi. The flags are symbolically named for Japanese irises.

Tags

change, community, culture, family, flowers, friendship, garden, grandparents, japanese, loss, love, neighbors, plants

The story of noodles

Compestine, Ying Chang

The Kang family decides to switch up their usual annual cooking contest recipe from dumplings to 'noodles' with the help from their three rambunctious sons.

Cassie's word quilt

Ringgold, Faith

Cassie, a young African American girl living in New York City, shares a few of her favorite things. She labels many things and gives words to the things she treasures most.

Tags

alphabet, bus, car, clothing, community, family, food, school, sequence, subway, taxi, transportation, verbal communication, vocabulary

Jack & Jim

Crowther, Kitty

An adventurous blackbird wants to venture out, beyond his home in the forest, to explore the beach. He meets a white seagull and the two quickly become friends. However, their outward appearances quickly cause some adverse reactions from others in town. These friends stand fast to their friendship and overcome adversity. Eventually, the village of seagulls accepts Jack for his gift of stories.

Tags

acceptance, assertiveness, birds, blackbird, bodies of water, community, conflict resolution, curiosity, friendship, ocean, peer resistance, prejudice, seagull, self esteem, travel

What planet are you from, Clarice Bean?

Child, Lauren

Clarice Bean is having a hard time coming up with an idea for her project on the environment. To make matters worse, she is paired up with her tag-along neighbor, Robert Granger. Her situation looks hopeless until her brother becomes an ecowarrior in an effort to free the tree from being cut down in their neighborhood. Robert and Clarice become ecowarriors themselves, saving the tree and their project.

I have an olive tree

Bunting, Eve

On Sophia's seventh birthday, her grandfather gave her an olive tree. Sophia is a little disappointed by the gift and doesn't understand why her grandfather would give her an olive tree that she can't even see. After all, it is Greece and she lives in California! It isn't until her grandfather passes away that Sophia truly understands the importance and meaning of the gift when she and her mother visit the olive tree in Greece.

Tags

appreciation, birthday, communication, community, culture, customs, dedication, disappointment, emotions, exploration, family, feelings, generations, geology, giving, grandparents, greece, greek, grief, immigrants, instruments, language, learning, loss, love, memories, memory, misunderstanding, music, parents, plants, presents, resentment, sadness, traditions, travel, tree, understanding, verbal communication

When Catherine the Great and I were eight!

Best, Cari

Sara, her mother, and Russian grandmother Catherine the Great, pile into Mr. Minsky's car along with a few of their other neighbors. They make their way to the beach to escape the heat of the hot summer day. Although they find it takes longer than planned to reach the beach, everyone has fun along the way.

Sister Anne's hands

Lorbiecki, Mary Beth

Anna begins her second year of school in the early '60's. Her new teacher, Sister Anne, is different from other teachers because she has a different skin color. She inspires students all around her and overcomes challenges. Students learn what respect and tolerance are, and everyone learns from one another.

Tags

acceptance, african american, appearance, art, beach, bedtime, body parts, challenges, change, colors, community, counting, differences, discrimination, diversity, garden, god, history, learning, library, map, memories, moving, multicultural, numbers, prejudice, racism, religion, rhythm, school, singing, stereotypes, storytelling, teaching

My librarian is a camel: How books are brought to children around the world

Ruurs, Margriet

Examine many different kinds of libraries from all around the world. Unlike the typical library room or building, many libraries are a bus, boat, train, or camel. Each type is different, but they all serve the same important purpose of delivering books to people, no matter where they live.

Kumak's fish: A tall tale from the far north

Bania, Michael

One morning, Kumak and his family pack their fishing gear for an antarctic ice fishing adventure. With patience, the family fishes until Kumak finally catches a strong fish. The whole Alaskan community comes running to help Kumak and his family pull the fish out of the water. The community celebrates their new food supply when they see each fish holding on to the fist infront of it.

Tags

author's note, bodies of water, community, dancing, eskimo, excitement, exercise, family, feelings, fish, fishing, grandparents, happiness, ice, lake, multicultural, parents, patience, running, seasons, siblings, sledding, snow, sports, spring, teamwork, transportation, verbal communication, village, weather, winter

Monster and the mural

Blance, E. & Cook, A.

Monster has a new-found hobby; painting! His inspired friends crowd into his house to try painting too. In order to avoid a mess, Monster invites his friends to go outside and paint an old brown wall in the city. Together, they create a beautiful mural of a park. It is eye-catching and makes everyone in the community happy!

Tags

appearance, art, body image, careers, colors, community, cooperation, feelings, friendship, happiness, hobby, monsters, museum, teamwork

Home

Baker, Jeannie

From the day of her birth until the times of her adulthood, Tracy moves outside and inside her house experiencing important milestones. Through the same window scene, her neighborhood develops and matures with plants and animals. (A wordless book).

Tags

accomplishment, author's note, birth, celebration, challenges, change, community, day, family, feelings, garden, growing up, gymnastics, happiness, neighbors, night, nonverbal communication, perspective, plants, seasons, sports, transportation, wedding

Tap-dance fever

Brisson, Pat

Annabelle Applegate had Tap-dance fever. Her feet are constantly on the move, tapping everywhere she goes. The townsfolk are very aggrevated by her dancing. However, once tourists come to hear and see her tao-dance with the rattlesnakes, the townsfolk believe she was an asset to the community.

Tags

anger, animals, business, community, dancing, exercise, feelings, happiness, mischief, performance, persistence, rhythm, snake, success, wealth

The great fuzz frenzy

Stevens, Janet & Grummel, Susan Stevens

When a dog drops a tennis ball into a Prairie Dog hold, it travels down, down, down to their home. Once they've overcome their fear, the Prairie Dogs begin to collect the fuzz from the ball to adorn themselves. When word of this gets out, more prairie dogs come in search of fuzz, and a fight begins. The fight is ended by the largest of the Prairie Dogs, Big Bark, as he takes all of the fuzz to adorn himself. Just as the prairie dogs are about to get mad at Big Bark, Eagle swoops down and picks him up by the fuzz to carry him off. Big Bark then uses his loud bark to scare the eagle and protect the other prairie dogs.

Tags

acceptance, animals, ant, appreciation, birds, bully, community, dog, eagle, feelings, fight, imagination, insects, investigation, prairie dog, pretend

The big cheese of third street

Anderson, Halse Laurie

Little Benny is bullied constantly for being so little. It isn't until he wins the pole challenge that everyone cheers and honors Benny.

Tags

bully, celebration, challenges, climbing, community, family, flood, games, music, neighbors, party, play, river, siblings, swimming, teasing, violence

God bless the child

Holiday, Billie & Herzog, Arthur Jr.

Each day is a work day for which to be thankful and grateful. There's a lot of work to be done on this land. It's time to go and experience the city life up north where things are different. Dream on, my child!

Tags

closeness, community, education, emotions, exploration, family, feelings, hard work, migration, parents, playing, reading, separation, siblings, skills, transportation, travel, wealth, work, worry

The crayon box that talked

DeRolf, Shane

While walking through a toy store, a little girl overhears a box of crayons arguing. Yellow and green don't like red and no one likes orange, but for no apparent reason. After buying the box of crayons, she takes them home and begins to draw a picture. Using every color in the box, the little girl created a picture. As she completed her drawing and began to walk away, she heard the crayons resolve their hatred and realize the beauty they make when they all work together.

Tags

argument, beauty, clouds, colors, community, conflict, diversity, friendship, opinions, relationship, resolution, walking

Matunje and the wooden spoon

Mashiri, Pascal

During a time of famine, Matunje goes looking for food. He finds mangoes which fall into the water and are carried out to sea. Matunje follows and is led to the sea king who gives him a magical wooden spoon to feed his country.

Tags

assertiveness, celebration, community, conflict resolution, critical thinking, dancing, famine, feelings, food, fruit, happiness, helping, magic, mythical, nutrition, song, spiritual, tree

The milkman

Cordsen, Carol Foskett

A milkman delivers eggs, milk and ice cream to various people in a small community. While on his route, he discovers a sign that says lost dog. He begins to look for the dog along the way.

Tags

animals, community, critical thinking, dog, family, food, hard work, helping, lost, morning, neighbors, nonverbal communication, nutrition, rhyme, transportation, verbal communication

Sergio and the hurricane

Wallner, Alexandra

A young boyﾒs family prepares for a hurricane in San Juan, Puerto Rico. At first, Sergio is excited, but after a whole day of getting ready for the storm, he falls asleep exhausted. The hurricane hits in the middle of the night so Sergio joins his parents in their bed, Papa tells him a story to ease his fears. For many weeks after the storm, the San Juan community clears the damage left by the wind and flooding. When school resumes, Sergioﾒs teacher gives a science lesson on hurricanes.

Tags

author's note, beach, bedtime, cleanliness, community, destruction, family, fear, feelings, flood, hurricane, maps, parents, plants, preparation, puerto rico, radio, safety, school, shopping, storm, storytelling, technology, television, tree, water, writing

Why rabbit doesn't lie

Mashiri, Pascal

While every animal of the forest is planning for next year's harvest, Rabbit decides to grow money. He lies to the chief and keeps the money for himself. Eventually the chief grows angry with Rabbit and demands the money Rabbit was supposed to grow. Rabbit deceives everyone in order to get out of his lie and he vows to never lie again.

Monster looks for a house

Blance, Ellen // Cook, Ann

A friendly purple monster comes to a new city to look for a new place to live. Since this monster is different from others in the city, he must hunt for a house that fits him. After looking at many houses, he finally finds one that he can live in comfortably.

Tags

buildings, change, community, comparisons, critical thinking, decision making, differences, environment, exploration, goal setting, home, monsters, moving, nonverbal communication, problem solving, sizes

Big surprise in the bug tank

Horowitz, Ruth

Leo and his brother love their two giant pet cockroaches given to them by their mother. After the two cockroaches have babies, the boys try many different solutions to try to get rid of them. They finally find a solution after they receive help from their mom and local library.

Tags

bug, chores, community, critical thinking, decision making, family, goal setting, insects, library, math, numbers, parents, pets, responsibilities, sexuality, siblings, stress management, verbal communication

Beyond turkey

Herman, Debbie // Koffsky, Ann D.

Almost 400 years ago, pilgrims traveled to North America. They met and befriended the Indians of the area. The different cultures came together to prepare a harvest and a celebration. This celebration became known as Thanksgiving.

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