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

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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

Our tree named Steve

Zweibel, Alan

In a letter to his children, a father reflects upon the importance of a good friend and the value of a place to feel safe and secure. The father recalls various memories of his family as it has grown in relationship to a favorite tree that had been part of their lives since they built their home. The tree seems to help the family through many events but does not withstand a huge storm. The father uses the wood to build a tree house to continue its importance to the family.

Tags

aging, appreciation, camping, caring, change, community, conflict resolution, correspondence, critical thinking, death, decision making, dedication, destruction, dog, emotions, family, feelings, friendship, goal setting, happiness, home, jumping, loss, moving, neighbors, parents, peace, plants, rain, relationship, sadness, safety, seasons, siblings, sleep, spring, storm, storytelling, summer, swinging, tree, verbal communication, weather, winter, writing

The beautiful christmas tree

Zolotow, Charlotte

Mr. Crockett moved into a new apartment. Before Mr. Crockett moved in, the apartment was run down, but Mr. Crockett worked hard to make the apartment beautiful. His neighbors did not appreciate his hard work or planted tree. The neighbors thought it was ugly, but years passed and Mr. Crockett's tree grew and his neighbors enjoyed it.

Tags

acceptance, aging, autumn, birds, bluejay, canary, cardinal, change, christmas, community, differences, dove, environment, flowers, friendship, hard work, holidays, neighbors, nonverbal communication, pride, robin, seasons, self esteem, spring, summer, tree, uniqueness, winter

Trashy town

Zimmerman, Andrea//Clemesha, David

Mr. Gilly gets up every morning to go to work. He drives the trash truck which cleans up the garbage all around town. When he is finished he has to clean up one more thing...himself!

Tags

bath, careers, cleanliness, community, environment, hard work, nonverbal communication, park, pollution, school, transportation, truck, verbal communication

Letting swift river go

Yolen, Jane

Boston needs water, so the Swift River is damned. Sally Jane's town is flooded so she rows out onto the lake and finds it hard to remember what her town looked like when she was young.

Tags

bodies of water, change, community, growing up, lake, memories, river

Raising yoder's barn

Yolen, Jane

A boy and his family lose their barn to a fire but their Amish community works together to raise the barn again.

Tags

accidents, amish, author's note, barn, communication, community, conflict resolution, construction, cooperation, family, farm, feelings, fire, food, goal setting, helping, lightning, nutrition, prayer, pride, religion, verbal communication, weather, work

Something beautiful

Wyeth, Sharon Dennis

A little girl looks out her window only to see broken glass and trash in the court yard. She remembers her mother once told her everyone should have something beautiful. She sets out to look for something beautiful in her neighborhood.

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!

Sweet dream pie

Wood, Audrey//Teague, Mark

Mouths on Willobee Street start to water when the aroma of the Brindle's Sweet Dream Pie fills the air. But does Sweet Dream Pie really create sweet dreams?

Tags

animals, bedtime, cat, community, cooking, dreams, food, helping, neighbors, nutrition, overeating, recipe, weather

Silly sally

Wood, Audrey

On the way to town, Silly Sally gets sidetracked by a dancing pig, a singing loon, a dog who wants to play leapfrog, and a sheep who wants to sleep. When Neddy Buttercup comes along, they all go to town.

Tags

animals, birds, community, dancing, dog, exercise, friendship, gymnastics, loon, pig, play, rhyme, sequence, sheep, song, sports, travel, walking

The warrior and the wiseman

Wisniewski, David

Two sons of the emperor are in competition for the throne. One is a warrior who only thinks of himself, and the other is the wiseman who helps others. The wiseman ends up saving the kingdom and taking the throne.

Tags

assertiveness, community, conflict resolution, critical thinking, family, helping, responsibilities, royalty, selfishness, siblings, verbal communication

Rain player

Wisniewski, David

A young boy must face repentance for disrespecting a god. The fate of the town lies in the young man's hands.

Tags

community, coping, god, multicultural, religion, respect, responsibilities, stress management

Elfwyn's saga

Wisniewski, David

A blind girl is born in the northern valley. Because she cannot see, she is blind to the curse in a great crystal. She destroys the crystal and restores her village from the curse.

Tags

assertiveness, blindness, community, conflict resolution, coping, decision making, disability, five senses, handicap, heroism, nonverbal communication, refusal skills, verbal communication

Tough cookie

Wisniewski, David

After discovering that his long time partner, Chips, has been eaten by Fingers, Tough Cookie travels to the Top of the Jar to find Fingers and put him away for good. Pecan Sandy shows how she can be a smart cookie in the end.

Tags

adventures, body parts, bravery, challenges, community, confidence, conflict resolution, courage, death, feelings, food, friendship, humor, imagination, prejudice, problem solving, revenge, teamwork

My teacher for president

Winters, Kay

Oliver writes a letter to the local news station to nominate his teacher for president in the next election. He thinks she meets the requirements because she signs important papers, likes white houses, goes to meetings, acts quickly in a crisis, is used to being followed around, wants peace, cares for people and the environment, goes on trips, and deals with the media. The only downfall is he doesnﾒt want her to leave before the end of the year.

Beware the dragons!

Wilson, S.

Tildy sets sail over Spooner Bay, being warned to beware of the dragons. When she encounters the dragons, she finds them friendly, and realizes that they only want to play. She decides to teach the town about the friendly dragons.

Tags

assertiveness, bias, boat, community, conflict resolution, critical thinking, dragons, safety, stereotypes, teaching, transportation, travel, verbal communication

Everyone knows what a dragon looks like

Williams, Jay

By believing in an old, fat man who is really a dragon, Han, the road sweeper, saves the city of Wu. By being generous to the dragon, the attacking wild horsemen from the North leave Wu.

Tags

acceptance, assertiveness, community, dragons, fantasy, nonverbal communication, self esteem, stress management, trust, verbal communication

Let the celebrations begin

Wild, Margaret//Vivas, Julie

Miram and the women of the camp make toys for children from material scraps and buttons. They plan for a celebration when the soldiers come to free them from the German camp.

Down huckleberry hill

Weisgard, Leonard

While a dogcatcher is in the barber shop, his wagon full of dogs outside the window starts rolling down Huckleberry Hill. As the wind blows harder and harder, the wagon rolls faster and faster. The door eventually flies open and the dogs are free.

Tags

accidents, animals, careers, cleanliness, community, crisis, dog, transportation, wagon

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

Weeks and weeks

Watts, Mabel

Mr. Hobbs is the town photographer who does well in his business until the town plans to start having activity weeks. The townspeople get so busy with each new activity that they don't pay much attention to Mr. Hobbs, until Take-A-Picture Week comes along.

Tags

activities, business, careers, chaos, community, fun, memories, recreation, time

The market lady and the mango tree

Watson, Pete//Watson, Mary

The children in the village see many things they want to buy. However, they have no money, so they must wait until the mangos fall off the trees. Once mangos have fallen, anyone can eat them. A clever market lady tries to gather all the mangos so she can sell them.

Tags

african american, careers, community, food, multicultural, nutrition

The city country a b c

Walters, M.

A child locates items alphabetically in a city and country as he takes a walk.

Tags

alphabet, community, critical thinking, decision making, exercise, nature, sequence, walking

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

Finding the green stone

Walker, Alice

Johnny loses his green stone because of his mean behavior. The entire community helps him look for it, but he finally realizes that he, alone, can find it.

Tags

assertiveness, bully, community, conflict resolution, critical thinking, decision making, goal setting, helping, lost, mischief, nonverbal communication, self esteem, verbal communication

John pig's halloween

Waldron, Jan L.

John Pig was afraid of Halloween and did not go trick-or-treating with his friends. But then, just when he was feeling scared and alone, a witch and a cat bring Halloween to him. They have a party and make lots of treats. John learns that Halloween is a fun holiday.

Tags

animals, bat, cat, celebration, community, fear, feelings, food, friendship, ghosts, halloween, holidays, hygiene, loneliness, monsters, night, nutrition, party, pig, preparation, spider, trick, witches

Rickety rackety rooster

Wahl, Jan

Farmer Puckle owns a rooster who crows constantly. They try everything to get him to stop and finally discover a treasure to solve the problem.

Tags

animals, assertiveness, birds, canary, community, cow, critical thinking, crow, duck, family, farm, fear, feelings, five senses, food, horse, neighbors, noise, nonverbal communication, nutrition, owl, parents, problem solving, rain, sheep, sleep, stress management, weather, wind

Tiger watch

Wahl, Jan

When a tiger in the village causes trouble, Azad and his father are sent out to search for it. When Azad comes face to face with the tiger, it changes his outlook on hunting.

Tags

anger, animals, assertiveness, birds, birthday, boat, bodies of water, change, community, exercise, family, fear, feelings, food, goat, holidays, hunting, monkey, nonverbal communication, nutrition, parents, reptiles, river, running, sadness, self esteem, sleep, tiger, transportation, walking, weather, wind, woodpecker, zoo

Going west

Waddell, Martin

A little girl experiences one of the most dramatic changes in her life. While going west to build a new home, she learns to cope with many different things. She regains hopes and dreams for her new home.

Lyle, lyle crocodile

Waber, Bernard

A crocodile named Lyle has a big impact on those he meets in his community. One day, a member of his family loses his job. In the end this bad event is turned around into a job well done by everyone.

Tags

animals, baby, car, careers, change, child care, community, coping, crocodile, dog, exercise, family, feelings, food, friendship, ghosts, halloween, happiness, holidays, loss, monsters, mythical, nonverbal communication, nutrition, refusal skills, reptiles, sadness, self esteem, stress management, teamwork, transportation, walking, witches

The boy who would not say his name

Vreeken, Elizabeth

Bobby Brown liked to pretend he was other characters in a story, so he always used a character's name when someone asked him his name. One day he got lost and people could not find his family, so finally he said his real name.

Tags

community, conflict resolution, decision making, family, identity, imagination, lost, nonverbal communication, pretend, refusal skills, self esteem, verbal communication

Alexander, who's not (do you hear me?I mean it!) going to move

Viorst, Judith

Alexander loves his home, friends, and his life the way it is. Faced with a move to another town, Alexander becomes agitated and upset. In time he finds a way to adjust.

Little baby bobby

Van Laan, Nancy

Baby Bobby is in for a wild ride when his buggy starts to roll down the hill through town. Everyone he passes begins to chase after him, but he enjoys the ride and ends up happily in the sand at the playground.

Tags

baby, community, family, feelings, happiness, nonverbal communication, playground, rhyme, rhythm, sounds

Two bad ants

Van Allsburg, Chris

The ants discover a delicious crystal and head out at dark to retrieve some more. Two ants liked these crystals so much that they stay and fall asleep. They awake to a horrible danger and are finally rescued by the returning ants.

Tags

ant, community, conflict resolution, decision making, insects, nonverbal communication, rescue, safety, sleep

The day they put a tax on rainbows

Valentine, Johnny

In a magical land far away, there is a girl who has a magic ring which leads her to discover an undersea kingdom. In this kingdom, a boy who likes to feed birds comes face-to-face with a dragon. A king decides to put a tax on rainbows because his throne is lumpy. Throughout each of these adventures, lessons are learned.

Tags

adventures, awareness, beliefs, bodies of water, bravery, challenges, community, discovery, dragons, fairy, fantasy, love, magic, mermaids, mythical, rain, rainbow, royalty, sea, weather, wedding, wish

Off to the sweet shores of Africa: And other talking drum rhymes

Unobagha, Uzo

African-inspired nursery rhymes.

Tags

africa, animals, beach, birds, bodies of water, camel, cattle, celebration, chicken, community, cooking, desert, dog, donkey, eagle, elephant, fable, fish, fruit, giraffe, goat, grasshopper, instruments, lion, mice, monkey, multicultural, music, ocean, parade, play, rainbow, rhyme, rhythm, river, sand, song, tree, village, zebra

Zeralda's ogre

Ungerer, Tomi

The people in a small town, terrified by a child-eating ogre, begin to hide all of their children. One day, the hungry ogre comes across a young village girl. He gets so excited he falls and gets hurt. The young girl takes pity on him and cooks for him.

Tags

community, fear, feelings, food, helping, hunger, nutrition, ogre, verbal communication

Crictor

Ungerer, Tom

Madam Bodot was given a pet snake for her birthday and she named it Crictor. She treated Crictor like her child. She fed him and took him everywhere with her. Crictor becomes the heroic snake of the town when he saves Madam Bodot.

Tags

assertiveness, birthday, community, conflict resolution, heroism, pets, presents, reptiles, responsibilities, snake

Heron street

Turner, Ann

Herons, ducks, geese, and raccoons all live together in a marsh by the sea. Soon people move into the land of the animals. The animals leave the areas inhabited by people to find some peace and quiet far away.

Tags

animals, birds, bodies of water, change, community, duck, family, goose, nonverbal communication, peace, sea

The sky dog

Turkle, Brinton

While spending the summer at the beach, a boy notices that the clouds look like a dog. He wishes the dog was real and that it belonged to him. One day the boy finds a dog like the one in the clouds. He asks people in the town if it belongs to them, but no one claims it. At the end of the summer, the boy takes the dog home.

Tags

animals, beach, bodies of water, clouds, community, dog, feelings, happiness, lost, nonverbal communication, ocean, pets, sadness, seasons, summer, travel, verbal communication, weather

Albert's ballgame

Tryon, Leslie

Pleasantville is the place where the games take place on Old Field. Every spring two teams meet to play baseball. The ball is thrown, caught, hit, and pitched. In the end, one team wins and the other team loses.

Tags

activities, animals, baseball, community, competition, cooperation, exercise, running, seasons, sports, spring, teamwork

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

Wake up, city!

Tresselt, Alvin

This story describes what city life is like in the morning and how eventually the entire city wakes up to start their days.

Tags

change, community, sequence, sleep

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

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

Moving day

Tobias, Tobi

A young girl is involved in moving to a new house and town. She confides her feelings to her new stuffed bear, which makes her feel better.

Tags

change, community, coping, feelings, friendship, moving, sadness, shelter, stress management, verbal communication

I have heard of a land

Thomas, Joyce Carol

Moving across country must have been very hard. Pioneers often picked up their belongings and moved on toward a common goal: starting a new life!

Farmer schulz's ducks

Thiele, Colin

After the growing traffic from a nearby city turns the road next to Anna's farm into a dangerous highway, Anna devises a way for her ducks to safely cross the road.

Tags

assertiveness, birds, change, child care, community, conflict resolution, coping, critical thinking, decision making, duck, family, farm, health, parents, refusal skills, safety, verbal communication

The garden of happiness

Tamar, Erika

A multicultural community works together to clear out an empty lot and turn it into a garden. Marisol plants a sunflower seed in the garden, and watches how it grows and changes through the seasons, contributing to The Garden of Happiness.

Tags

assertiveness, autumn, community, feelings, flowers, garden, goal setting, happiness, multicultural, nonverbal communication, pride, sadness, seasons, stress management, summer, verbal communication

The park bench

Takeshita, Fumiko

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

Tags

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

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