Children's Picture Book Database at Miami University

Papa's mark | by Battle-Lavert, Gwendolyn

Simms teaches his father how to write. For many years, Simm's father struggled when writing his own name. However, Papa learns just in time so he can vote in the first election which gave Blacks the right to vote.

Keywords: accomplishment, african american, american, animals, bedtime, buildings, change, church, community, cow, crowd, discrimination, education, election, equality, family, food, freedom, hard work, helping, horse, learning, letters, multicultural, night, parents, prejudice, quilt, relationship, school, shopping, signs, teaching, writing

Kumak's fish: A tall tale from the far north | by Bania, Michael

Kumak takes his family ice fishing. Kumak uses his uncleﾒs amazing hooking stick. Kumak patiently waits for a fish which results in enough fish to share with the entire village.

Keywords: community, dancing, eskimo, exercise, family, feelings, fishing, happiness, ice, lake, language, multicultural, parents, patience, running, sharing, teamwork, verbal communication, village, winter

The village in the valley of darkness | by Mashiri, Pascal

I want to see my people in the village. It is no fun to search alone. At last, I can see the light.ﾔ During my travel, a dog at my side with brother and I. People in the village are thankful and at peace!

Our nest | by Lindbergh, Reeve

When you get into your bed at night, there are many other creatures also getting into their beds called nests. Enjoy learning about the world we all share.

Keywords: animals, bedtime, birds, bodies of water, community, comparisons, critical thinking, deer, environment, exploration, fish, geography, moon, mouse, nature, nonverbal communication, planet, river, science, shelter, sleep, space, stars, sun, wildlife

Monster and the toy sale | by Blance, Ellen // Cook, Ann

Monster and the little boy see an ad in the newspaper that reads ﾓTOY SALE TODAY!ﾔ Together, they bicycle to the store. On their journey, they are very helpful to others. Monster and the little boy serve as policemen to direct traffic, and as mangers at the toy store. They are so busy that they run out of time to shop for their own toys. Everyone is grateful for their unselfish behavior.

My teacher for president | by 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.

Off to the sweet shores of Africa: And other talking drum rhymes | by Unobagha, Uzo

African-inspired nursery rhymes.

Keywords: 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

My great-grandmother's gourd | by Kessler, Cristina

Residents of a Sudanese village rejoice when a traditional water storage method is replaced by modern technology, but Fatima's grandmother knows there is no substitute for the reliability of the baobab tree.

Keywords: africa, african, celebration, community, dancing, family, feelings, grandparents, hard work, helping, language, progress, rain, sadness, teamwork, technology, traditions, tree, village, water, wisdom

Home now | by Beake, Lesley

How can Sieta feel happy with so many sad pictures inside her head? She remembers her real home far away over the mountains, her parents getting sick, and Aunty taking her to live in a new place she calls Home Now. There Sieta meets another orphan with memories like her own.

Keywords: africa, animals, community, death, diseases, elephant, empathy, family, feelings, flowers, friendship, happiness, home, illness, memories, orphan, parents, sadness, stars, sympathy

My little round house | by Baasansuren, Bolormaa Adapted by: Mixter, Helen

Baby Jilu talks through his first year in the world, from when he is born to when he is a year old. he is born into a round world, with a round bed in a round home in Mongolia. His family comes to meet him, and they travel to their autumn quarters. Once snow begins to fall, Jilu's family moves on to their winter campground and soon celebrate Tsagaan Sar, meaning Spring will come again. In the spring, Jilu can ride on the camel saddle with his mother, and he will not have to wear boots again until after summer.

Keywords: animals, autumn, baby, birthday, camel, clothing, community, critical thinking, day, decision making, family, food, goat, grandparents, growing up, home, moving, multicultural, night, safety, seasons, sequence, sheep, snow, spring, summer, survival, travel, weather, winter

Ashanti to zulu: African traditions | by Musgrove, Margaret

Explains some traditions and customs of twenty-six African tribes beginning with the letters from A to Z.

Keywords: africa, african, alphabet, animals, boat, bodies of water, cattle, celebration, clothing, community, crocodile, dancing, family, farmer, fishing, geography, instruments, language, maps, multicultural, music, nonfiction, nonverbal communication, parrot, play, prayer, river, symbols, traditions, transportation

Here comes our bride | by Onyefulu, Ifeoma

Ekinadose wants his Uncle Osaere to get married - then he can go to a wedding. One day, he sees people welcomed into his grandfather's house. They've come to collect their bride - and Edinadose will be going, not just to one wedding ceremony, but two!

Keywords: celebration, ceremony, challenges, community, family, friendship, grandparents, harmony, jewelry, maps, marriage, nigerian, patience, peace, photograph, presents, symbols, traditions, wedding

Ogbo: Sharing life in an african village | by Onyefulu, Ifeoma

Ogbo are a special part of village life in Nigeria, uniting children of the same age in a lifelong fellowship - a group with whom they celebrate festivals, share day-to-day chores, and face the challenges of growing up. A young girl named Obioma helps us understand what belonging to an ogbo means. Growing, working, and relaxing together, the ogbo weave the fabric of village life.

Keywords: africa, african, celebration, chores, cleanliness, community, customs, death, family, friendship, grandparents, instruments, language, multicultural, music, nigerian, parents, photograph, respect, responsibilities, singing, song, storytelling, traditions, village, work

A triangle for Adaora: An African book of shapes | by Onyefulu, Ifeoma

When Adaora's cousin promises to find a triangle for her, he does'nt realize just how difficult the task might be. As they search through their village, the cousins encounter a variety of other shapes - heart-shaped leaves, circular elephant drums, crescent-shaped plantains - everything but the shape they seek. Just when the children are too tired to look anymore, they find a perfect triangle...and a great surprise to go along with it!

Keywords: africa, african, community, family, food, fruit, jewelry, multicultural, music, plants, problem solving, shapes, siblings, traditions, verbal communication, village

Africa brothers and sisters | by Kroll, Virginia

At lunchtime Daddy and Jesse play their favorite game: a question and answer game about people who live in Africa and the ways in which they are connected to Jesse.

Keywords: africa, african, animals, art, clothing, community, critical thinking, dancing, family, farm, fishing, games, geography, giraffe, jewelry, maps, multicultural, parents, recreation, siblings, storytelling, traditions, verbal communication, village

Jamari's drum | by Bynum, Eboni//Jackson, Roland

Jamari grows up drawn to the beating of the djembe, the keeper of the peace, the great drum of his Mali village. Jamari grows older and becomes the drummer of the djembe. He eventually gets caught up in other aspects of village life. When the village is once again threatened by the nearby angry mountain, Jamari returns to his post as drummer for village peace.

Keywords: africa, african, clothing, community, dedication, fable, family, five senses, harmony, instruments, language, marriage, mountains, multicultural, music, peace, rhythm, storytelling, traditions

The hunter | by Geraghty, Paul

Jamina goes looking for honey in the bush with her grandfather. She hopes to see an elephant, but her grandfather tells her that it is not likely since the hunters have come. Jamina tells her grandfather that she wants to be a hunter. When she helps a little elephant whose mother was shot by hunters, she realizes she never wants to be a hunter.

Keywords: african, animals, community, elephant, family, grandparents, helping, hunting, lion, lost, multicultural, nature, recreation, rescue, rhinoceros, village, violence

Food and festivals: West Africa | by Brownlie, Alison

Describes the West African culture of food, including the kinds of food grown and eaten, and various feast days like Ramadan, Easter, naming ceremonies, and yam festivals.

Keywords: africa, african, baby, beach, bodies of water, camel, cattle, celebration, ceremony, chicken, community, cooking, dancing, family, farm, food, friendship, fruit, ghana, goat, hard work, holidays, language, multicultural, music, muslim, parade, preparation, religion, respect, river

Billy Twitters and his blue whale problem | by Barnett, Mac

When Billy Twitters doesn't brush his teeth or finish his peas, his mother says we are going to buy you a whale. This does not worry Billy, because he knows how large blue whales are and he couldn't possibly have one delivered. To his surprise, one morning there is a blue whale sitting outside his house, and it is his responsibility. The whale causes problems at school because Billy's classmates pick him at gym. And it just gets worse: his parents give him the owner's manual for the whale. While feeding him, Billy realizes that when he's inside the whale, nobody's laughing and nobody's…

Keywords: animals, bridge, bus, cleanliness, colors, community, comparisons, critical thinking, decision making, dinosaur, feelings, five senses, food, frustration, history, hygiene, language, loneliness, numbers, parents, park, perspective, problem solving, responsibilities, school, sight, sizes, smell, teeth, time, transportation, whale

Somewhere in Africa | by Mennen, Ingrid//Daly, Niki

A boy named Ashraf lives in a city in South Africa. He compares the city to the countryside of Africa.

Keywords: africa, african, assertiveness, body parts, books, community, comparisons, critical thinking, dancing, differences, flowers, geography, imagination, instruments, library, multicultural, music, rhyme, song

Browse Abstracts (338 total)