Children's Picture Book Database at Miami University

Mama rocks, papa sings | by Van Laan, Nancy

A new baby learns how to count to ten. With each experience, the baby and her parents sing in Creole. Come along to enjoy the sights and sounds of the Haitian culture.

Keywords: affection, awareness, baby, beliefs, careers, carnival, celebration, creole, culture, dancing, exercise, family, five senses, food, history, language, multicultural, music, numbers, nutrition, rhythm, sounds, verbal communication

Faraway drums | by Kroll, Virginia

Jamila has the important responsibility of watching her little sister when their mom goes to work. While trying to ignore unfamiliar creepy sounds, Jamila comforts her sister and herself by recalling their grandmother's stories about their native homeland, Africa.

A hanukkah treasury | by Kimmel, Eric

Hanukkah is to me the time for lighting the menorah, spinning the dreidel, and remembering heros from the past. Poetry, music, and recipes help keep the Hanukkah tradition alive!

Keywords: acceptance, accomplishment, adventures, ambition, american, animals, anticipation, appreciation, assertiveness, beliefs, bias, bravery, celebration, ceremony, challenges, change, charity, closeness, communication, conflict, conflict resolution, cooking, courage, critical thinking, culture, customs, decision making, destruction, determination, discrimination, elephant, family, feelings, folktale, food, freedom, games, goal setting, god, grandparents, grief, hanukkah, happiness, hebrew, heroism, history, holidays, hope, immigrants, independence, individuality, israelian, Jewish, kindness, language, love, loyalty, memories, miracle, moose, moving, multicultural, music, parents, peace, pilgrims, poetry, polish, politics, poverty, prayer, prejudice, presents, racism, religion, russian, sadness, secrets, siblings, snow, song, spiritual, storytelling, toys, traditions, war, weather

Beni's family treasury: Stories for the jewish holidays | by Zalben, Breskin Jane

Beni is so excited because he's finally old enough to really understand his Jewish heritage and the traditions of his faith. In his quest for understanding, he encounters a number of situations, from learning the beauty of togetherness after reconciling with his feuding cousin, Max, to recreating the Pukim in a play with his friends and cousins. Through all of this, Beni truly begins to see the magical feeling of togetherness and heritage that his religion encompasses.

Bonaparte | by Chall, Marsha Wilson

Jean Claude is going to boarding school, but no dogs are allowed at La School d'Excellence. Poor Bonaparte must find a way to be with Jean Claude!

Keywords: animals, architecture, assertiveness, bedtime, careers, caring, compromise, critical thinking, culture, determination, disappointment, dog, family, feelings, food, french, friendship, frustration, happiness, health, instruments, loneliness, love, monuments, multicultural, music, nutrition, parents, pets, problem solving, rules, sadness, school

A promise is a promise | by Munsch, Robert//Kusugak, Michael

A little girl wants to go fishing in the icy cracks of the ocean but her parents tell her it is too dangerous. She promises that she will not go, but what happens when she breaks her promise?

Bonjour, lonnie | by Ringgold, Faith

Lonnie is an orphan who learns his family heritage through the help of the Love Bird. He eventually finds his adoptive parents.

Keywords: adoption, african american, author's note, birds, culture, family, french, grandparents, Jewish, language, love, multicultural, orphan, parents, war

Tea with milk | by Say, Allen

Masoko's life changes dramatically when her parents move from California back to their native country, Japan. Masako feels like she will never belong in this new country where her life is so completely different.

Keywords: change, clothing, culture, customs, differences, family, food, homesickness, independence, japanese, language, loss, love, market, marriage, multicultural, nutrition, parents, relationship, travel

A gift for abuelita: Celebrating the day of the dead | by Luenn, Nancy

Rosita and her grandmother are very close. Rosita's grandmother teaches Rosita how to braid, garden, and make tortillas. When Rosita's grandmother dies, Rosita feels a great loss without her around and misses her terribly. Her family tells Rosita that she can make a gift to give to her grandmother on the Day of the Dead. Rosita braids a cord that is filled with love and memories for her grandmother.

Keywords: author's note, change, culture, death, family, food, garden, grandparents, language, loss, love, mexican american, multicultural, nutrition, parents, presents, reunion, siblings, spanish, stress management, traditions, verbal communication

A boy named giotto | by Guarnieri, Paolo

Dreams really do come true for Giotto, a young shepard boy, who is mindless of his chores and duties because of his strong passion and talent for painting. Although he loses a sheep, Giotto's curiosity and persistence lead him to find someone who can unlock the door to his artistic future.

The house of wisdom | by Heide, Florence Parry//Gilliland, Judith Heide

The House of Wisdom, an ancient library in Baghdad, is the center for new ideas and a quest for knowledge from all parts of the world. As scholars study and translate the ancient manuscripts, one boy, Ishaq, learns the wisdom on Aristotle through his expedition and a special book.

Keywords: africa, animals, arab, author's note, books, camel, critical thinking, culture, greek, history, language, library, market, multicultural, reading, russian, ship, time, transportation, travel, wealth

Erandi's braids | by Madrigan, Antonio Hernandez

Erandi has thick, long, beautiful hair that her mother braids each morning. One day while making dinner with her mother, Erandi hears voices from the street offering money for the women's hair. Mama' explains that the hair buyers would pay well for Erandi's braids. That day they go fishing and mama' discovers that they need a new fishing net badly but they do not have money for one. The next day is Erandi's birthday and Erandi picks out a new dress for her present. On the way home mama' and Erandi stop at the barber shop where Erandi allows the barber to cut her hair so her mama' can afford a…

Keywords: author's note, birthday, body parts, clothing, critical thinking, culture, decision making, dolls, embarrassment, fish, fishing, food, language, market, mexican, multicultural, nutrition, playing, poverty, pride, recreation

Home to medicine mountain | by Santiago, Chiori

Benny Lee and his brother Stanley must leave their famiy and Indian tribe to go to a boarding school run by the government. At school, the boys must wear uncomfortable clothes, speak English only, and learn lessons in a classroom. The boys visit their family and tribe in their dreams at night. Whem summer comes, the boys do not have a ticket to go home so they figure out a plan to get home to Medicine Mountain.

Keywords: author's note, critical thinking, culture, dreams, escape, family, feelings, goal setting, grandparents, history, homesickness, multicultural, native american, nature, parents, sadness, school, siblings, storytelling, train, transportation, verbal communication

The sleeping lady | by Dixon, Ann

Nekatla and Susitha are a young couple preparing to wed. THe wedding is put on hold when war breaks out, and Nekatla must travel to another village to try to restore peace. Susitha waits on a grassy hill for Nekatla to return, and she falls asleep. Nekatla is killed in war, and Susitha never awakens and is now known as the sleeping lady.

Keywords: adventures, anger, author's note, bravery, celebration, communication, conflict resolution, culture, death, decision making, dreams, fable, feelings, happiness, history, hope, loss, love, nonverbal communication, relationship, sleep, snow, teamwork, verbal communication, violence, war, weather, wedding, worry

The peddler's gift | by Schur, Maxine Rose

Shnook the peddler arrives in the town of Korovenko with his assortment of beautiful, hand-carved dreidels. Leibush notices on that is left behind and makes excuses for keeping it. He soon realizes that the peddlers ways may be a cover for wisdom and forgiveness. As Hanukkah approaches, Shnook leaves Leibush a gift that will last a lifetime.

Keywords: anger, apology, beliefs, critical thinking, culture, decision making, feelings, forgiveness, hanukkah, holidays, honesty, Jewish, misbehavior, multicultural, peace, religion, resentment, russian, spiritual, stress management, toys, verbal communication

This land is your land | by Guthrie, Woody

The traditional lyrics of the popular song, This Land Is Your Land, are combined with painted illustrations that represent the words and meaning of the song. America and her countryside are portrayed in a positive light through the text and illustrations.

Keywords: american, author's note, beach, bodies of water, culture, desert, folktale, forest, habitat, history, maps, music, ocean, patriotism, poetry, rhyme, song

The drums of noto hanto | by James, J. Alison

This true story tells the tale of a Japanese village defeating their enemy samurai. The villagers use their minds instead of weapons to scare the samurai. Wearing wild masks, setting fires on the beach, and playing the drums of Noto Hanto, kept the village safe.

Chidi only likes blue: An African book of colors | by Onyefuln, Ifeoma

Nneka and Chidi, two children of a Nigerian village, play a game called Colors. Chidi only likes the color blue, so Nneka shows him all the other colors in the village. She shows Chidi how beautiful and colorful their African lifestyle is. The colors yellow, pink, red, gold are seen, but Chidi only likes blue best of all!

Keywords: african, ceremony, colors, culture, family, flowers, food, games, grandparents, hygiene, nigerian, nonverbal communication, parents, photograph, plants, sand, self esteem, siblings, teeth, verbal communication, wish

You can't take a balloon into the metropolitan museum | by Weitzman, Jacqueline

A little girl spends a day with her grandma at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. When the little girl decides to bring along her bright yellow balloon, a security guard sees her and quickly tells her that she can't bring it in. He assures her he will watch over it as she views the exhibits, but the task ends up being more work than he ever imagined. (A Wordless Book).

Keywords: adventures, african, animals, art, balloon, beauty, birds, boat, chaos, clowns, collection, culture, disappearance, dog, egyptian, escape, exercise, frustration, grandparents, history, humor, instruments, multicultural, museum, music, observation, park, performance, pigeon, relief, skating, transportation, travel, wedding, zoo

What do I say? | by Simon, Norma

Manuel is a Puerto Rican child living in a large American city. Follow along with him throughout the day as various situations arise and Manuel asks, What do I say?. All of his questions and answers are offered in English and Spanish.

Keywords: activities, assertiveness, culture, differences, english, food, games, health, hygiene, kindness, language, learning, listening, manners, multicultural, music, nutrition, play, puerto rican, school, sleep, spanish, teeth, toys, verbal communication

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