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

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Johnny appleseed

Lindbergh, Reeve

On his way to the western frontier, Johnny Appleseed stops to eat and chat with Hannah Goodwin and her family. His adventures bring many encounters with pioneers, Indians, and nature. When he is old, he returns to visit Hannah Goodwin who continues to tell children about Johnny Appleseed.

Tags

accomplishment, adventures, ambition, appreciation, determination, exercise, exploration, folktale, goal setting, history, kindness, multicultural, native american, pioneers, rhyme, success, survival, unselfish, walking

The tale of Willie Monroe

Schroeder, Alan

Willie isn't a smart man, but he sure is strong. He decides to enter a contest to prove it. However, Delilah and her granny have to get him in shape first. Now Willie's reputation and Delilah's love depend on his winning the contest. Do you think he can do it?

Tags

accomplishment, animals, appalachian, author's note, barn, celebration, ceremony, challenges, competition, confidence, cow, determination, encouragement, exercise, family, farm, feelings, folktale, food, friendship, grandparents, hard work, horse, love, marriage, multicultural, nutrition, preparation, pride, self esteem, travel, walking, wedding

Bearskin

Pyle, Howard

Bearskin, an infant son of a miller, is sent down the river by the king only to be found by a she-bear who raises him. As Bearskin gets older he goes out into the world to be with other people. He learns about a three-headed dragon who takes the princess. If anyone can kill the dragon, then they get to marry the princess. Will Bearskin be able to kill the dragon and win her heart?

Tags

adoption, adventures, affection, animals, art, baby, bear, bravery, castle, ceremony, challenges, clothing, companion, conflict, courage, deception, dragons, fable, fear, folktale, food, heroism, honesty, marriage, multicultural, nature, nutrition, picnic, royalty, violence

Jack, skinny bones, and the golden pancakes

Helldorfer, M.C.

An orphan boy befriends Skinny Bones, the dog of a hot-tempered old lady named Granny Trick. Together the boy and the dog must not only out smart Granny, but even the devil himself!

A drop of honey

Bider, Djemma

Anayida falls asleep and dreams of baking baklava. When she buys the honey, she drops some of it on the sidewalk. A bee lands on the honey and a cat chases the bee. A dog chases the cat and they all run through the town. The whole town is turned upside down because of one drop of honey.

Tags

adventures, animals, armenian, bee, bodies of water, cat, community, conflict resolution, dog, folktale, food, greek, insects, multicultural, nutrition, recipe, river

Rip van winkle

Moses, Will

Could you sleep 20 years of your life away?Well, Rip Van Winkle didn't think he could. One day he was walking around his old familiar town, talking with his old familiar friends, and hunting with his old familar dog. The next day (or so Rip thinks) his old familiar town, friends, and dog are no longer famliar. Come find out what happens when Rip sleeps for 20 years.

Tags

aging, american, author's note, community, contentment, dutch, farm, folktale, helping, history, hunting, mountains, multicultural, nature, neighbors, responsibilities, reunion, sleep, time

The teeny tiny teacher

Calmenson, Stephanie

The teeny tiny teacher and her teeny tiny students have a school day full of teeny tiny things. However, they are frightened by a voice coming from the closet asking for the bone the teacher found on their teeny tiny walk. Find out who the voice belongs to.

Tags

alliteration, beverage, bones, fear, feelings, folktale, food, ghosts, learning, mystery, park, routine, school, science, sizes, teaching, verbal communication, walking

This land is your land

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.

Tags

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

Paper john

Small, David

Paper John is a man who everyone loves. He also has a great talent for making things out of paper. He runs into a devil who appears in town as a thief. Paper John captures the devil before it destroys the town.

Tags

anger, community, conflict resolution, critical thinking, decision making, devils, feelings, folktale, greed, nonverbal communication, problem solving, rescue, robbery, verbal communication

How the rabbit stole the moon

Moeri, Louise

All of the animals in the forest were sad because at night they could not see. All of the animals tried to get the sun to give them a little bit of light for the night. The rabbit stole some sun and created the moon and stars.

Tags

animals, assertiveness, community, conflict resolution, coping, courage, critical thinking, fear, feelings, folktale, goal setting, moon, nature, peer resistance, rabbit, sight, woods

The rain door

Hoban, Russell

Harry goes through the rain door and meets a man and his horse, Lightening. They are chased by a thundering lion and the man sprays water on it to keep it away. They create a rain storm

Tags

animals, coping, critical thinking, curiosity, decision making, folktale, horse, imagination, lion, rain, weather

Hot hippo

Hadithi, Mwenye

The Hippo asks Ngai, the omniscent, if he can live in the water. Ngai allows Hippo to do this if he only eats plants and not the fish. In the end, they are both happy.

Tags

animals, conflict resolution, critical thinking, decision making, fish, folktale, food, goal setting, hippopotamus, nature, plants, respect, verbal communication

The hare and the tortoise: A fable from aesop

Ward, Helen

Just like Aesop's original folktale, the hare and the tortoise are going to race. The quick but lazy hare takes his speed for granted when he challenges the tortoise. However, when the hare becomes too confident, the tortoise creeps past him to win the race.

Tags

accidents, animals, author's note, bodies of water, caring, challenges, competition, decision making, exercise, folktale, food, garden, goal setting, hard work, intelligence, laziness, nutrition, rabbit, river, running, swimming, tortoise, walking

Cold feet

DeFelice, Cynthia

Playing the bagpipes is Willie McPhee's favorite form of entertainment, but because his audience is unable to pay for his entertainment, Willie is forced to leave. On his journey to find money, he becomes tired and his clothes wear out. Across the forest he sees a dead man and since his shoes are torn, he takes the dead man's boots. As he approaches a house to find hospitality, see how the dead man comes back to haunt him.

Tags

animals, author's note, behavior, body parts, caring, clothing, cold, compromise, consequences, cow, critical thinking, death, decision making, exercise, folktale, giving, instruments, snow, sounds, storytelling, survival, travel, walking, weather, winter

Hush little baby: A folk song with pictures

Frazee, Marla

The baby will not hush and the family can't take it any longer. A peddler, who has a wagon filled with toys and animals, tries to aid the family. Nothing works, until exhaustion takes over and the loving family has the sweetest baby in town.

Rip van winkle: Adapted from washington irving

Locker, Thomas

Rip Van Winkle drinks the brew of Henry Hudson and sleeps for twenty years. When he awakens, his own daughter does not recognize him.

Tags

beverage, conflict resolution, family, folktale, parents, sleep

Don't count your chicks

D'Aulaire, Ingri//D'Aulaire, Edgar

A little old woman walks into town with a basket of eggs her hen has laid. As she walks she thinks about her future and about how rich she'll be because of these eggs. When she drops all of the eggs, she realizes she became too proud.

Tags

birds, chicken, confidence, consequences, exercise, folktale, greed, walking

The legend of the veery bird

Hague, Kathleen

A shy boy with a stuttering problem loses his father. After he runs to the forest to get away, the keeper of the Forest helps him by giving the world a bird with a beautiful voice.

Tags

assertiveness, birds, conflict resolution, critical thinking, death, decision making, feelings, folktale, grief, nonverbal communication, self esteem, shyness, stress management, stuttering, verbal communication

The terrible troll-bird

D'Aulaire, Ingri//D'Aulaire, Edgar

Four brothers and sisters are sent to the woods to get firewood and encounter a troll-bird. This causes a lot of trouble and they have to kill it which brings even more trouble!

Tags

assertiveness, birds, conflict resolution, critical thinking, death, decision making, family, fear, feelings, folktale, nature, siblings, stress management, woods

Raven: A trickster tale from the pacific northwest

MacDermott, Gerald

A raven flies into a dark world and wants to bring light to the people. He journeys to the house of the Sky Chief. After exploring he takes the sun in his mouth and places it in the sky giving light to the world.

Tags

birds, conflict resolution, critical thinking, decision making, folktale, helping, raven, sun, travel

Go tell aunt rhody

Aliki.

This illustrated version of the children's folk song tells about a goose that dies and is then used to stuff a feather bed.

Tags

birds, death, folktale, goose, song

The stingy baker

Greeson, Janet

Jan is a stingy baker. When a woman enters his cookie shop and asks for a bakers dozen, Jan refuses to give her an extra free cookie. The woman puts an evil spell on Jan. When Jan finally gives her a bakers dozen of cookies, the spell is broken.

Tags

careers, family, folktale, food, greed, numbers, nutrition, parents

Ming lo moves the mountain

Lobel, Arnold

Ming Lo and his wife do not want to live by the mountain anymore, so they ask the wise man how to move the mountain. After trying different plans, they finally move themselves from the mountain.

Tags

conflict resolution, determination, discovery, folktale, goal setting, mountains, multicultural, nature, problem solving

The monster and the tailor

Galdone, Paul

A tailor is asked by the Grand Duke to make a suit. For good luck, the tailor must sew it at a grave yard at night. Even though a monster appears, the tailor works hard and completes his task. For the completion of the suit, he receives a bag of gold.

Tags

assertiveness, conflict resolution, critical thinking, decision making, determination, fear, feelings, folktale, goal setting, hard work, nonverbal communication, self esteem, verbal communication

Gone is gone

Gag, Wanda

A man wishes to trade a days work with his wife who does nothing all day. He soon learns he was wrong.

Tags

family, farm, folktale, marriage, respect, understanding

Dragon kite of the autumn moon

Reddix, Valerie

Every year, Tad-Tin and his grandfather make a special kite to fly on Kite's Day. This year Grandfather is sick, so it is up to Tin to sacrifice his special Dragon kite in order to carry all their misfortune away.

A hanukkah treasury

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!

Tags

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

The tale of the turnip

Alderson, Brian

With the help of his family, a farmer grows an oversized turnip and presents it to the King. The King gives the farmer a cartload of gold for his turnip. The King's gift entices a squire to present the King with a horse, but the reward is not what the squire has in mind.

Tags

animals, farm, folktale, food, garden, goal setting, greed, hard work, helping, horse, royalty, sizes

The worry stone

Dengler, Marianna

When growing up, Amanda loved her Grandfather and his stories. But now that Amanda is old, she feels lonely. One day at the park she befriends a lonely boy. She is able to give the boy something very special. Then he gives her something in return.

Tags

aging, author's note, death, family, feelings, folktale, fossil, giving, grandparents, hope, loneliness, memories, multicultural, native american, park, rocks, self esteem, sharing, storytelling, verbal communication, worry

Faraway drums

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.

Rosie's fiddle

Root, Phyllis

Rosie O'Grady loves being by herself, but people can't stay away when she plays her fiddle. She is so good that they say she could out-fiddle the devil himself!One day, the devil shows up to challenge Rosie to a contest, the devil's golden fiddle for Rosie's soul!

The little blind goat

Wahl, Jan

Casimiro, the hero, overcomes his disability in this tale of perserverance. The world is not always kind to our disabled friends, but with a little hard work anything can be overcome.

Tags

accomplishment, animals, blindness, boat, cooperation, critical thinking, dancing, disability, exercise, family, folktale, hard work, listening, loneliness, lost, siblings, smell, stress management, swimming, taste, verbal communication, vision

Stone soup

Brown, Marcia

Three hungry soldiers walk down the road. They stop at several houses to ask for food, but nobody has any extra to share. One of the soldiers tricks the townspeople and says he can make stone soup. By the time the soup is finished, all of the townspeople contribute some type of food to the soup.

Tags

community, deception, folktale, food, nutrition, sharing, teamwork

Stone soup

McGovern, Ann

A young man is hungry and convinces an old woman that he can make soup from a stone. By the time the soup is ready, the woman has added several things from her garden to the soup. They eat the soup and when the boy leaves her house, he pulls the stone out of his pocket.

Tags

deception, five senses, folktale, food, hunger, nutrition

Why mosquitoes buzz in people's ears

Aardema, Verna

A myth about why mosquitoes buzz in people's ears. A mosquito causes problems in the forest so everyone is mad at the mosquito. Mosquitoes now buzz in people's ears because they want to know if everyone is still mad at them.

Tags

conflict resolution, decision making, folktale, insects, mythical, nonverbal communication, understanding

Ola

D'Aulaire, Ingri//D'Aulaire, Edgar

A story about a boy, his travels, and his adventures through Norway.

Tags

adventures, assertiveness, conflict resolution, critical thinking, decision making, folktale, goal setting, multicultural, norwegian, peer resistance, refusal skills, travel

Tony's bread

dePaola, Tomie

In order to win the hand of Serafina, Angelo helps Tony the Baker, who is Serafina's father, create the best tasting bread in Milano, Italy. The bread is a success, and Angelo and Serafina marry.

Tags

careers, celebration, folktale, food, italian, multicultural, nutrition, wedding

The morning the sun refused to rise

Rounds, Glen

Although it seems impossible, there once was a day when the sun did not rise. As it turns out, the Earth's axle froze at the North Pole and the world stopped revolving. With the help of Paul Bunyan and a few friends, the earth was set in motion again.

Tags

animals, bear, conflict resolution, folktale, geography, morning, problem solving, seasons, sun, winter

Chanukah in chelm

Adler, David A.

Mendal, the caretaker of the Chelm synagogue must find a table to set the menorah on. He searches the synagogue and cannot find one. Rabbi Nachman sends him to a carpenter to get one. Preparation for Hanukkah in this town of Chelm is remarkably eventful and fun.

Tags

author's note, beliefs, church, critical thinking, customs, dancing, exercise, folktale, food, hanukkah, holidays, humor, Jewish, multicultural, nutrition, prayer, preparation, religion, traditions, verbal communication, winter

The bakers dozen

Forest, Heather

Jan Van Amsterdam is a well known baker. People travel from all over to buy his goods. When he begins to get greedy, he starts to use less ingredients in his cookies. When a woman asks for a bakers dozen, he only gives her 12 She puts a curse on him and his baked goods. When he finally realizes that a bakers dozen is 13, the curse is broken.

Tags

author's note, careers, celebration, christmas, community, deception, folktale, food, greed, holidays, magic, nutrition, poverty, seasons, winter

The secret of the stones

San Souci, Robert D.

John and Clara work very hard all day, but they have no children to love. One night Clara finds two little white stones and brings them home with her. When they came home the next night all of the chores had been done, and John and Clara must find out who their helpers are and how to help them!

Tags

african american, animals, author's note, bones, cabin, chicken, conflict resolution, cow, decision making, escape, farm, folktale, food, hard work, magic, multicultural, nutrition, orphan, poverty, rocks, song, stream, verbal communication

Each peach pear plum

Ahlberg, Janet//Ahlberg, Allan

A peach, pear, and plum spy on Tom Thumb. Then the story continues with each folktale spying on another. It lists about ten different fairy tales including Cinderella, Robin Hood, The Three Bears, Baby Bunting, Bo-Peep, Jack and Jill and so on.

Tags

folktale, food, nutrition, rhyme

I know an old lady who swallowed a fly

Rounds, Glen

During this familiar folksong, an old lady swallows all sorts of animals. In each instance, she swallows another animal in hopes of catching the previously swallowed animal.

Tags

animals, birds, cat, dog, five senses, fly, folktale, goat, horse, humor, sequence, song, spider, taste

Roy makes a car: Based on a story collected by Zora Neale Hurston

Lyons, Mary

Roy Tyle is known around town as the best mechanic in Florida. Roy makes it his mission to create a car that will be accident proof. No one in the town believes him, but Roy proves them wrong time and time again. Roy's creativity and perseverance leads to the making of the best cars in the area.

Hush harbor: Praying in secret

Evans, Freddi Williams

Simmy is both excited and nervous for his job as Scout during the community meeting. Simmy is excited because this means the elders trust him, but he is nervous because slaves are not supposed to gather and sing together. Simmy must be very careful and listen for the master during the meeting.

Tags

african american, anger, anticipation, author's note, bravery, cabin, closeness, communication, cooking, creativity, creek, critical thinking, culture, dancing, death, faith, family, folktale, forest, friendship, hard work, hearing, hope, horse, listening, missing, multicultural, music, nonverbal communication, prayer, relief, religion, rhythm, river, running away, safety, secrets, slavery, song, spiritual, storytelling, woods, worry

Lazy lion

Hadithi, Mwenye & Kennaway, Adrienne

Lazy lion orders everyone to build him a house, but he is not satisfied with it. When a big rain comes, all the other animals go into the house that was built for the lion to keep dry. This is why lions must roam the earth.

Tags

aardvark, african, animals, ant, assertiveness, badger, bee, birds, conflict resolution, critical thinking, crocodile, decision making, folktale, geography, goal setting, insects, laziness, lion, rain, refusal skills, reptiles, shelter, teamwork, weather

Mufaro's beautiful daughters: An African tale

Steptoe, John

The king of Zimbabwe is choosing a new wife. Mufaro sends his two beautiful daughters to be considered. The main difference between the daughters is that one has a kind temperment and the other has a bad temper.

Tags

african, differences, family, feelings, folktale, jealousy, marriage, nonverbal communication, parents, plants, royalty, self esteem, siblings, verbal communication, zimbabwe

Why the bush fowl calls at sunrise

Tredgold, Margaret

In this folktale from Zimbabwe, a repeated sequence of inadvertent events between people, animals, and objects lead to the bush fowlﾒs eggs being crushed. The bush fowl is too sad to call the sun in the morning so the Great Spirit intervenes. As each participant is questioned by the Great Spirit, the sequence is repeated and deconstructed. Finally, the buzzing fly is restricted to saying only ﾓBUZZﾔ and the bush fowl promises to always call the sun in the morning.

Tags

african, animals, birds, elephant, fly, folktale, insects, multicultural, rat, sequence, snake, sounds, zimbabwe

Goldilocks and the three bears

Aylesworth, Jim

A curious little girl sometimes forgets what her mother tells her. Sometimes this gets her into trouble. One such time found her deep into the woods at a cottage belonging to three bears. You probably know the rest of the story.

Tags

animals, baby, bear, curiosity, disobedience, fable, family, folktale, food, forest, forgetful, parents, sizes, sleep

The legend of mulan: A herione of anvient china

Jiang, Wei and Jiang, Cheng An

War breaks out in China and the men are summoned from each family to come fight. A young girl secretly disguises herself as a boy and fights in her brother's place. She has colorful adventures.

Tags

animals, assertiveness, china, chinese, conflict resolution, courage, critical thinking, decision making, equality, folktale, goat, heroism, judo, karate, language, multicultural, problem solving, self esteem, war

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