Children's Picture Book Database at Miami University

Molly's family | by Garden, Nancy

When Molly draws a picture of her family, some students in her class say that her family is weird. They tell her she can't have two mommies. After talking to her teacher and her family, she realizes all families are different and that she is lucky to have two mommies.

Keywords: activities, adoption, art, confusion, differences, family, feelings, gender, insecurity, love, relationship, sadness, school, support, understanding, worry

Girl wonder: A baseball story in nine innings | by Hopkinson, Deborah

Alta's dream of becomming a professional baseball player comes true. She proves that it doesn't matter if you're a girl, you can still be just as talented. After pitching for an Ohio semipro baseball team in 1907, Alta goes on to become a doctor like her dad.

Keywords: accomplishment, ambition, author's note, baseball, careers, confidence, determination, discrimination, doctor, gender, history, memories, practice, skills, sports, travel

Hurricanes | by Erlbach, Arlene

This informational text describes how tropical disturbances become a tropical storm, then a hurricane. Compares and contrasts hurricanes and tornadoes, including watches and warnings. Learn how storms are predicted and monitored. Photographs show the storm with an eye. Hurricanes have different names across the world.

Keywords: careers, central america, china, clouds, comparisons, cyclone, earth, gender, geography, history, hurricane, index, india, maps, month, multicultural, nonfiction, numbers, photograph, prediction, science, seasons, sequence, storm, technology, tornado, typhoon, united states, vocabulary, weather, wind

Allie's basketball dream | by Barber, Barbara

Allie loves basketball, but she is often the only girl on the court. Buddy and other boys tease Allie about playing basketball. Allie believes in her ability and keeps practicing so that one day she can be better at basketball than the boys!

Be boy buzz | by hooks, bell

bell hooks poetically describes the pleasures of being a boy. Boys are beautiful. Sometimes, they are all boy. Sometimes, they like to laugh and talk, and sometimes they like the quietness of being alone. Boys have many moods, actions, and emotions.

Keywords: affection, anger, assertiveness, behavior, emotions, exercise, feelings, gender, happiness, love, moods, play, quiet, self confidence, self esteem, verbal communication

Somebody has done it, why can't you? | by Annoh, G. Kwesi

Two sisters in Ghana pursue their dreams of becomming career women. They receive help from their parents and teachers, and work hard to study math and science. Abena becomes a mathematician and Akousa becomes a medical officer in public health.

Keywords: african, careers, courage, determination, education, equality, family, fear, feelings, gender, ghana, health, math, multicultural, pregnancy, religion, school, science, stereotypes, teaching

Tiny and Bigman | by Gershater, Phillis

Challenging stereotypical gender roles, Tiny and Bigman illustrate the unique people skills people have to help the world go around and to make a happy family. Tiny learns to use her large size, strength, and booming voice to help people in her community. Tiny falls in love with a small man who is hard of hearing. She builds their house, and he cooks and cleans.

Keywords: african american, animals, assertiveness, baby, beauty, body image, caribbean, confidence, conflict resolution, cooking, deafness, diving, family, garden, gender, helping, hurricane, language, love, multicultural, ocean, opposites, pregnancy, relationship, sizes, stereotypes, technology, verbal communication, weather, wedding

Pemba Sherpa | by Cossi, Olga

Perma, a nyuny pa,or old man, tells a story from when he had to gather firewood for school as young boy. One morning his sister Yang Ki says she wants to go with him. Yang Ki wants to be a Sherpa but girls aren't allowed. That morning she disobeys her brother and follows him, but when Pemba falls in a landslide, Yang Ki becomes the heroine and proves that girls can be brave and strong.

Keywords: assertiveness, climbing, courage, critical thinking, family, gender, goal setting, helping, heroism, injury, mountains, multicultural, obedience, problem solving, safety, siblings, village, walking

A carp for kimiko | by Kroll, Virginia

Kimiko is a young Japanese girl who desperately wants a carp kite to fly on Children's Day. But only boys are allowed to have these kites, and Kimiko questions this rule.

Keywords: assertiveness, bias, family, feelings, frustration, gender, japanese, kite, multicultural, parents, rules, siblings, verbal communication

The boston coffee party | by Rappaport, Doreen

During the Revolutionary War, a group of women boycott a local merchant's store and get all the coffee in the warehouse.

Keywords: assertiveness, beverage, conflict resolution, decision making, gender, goal setting, greed, history, independence day, peer resistance, refusal skills, teamwork, verbal communication, war

The very quiet cricket | by Carle, Eric

As the little cricket makes his way across the land, he encounters many friends. The little cricket's only problem is that he cannot answer. He tries rubbing his wings together, but they do not make a sound. It is only when the very quiet cricket meets a female cricket that he makes a beautiful sound.

Keywords: cricket, determination, five senses, friendship, frustration, gender, goal setting, insects, self confidence, sounds, verbal communication

Everybody knows that! | by Pearson, Susan

Patty and Herbie are best friends, but when they start school, Herbie decides he wants to play with the boys. Herbie ends up being friends with her again, because they both realize that it is silly not to be friends.

Keywords: conflict resolution, decision making, friendship, gender, play, school, verbal communication

A long way to go | by Oneal, Zibby

During World War I in Europe, a girl named Lisa struggles because she feels that girls also deserve the right to vote. She is determined to prove this to others.

Keywords: assertiveness, beliefs, bias, critical thinking, discrimination, gender, history, nonverbal communication, parade, prejudice, self confidence, self esteem, verbal communication, war

Girls are silly | by Nash, Ogden

Two boys are playing and a girl walks by. Billy says that all girls are silly, then his friend points out that his mom was once a girl.

Keywords: assertiveness, decision making, friendship, gender, peer resistance, play, rhyme, verbal communication

Leon and albertina | by Davenier, Christine

Leon falls in love with Albertine, but he's not sure how to get her attention. Leon takes the advice of his friends, but no matter how hard he tries, Albertine does not notice him. What will it take for Leon to win the love of Albertine?

Keywords: animals, attention, chicken, exercise, feelings, friendship, fun, gender, gymnastics, helping, honesty, love, pig, sadness, self esteem, sports

Mama is a miner | by Lyon, Goerge E

A daughter describes the health risks and personal safety of her mother's job as a miner. The beautiful illustrations depict a warm home life contrasted by the cold, hard work of the mines.

Keywords: careers, family, fear, feelings, gender, health, parents, safety, stress management, verbal communication

The catspring somersault flying one-handed flip-flop | by Kiser, SuAnn

Willy lives on a farm with her parents an eleven siblings. Willy feels like no one notices if she is around and no one cares about her. She develops a gymnastic and she feels that no one realized she was gone. When she returns home she finds everyone did miss her.

Keywords: disappointment, family, farm, gender, gymnastics, parents, play, running away, siblings, sports, verbal communication

Heather has two mommies | by Newman, Leslea

Heather has two mommies. Heather learns that there are many different types of families and that having two lesbian moms does not make her different from any other children in her class.

Keywords: assertiveness, conflict resolution, critical thinking, differences, family, feelings, gender, happiness, homosexuality, school, self esteem, sexuality, verbal communication

Our snowman | by Goffstein, M.B.

A boy and his sister build a snowman. At night, they notice the snowman looks lonely. The girl and her father build a snowwoman to keep him company.

My two uncles | by Vigna, Judith

Homosexuality is a topic that is very difficult for most people to accept. This book examines how to deal with differences.

Keywords: assertiveness, conflict resolution, differences, family, gender, grandparents, homosexuality, nonverbal communication, relationship, sexuality, stress management, verbal communication

Browse Abstracts (29 total)