Children's Picture Book Database at Miami University

The remembering stone | by Russell, Barbara Timberlake

As Ana holds the speckled lava stone (the remembering stone) that her mother has given her, she falls asleep and dreams of being able to fly like the blackbirds in their garden to her mother's homeland of Costa Rica to see their family. She awakens in the morning and joins her mother as they greet the blackbirds in their garden. Ana can almost feel herself lifting off the ground as they take flight.

Keywords: birds, blackbird, celebration, costa rica, culture, dreams, family, feelings, food, friendship, grandparents, hispanic, hope, jewelry, language, multicultural, nutrition, parents, travel, vocabulary

Oh, brother! | by Grimes, Nikki

Xavier feels sad, angry, and jealous towards his new step brother, Chris. Xavier soon realizes that Chris is coping with loneliness and resentment too. The pain over losing a parent to divorce forms a special band between Xavier and Chris so they promise each other, that no one will ever leave. Through short vignettes, the story ends with Our family is a song we sing, and we can add new notes anytime we like.

Keywords: african american, aggression, anger, apology, baby, baseball, bedtime, behavior, books, celebration, change, chores, climbing, comparisons, conflict, conflict resolution, divorce, emotions, family, fear, feelings, friendship, fun, games, hispanic, jealousy, mountains, multicultural, parents, photograph, playing, pregnancy, relationship, rhythm, school, self esteem, siblings, sports, stepfather, stepmother, sympathy, technology, telephone, verbal communication, wedding

The barking mouse | by Sacre, Antonio

A Spanish speaking mouse family goes on a picnic. The parents spend the day showing each other affection while the brother and sister go play. While they are playing, the come across a cat. The cat scared everyone, except the mother mouse who saves them by speaking another language.

Keywords: affection, animals, cat, conflict resolution, critical thinking, family, fear, feelings, food, hispanic, language, mouse, multicultural, parents, peer resistance, picnic, playing, self esteem, siblings, sounds, spanish, verbal communication

Pumpkins: A story for a field | by Ray, Mary Lyn

A man is sad to see a beautiful field become a residential development, so he raises money to buy the field by growing pumpkins and selling them all over the world.

Lights on the river | by Thomas, Jane Resh

Teresa and her family are migrant farm workers whose home is wherever there is work. With no permanent home, Teresa carries with her a wooden box containing a single candle from her grandmother that reminds her of the place she considers home.

Keywords: christmas, family, farm, grandparents, hispanic, holidays, memories, moving, multicultural, parents, plants, shelter, siblings, travel, verbal communication

The desert mermaid (La sirena del desierta) | by Blanco, Alberto

The last of the desert mermaids is found living in an oasis in the Sonara desert. An Indian and his horse take her on a journey to find the roots of her ancestors. Here she finds the gift of song and can finally join the thousands of mermaids riding the waves.

Keywords: adventures, desert, goal setting, hispanic, history, mermaids, multicultural, music, rhythm, song

Bread is for eating | by Gershator, David//Gershator, Phillis

When a little boy leaves bread on his plate, his mother reminds him how important bread is and the hard work that goes into making it. Through a song, children learn why they should not waste food, and how to be thankful for grain and bread.

Keywords: appreciation, awareness, careers, critical thinking, culture, decision making, farm, farmer, food, health, hispanic, hunger, language, machines, money, multicultural, music, nature, nonverbal communication, nutrition, parents, plants, poverty, rain, rainbow, snow, song, spanish, storytelling, sun, teaching, verbal communication, weather, winter

The two uncles of pablo | by Behn, Harry

A young boy, named Pablo, is in search of getting an education and making money for his poor family. In this pursuit, Pablo unites two uncles who have been feuding.

Keywords: assertiveness, conflict resolution, critical thinking, decision making, family, fight, goal setting, hispanic, honesty, multicultural, nonverbal communication, peer resistance, poverty, refusal skills, self esteem

The tortilla factory | by Paulsen, Gary

In the spring, a tiny yellow corn seed is planted. From that corn seed, how a tortilla shell is created is revealed. The tortilla shell gives strength to the workers so the entire process can be repeated the following spring.

Keywords: farm, food, hispanic, multicultural, nutrition, plants, seasons, spring

Gracias, the thanksgiving turkey | by Cowley, Joy

Miguel's dad, a truck driver, sends Miguel a turkey to fatten up for Thanksgiving. Miguel and his family care for and love the turkey, and they name her Gracias. When Thanksgiving arrives no one can eat Gracias the turkey, instead they eat chicken for Thanksgiving dinner!

Keywords: assertiveness, celebration, critical thinking, decision making, family, feelings, food, friendship, grandparents, hispanic, holidays, love, multicultural, nutrition, parents, spanish, support, thanksgiving, verbal communication

Hooray, a pinata! | by Kleven, Elisa

It's Clara's birthday, and she wants a pinata for her party. Clara, her mom, and her friend Samson go to the pinata store and Clara chooses a cute dog. Clara grows to love the dog and will not break him open. Samson saves the day by bringing another pinata to the party!

Keywords: birthday, celebration, dog, family, feelings, friendship, grandparents, happiness, hispanic, love, multicultural, nonverbal communication, parents, pets, surprises, verbal communication

Song of the swallows | by Politi, Leo

Since Juan loves to watch the swallows in the Mission Garden, he is sad when they fly away at the end of the season. While waiting for their return, Juan decides to build a garden at his house in hopes that swallows will return to his garden.

Keywords: birds, celebration, conflict resolution, garden, hispanic, multicultural, song, swallow, verbal communication

Subway sparrow (Gorrion del metro) | by Torres, Leyla

When a sparrow flies on the D train, four people help figure out a way to get the sparrow off the train. The problem is that the four people on the train speak different languages. The teens on the train speak English, a man speaks Spanish, and a woman speaks Polish. Through various forms of communicating, the four of them come up with a strategy to help the sparrow.

Keywords: american, birds, caring, communication, conflict resolution, cooperation, critical thinking, goal setting, helping, hispanic, multicultural, nonverbal communication, polish, problem solving, rescue, sparrow, train, transportation, verbal communication

The boy who wouldn't talk | by Bouchard, Lois Kalb

Carlos, a Puerto Rican boy, lives in America and is frustrated with learning the English language. He decides not to talk at all and just nod and draw pictures. He meets a blind boy who cannot see his pictures or nods, so Carlos must talk. Carlos is so happy to meet this boy that he begins to talk again.

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