Children's Picture Book Database at Miami University

Things that sometimes happen | by Avi

This collection of short stories are exaggerated to intrigue your imagination. The stories are full of odd events involving animals, traveling, and much more.

Keywords: acceptance, accomplishment, adventures, animals, appearance, bear, beverage, camel, car, cat, critical thinking, decision making, dragons, elephant, excitement, feelings, friendship, goal setting, happiness, hard work, hippopotamus, home, humor, illness, imagination, individuality, kindness, monkey, repetition, self esteem, storytelling, success, teamwork, tiger, transportation, travel, verbal communication, water, weather

The patchwork quilt | by Flournoy, Valerie

Tanya loves spending time with her Grandma. Grandma teaches Tanya the importance of using old scraps of material to make unique and warm quilts. One day Grandma gets sick before the quilt is complete. Tanya must help Grandma finish the quilt.

Keywords: activities, african american, art, cooking, dancing, family, friendship, generations, grandparents, halloween, hard work, holidays, illness, patience, quilt, seasons, sharing, trust

I hate to be sick! | by Bermiss, Aamir Lee

A young boy wakes up feeling ill with a sore throat, cough, fever, and aching body. He soon realizes that he will not be able to attend school that day and experiences feelings of disappointment, since he will miss his friends and school activities. However, after eating soup and reading a bood with his father, the boy realizes that although he hates to be sick, he can get well again and return to school by eating well and resting.

Keywords: anger, disappointment, emotions, family, feelings, frustration, health, helping, illness, medicine, parents, reading, school, siblings

Rotten ralph feels rotten | by Gantos, Jack

When Ralph the cat eats rotten food from the garbage, he learns his lesson the hard way! He has bad dreams, a swollen belly, and feels ill. After being his typical mischievious self, the vet gives him medicine and he is encouraged to stay overnight. Ralph sneaks out of the vet's office to come home to Sarah with a new appreciation of her healhty food choices.

Keywords: animals, body parts, caring, cat, consequences, dog, dreams, food, friendship, health, homesickness, honesty, hunger, illness, loneliness, love, medicine, misbehavior, mouse, nutrition, smell

The meanest thing to say | by Cosby, Bill

Little Bill meets a new boy at school who challenges him to play a game to find the meanest thing to say. When Bill learns a new strategy from his dad, he decides to avoid the game and ignore the criticism. Soon the new boy gets embaressed, but Bill reaches out to make him his friend.

Keywords: african american, anger, basketball, confidence, conflict, fight, flood, forgiveness, friendship, frog, frustration, games, grandparents, illness, jumping, noise, parents, school, sports, teaching, teasing, walking

Degas and the little dancer: A story about Edgar Degas | by Anholt, Laurence

Marie dreams of being a famous dancer until one day her chance of being in the Christmas show diminishes when her father becomes ill. Marie begins to model for a painter to earn money for her family's lost income. One day, Maria's sculpture shows up in the art museum and becomes the famed sculpture of Edgar Degas.

Keywords: apology, art, careers, dancing, disappointment, dreams, excitement, fame, fear, hard work, illness, loneliness, museum, opera, poverty, practice, school, security, sympathy, teaching

Wash, scrub, brush! | by Manning, Mick

There is a party tonight so the animals take time to clean up for good hygiene. We don't want anyone to get sick!

Keywords: animals, appearance, bath, body parts, cleanliness, five senses, hygiene, illness, party, protection, responsibilities, smell, vocabulary

The goat lady | by Bregoli, Jane

Two young children new to Lucy Little Road, help us reveal the simple yet important life of the goat lady; a life that many people in the town despise. Through the children's time spent helping the goat lady, they learn of her vast life experiences. It isn't until after the children's mother takes portraits of the goat lady, that the rest of the town see waht a truly wonderful person the goat lady is.

Keywords: acceptance, aging, animals, appreciation, art, assertiveness, barn, birds, cold, companion, coping, critical thinking, curiosity, decision making, discovery, emotions, environment, food, friendship, goal setting, goat, hard work, home, illness, listening, loyalty, neighbors, nonverbal communication, pets, pride, relationship, respect, support, teaching, trust, verbal communication

Cell wars | by Balkwill, Fran

Did you know that there is war going on in your body every day? Well, Neutrophills, Macrophages and Lymphocytes battle to get rid of viruses and bacteria. Come watch the battle between the defender cells as they protect people from microscopic enemies.

Keywords: bacteria, cells, chicken pox, cold, critical thinking, decision making, diseases, germs, health, hygiene, illness, medicine, nonverbal communication, prevention, science, verbal communication, virus

Crackle creek | by Monsell, Mary Elise

A new newspaper comes to Crackle Creek. A fierce storm hits and floods the town, destroying one of the presses. The rival editors help each other.

Keywords: animals, community, conflict resolution, decision making, flood, goal setting, illness, newspaper, storm, stress management, weather

A seed was planted/ Sembre una semilla | by Palazeti, Toulla

A wonderful cycle of giving begins when a single seed is planted and sprouts are passed along from one person to the next. An entire community is touched.

Keywords: adaptation, animals, birthday, diary, dog, english, family, giving, holidays, idiom, illness, language, multicultural, neighbors, pattern, pets, picnic, plants, presents, reading, school, seed, siblings, spanish, tree, water, woods

I wish I had freckles like Abby/ Quisiera tener pecas como Abby | by Heling, K. & Hembrook, D.

Rosa goes to elaborate and comical lengths to have freckles like Abby. She realizes she might have something that is just as desirable as the longed-for freckles. Rosa gains appreciation for her own uniqueness.

Keywords: animals, appearance, appreciation, art, beauty, body image, body parts, chicken pox, cleanliness, comparisons, dog, envy, friendship, glasses, illness, language, spanish, telephone, uniqueness, vocabulary, wish

Wash day | by Cole, Barbara H.

Every wash day, Granpa plays his trumpet, keeping the children entertained while Miss. Ett does the wash. This music tradition stays strong until grandpa becomes ill and a tragedy occurs, causing grandpa to pass on his beloved trumpet to begin a new tradition.

Keywords: clothing, family, feelings, fire, friendship, grandparents, happiness, helping, illness, instruments, loss, memories, multicultural, music, neighbors, parents, president, pretend, respect, sadness, traditions, train, work

Sometimes my mommy gets angry | by Campbell, Bebe Moore

When Annie wakes up in the morning, she is relieved to find her euphoric mother in the kitchen. They share a healthy breakfast, then her mother helps her get ready for school. After a fun day at school, Annie comes home to an angry and yelling mother. Annie copes by calling her grandmother to talk about her feelings. She takes care of herself and maintains a positive attitude with happy thoughts. She uses effective strategies to accept her motherﾒs bipolar disorder.

Keywords: acceptance, accomplishment, affection, african american, anger, art, behavior, bipolar, body parts, caring, challenges, conflict resolution, confusion, coping, crisis, decision making, discipline, disobedience, emotions, empathy, encouragement, family, feelings, food, friendship, grandparents, happiness, health, helping, illness, independence, kindness, love, memory, misbehavior, moods, morning, neighbors, night, nonverbal communication, parents, pretend, rain, rhyme, sadness, school, stress management, sun, support, sympathy, teaching, teasing, understanding, verbal communication, walking, weather

Death in a nut | by Maddern, Eric

Jackﾒs mother tells him she is dying. He stops the grim reaper from taking her by fighting him. He realizes death has to occur to survive, because he needs to eat. Grim reaper allows Jackﾒs mother to live longer.

Keywords: beach, bodies of water, conflict resolution, critical thinking, death, decision making, exercise, family, farm, food, illness, ocean, parents, sewing, survival, verbal communication, walking

Something to tell the grandcows | by Spinelli, Eileen

Hoping to have a wonderful adventure to tell her grandcows, Emmadine volunteers to go to the South Pole in 1933. Emmadine learns a lot of interesting facts about Antarctica. After being there for a while, Emmadine misses the other animals on the farm. When she returns home from her adventure, her grandcows are very impressed with her experiences on the Byrd Antarctic Expedition

Keywords: adventures, animals, antarctica, assertiveness, boat, cow, critical thinking, dancing, decision making, family, farm, feelings, history, illness, jealousy, pig, pride, seasons, self esteem, summer, time, transportation, verbal communication, winter

Marsupial Sue | by Lithgow, John

Marsupial Sue is not a happy kangaroo. She does not enjoy the things kangaroos do. Marsupial Sue decides to go explore and find the place where she belongs. She tries to fit in with many other groups of animals. She finally discovers the place where she is happiest.

Keywords: animals, autumn, birds, bodies of water, climbing, conflict resolution, decision making, exercise, feelings, freedom, goal setting, happiness, health, hopping, illness, kangaroo, koala, learning, music, nonverbal communication, platypus, sadness, sand, sea, self esteem, song, summer, verbal communication, wallaby

The day gogo went to vote: South africa, 1994 | by Batezat Sisulu, Elinor

Thembi and her beloved great-grandmother, who has not left the house for many years, go together to vote on the momentous day when black South Africans are allowed to vote for the first time.

Keywords: africa, aging, celebration, critical thinking, dancing, determination, election, family, grandparents, helping, history, holidays, illness, parents, politics, pride, song, storytelling

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

Too far away to touch, close enough to see | by Newman, Leslea

There is a special loving relationship between Zoe and her uncle. Although he is sick with HIV, her uncle makes an extra effort to take her on special outings. Zoe must come to terms with her uncle's illness throughout the story.

Keywords: adventures, aids, caring, death, diseases, homosexuality, illness, love, nonverbal communication, relationship, sadness, stars, trust, truth, verbal communication

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