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

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Song of the boat

Graham, Lorenz

An African father and a son from West Africa build a boat from a special tree. They work together to find the perfect tree to use.

Tags

african, assertiveness, conflict resolution, decision making, determination, family, goal setting, hard work, language, multicultural, parents, refusal skills, self esteem, teamwork, traditions, transportation

Burro finds it hard to get any help from his friends as he diligently works to turn corn into tortillas. Expect repetition, puns, and an accurate picture of the traditional way that tortillas are made.

Tags

animals, assertiveness, central america, cooking, coyote, donkey, fable, feelings, food, friendship, hard work, language, Mexico, multicultural, nutrition, pattern, plants, rabbit, repetition, sadness, spanish

Where are you going manyoni?

Stock, Catherine

Manyoni, a little girl living near the Limpopo River in Zimbabwe, sees many different animals and wildlife on her walk to school.

Tags

african, animals, baboon, bodies of water, clothing, exercise, food, language, leopard, multicultural, plants, river, school, siblings, sleep, walking, zimbabwe

A is for africa

Onyefulu, Ifeoma

The author, a member of the Igbo tribe in Nigeria, presents text and her own photographs of twenty-six things, from A-Z, representative of all African peoples.

Tags

affection, africa, african, alphabet, bodies of water, colors, exercise, family, food, friendship, games, grandparents, home, jewelry, jumping, jungle, language, multicultural, music, muslim, nonverbal communication, photograph, play, religion, river, school, spiritual, traditions, verbal communication, work

Food and festivals: West Africa

Brownlie, Alison

Describes the West African culture of food, including the kinds of food grown and eaten, and various feast days like Ramadan, Easter, naming ceremonies, and yam festivals.

Tags

africa, african, baby, beach, bodies of water, camel, cattle, celebration, ceremony, chicken, community, cooking, dancing, family, farm, food, friendship, fruit, ghana, goat, hard work, holidays, language, multicultural, music, muslim, parade, preparation, religion, respect, river

Billy Twitters and his blue whale problem

Barnett, Mac

When Billy Twitters doesn't brush his teeth or finish his peas, his mother says we are going to buy you a whale. This does not worry Billy, because he knows how large blue whales are and he couldn't possibly have one delivered. To his surprise, one morning there is a blue whale sitting outside his house, and it is his responsibility. The whale causes problems at school because Billy's classmates pick him at gym. And it just gets worse: his parents give him the owner's manual for the whale. While feeding him, Billy realizes that when he's inside the whale, nobody's laughing and nobody's telling him what to do...so he decides to make himself at home!

Tags

animals, bridge, bus, cleanliness, colors, community, comparisons, critical thinking, decision making, dinosaur, feelings, five senses, food, frustration, history, hygiene, language, loneliness, numbers, parents, park, perspective, problem solving, responsibilities, school, sight, sizes, smell, teeth, time, transportation, whale

Galimoto

Williams, Karen Lynn

Kondi needs wire to make his galimoto, the word in Malawi Africa which means car. He thinks of clever ways to make his galimoto in the shape of a car. He falls asleep imagining what shape he might twist it into the next day.

Tags

africa, african, anger, car, collection, creativity, decision making, dreams, feelings, food, helicopter, imagination, language, robbery, sleep, toys, transportation, verbal communication

Skippyjon Jones and the treasure hunt

Schachner, Judy

Have you ever been on a treasure hunt? Join Skippyjon Jones and friends as they make their way through Mexico in search of the treasure. They'll look for matching pairs and see new sights along the way.

Tags

animals, cat, five senses, friendship, games, language, multicultural, spanish, touch, word association

To be a drum

Coleman, Evelyn

Daddy Wes whispers to his two young children about the history of Africans forced into slavery and how the pulse of the drum has moved through them over time. Daddy Wes promises his children that as long as they can hear the heartbeat of the earth, they will be free.

Tags

africa, african, art, bodies of water, careers, colors, community, culture, dance, five senses, freedom, hearing, history, instruments, language, multicultural, music, nonverbal communication, ocean, playing, pride, rhythm, sea, ship, slavery, sounds, spiritual, storytelling, symbols, time, verbal communication, war

Painted dreams

Williams, Karen Lynn

Ti Marie loves to paint, but her family is too poor to afford paint so she uses bricks, stones and charcoal. One day, as she is walking to the river, she sees Msie Antoine painting a snake and admires his art supplies. Later on in the night she decides to look through his trash to see if he has any left over supplies. She uses them to paint on the wall behind her family's place at the Haitian market. Find out how the people at the market react.

Tags

art, careers, culture, customs, food, haitian, investigation, jungle, language, market, multicultural, nutrition, parents, responsibilities, river, self esteem, siblings, spiritual, success

I lost my tooth in africa

Diakite, Penda

Amina and her parents take a trip to Mali to visit family. On the way, Amina realizes that her tooth is loose! While visiting her father's family, Amina loses the tooth and places it under a calabash tree. She receives a hen and a rooster from the African Tooth Fairy.

Tags

africa, african, airplane, animals, birds, body parts, cattle, change, chicken, community, cooking, cow, culture, differences, donkey, family, food, games, garden, goat, grandparents, language, loss, maps, morning, multicultural, music, night, parents, pattern, pheasant, play, prayer, recipe, singing, sleep, song, storytelling, teeth, traditions, travel, tree, vacation, village, wish

Where's Jamela?

Daly, Niki

A young girl named Jamela is upset when hearing the news from her mother that they will be moving to a new house. When itﾒs time to leave, everyone wonders where Jamela is and begin to search for her everywhere. Suddenly, she jumps out of a box from the back of the truck and agrees to go with her mother. On reaching her new house, she starts to like it and settles down in her room.

My painted house, my friendly chicken, and me

Angelou, Maya

Thandi, an eight-year-old Ndebele girl who lives in a village in South Africa with her mother, aunts, sisters, and mischievous younger brother, shares her secrets with her best friend, a chicken.

Tags

africa, african, animals, art, bicycle, chicken, colors, customs, dragonfly, family, friendship, jewelry, language, mischief, multicultural, nonverbal communication, parents, pattern, photograph, play, siblings, storytelling, village

Christmas eve blizzard

Vlahakis, Andrea

A beautiful cardinal is trapped in the snow until a young boy rescues him. Nicholas places more importance on caring for the injured bird than in decorating the Christmas tree or opening his gifts on Christmas morning. The cardinal sweetly and unexpectedly rewards the boy, his grandfather, and their entire village with a lifetime of Christmas cheer.

Tags

animals, birds, christmas, determination, goal setting, holidays, language, Mexico, multicultural, snow, spanish, tree, weather

Oh, crumps! Ay, caramba!

Bock, Lee

One night, a sleepy farmer has a lot of chores to do and also has a hard time keeping his chore list straight. One mishap after another keeps him from getting sleep. As a result, he mixes up his tasks so that he plans to mow the cow, climb the fence, repair the hay, and milk the silo. Hopefully no one will disturb the farmer's sleep again before morning!

Tags

animals, bedtime, cat, cow, critical thinking, dog, exercise, farm, glossary, goat, hard work, language, multicultural, responsibilities, sleep, spanish, walking

Manana, Iguana

Paul, Ann Whitford

Following the story line of Little Red Hen, Iguana decides to throw a fiesta and invite all of her friends. Set in the desert, the lazy cat, dog, and mouse are replaced by Conejo (rabbit), Culebra (Snake), and Tortuga (tortoise). As Iguana sets the stage for invitations, decorations, and of course, food preparation, her three lazy friends have an excuse for every task presented to them. Either they are too fast, too slow, or have no arms. As the evening of the fiesta approaches, Iguana decides that her three friends should not be included, as they did nothing. Feeling bad about not only being left out, but disappointing Iguana, the three friends decide to right the situation, and prove themselves worthy of her friendship.

A boy and his bunny

Bryan, Sean

One morning a boy wakes up to discover that he has found himself a new friend. Fred the bunny is on his head. The boy's mother is unsure about his new friend, but he assures her that he can accomplish many things with Fred on his head.

Tags

alligator, animals, conflict resolution, french, language, nonverbal communication, parents, rabbit, rhyme, sledding, sleep, transportation, understanding, verbal communication

The spirit of tio fernando: A day of the dead story

Levy, Janice

Fernando, a little boy from Mexico, loses his favorite uncle. The family celebrates a holiday called Day of the Dead. Fernando must find the perfect gift to remember his uncle. What does he choose?

Tags

celebration, critical thinking, death, family, flowers, food, holidays, instruments, language, mexican, multicultural, music, parents, spanish, theatre

Welcoming babies

Knight, Margy Burns

People celebrate the gift of a new baby in different ways around the world. Babies are welcomed into their families using different customs like singing, kissing, touching, blessing, naming, and other special actions.

Tags

adoption, afghani, african, cambodian, correspondence, customs, family, food, glossary, grandparents, indian, iranian, Jewish, korean, language, multicultural, muslim, native american, pakistani, parents, puerto rican, quakers, siblings, spanish, spiritual, traditions, vietnamese

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

Soap, soap, soap/ Jabon, jabon, jabon

Dulemba, Elizabeth

Hugo's mama sends him to the store to buy soap. As a result of his comical adventures, soap is exactly what Hugo needs when he returns home.

Tags

adventures, bath, bully, family, forgetful, language, market, memory, money, multicultural, parents, playground, shopping, spanish

Amy's travels

Starke, Kathryn

Come along with Amy on her wonderful journey to all seven continents on earth. Read about the desert in Asia, the rainforest and jungles of Africa, the mountains of South America, and the cities of Europe. Feel the bitter cold of Antarctica, go on a safari, and meet people around the world who speak different languages. Traveling to brand new places is one of the most exciting ways to learn, and it's a trip you'll never forget!

Tags

africa, america, animals, antarctica, asian, australia, bodies of water, camel, change, culture, desert, differences, europe, exploration, geography, home, honduran, jungle, kangaroo, kenyan, koala, language, maps, mountains, moving, multicultural, rainforest, river, safari, seasons, south american, spanish, transportation, travel, united states

Tiny and Bigman

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.

Namaste!

Cohn, Diana

Nima Sherpa lives next to Mount Everest, and her father guides people to the top of the mountains once a year. Before he leaves, he tells Nima that he will have a story for her when he returns and asks Nima if she will have a story for him. As Nima walks around the village thinking of what her story could be, she greets everyone with Namaste, just as her mom taught her. She struggles with her story until she realizes that she spreads sweetness everytime she says Namaste.

Tags

animals, author's note, cooking, critical thinking, culture, family, flag, flood, food, glossary, goddess, helping, indian, language, light, monk, mountains, multicultural, nepali, nonverbal communication, parents, prayer, school, storytelling, tiger, trading, travel, verbal communication, walking, yak

The tooth fairy meets El Raton Perez

Lainez, Rene Colato

The Tooth Fairy and El Raton Perez see their signal for a new tooth. When they get to the house, they meet each other for the first time. They start fighting over whose tooth it is which causes the tooth to fly across the room. The tooth lands in the bookshelf. El Raton Perez can't climb up and the Tooth Fairy can't fit in small places. They decide to work together and share the tooth.

Tags

american, author's note, bedtime, conflict resolution, critical thinking, decision making, fairy, language, moon, mouse, multicultural, night, problem solving, sleep, spanish, teeth, travel, verbal communication

Bartleby Speaks!

Cruise, Robin

Bartleby is a very quiet baby. He learns to crawl, walk and explore, but he still doesn't talk. His family and even the dog try to get him to talk by singing, dancing, playing instruments, but Bartleby still won't speak. On his birthday he speaks his first word: listen, and for the first time his family stops and listens.

Tags

animals, balloon, bicycle, birthday, books, careers, celebration, dancing, dog, flowers, german, grandparents, growing up, instruments, italian, language, music, nonverbal communication, parents, toys, verbal communication

Three names of me

Cummings, Mary

Ada is a Chinese American girl. Ada shares her experiences of being adopted and moving to a new country. She collects new names that melt into one compelling identity for her.

Tags

acceptance, adoption, airplane, american, author's note, body parts, chinese american, culture, differences, family, feelings, food, grandparents, happiness, identity, language, love, multicultural, orphan, parents, poverty, sleep, stars, transportation, travel, writing

Count on your fingers African style

Zaslavsky, Claudia

This beautifully illustrated four color picture book takes children through the markets, showing traditional finger counting of various African people - the Maasai, the Kamba, and the Taita in Kenya, the Zulu of South Africa, and the Mende of Sierra Leone. This book examines the role that numbers play in creating a common language across cultural boundaries.

Tags

africa, african, author's note, body parts, cattle, chicken, counting, cow, food, fruit, games, language, learning, market, multicultural, nonverbal communication, numbers, parents, play, school, siblings, verbal communication

Meet Kofi, Maria and Sunita: Family life in Ghana, Peru and India

Simmons, Lesley Anne

Kofi, Maria, and Sunita come from Ghana, Peru, and India. They tell about traditions of their country, their school, and their family.

Tags

africa, african, birthday, books, careers, Days of The Week, food, garden, ghana, grandparents, hygiene, illness, india, language, maps, multicultural, parents, poverty, south american, traditions, verbal communication

In the time of the drums

Siegelson, K.

Raised by his grandmother Twi, a young boy named Mentu learns of the toils and tragedies of slavery and how one day he too will have to be strong in the cotton fields. As Mentu grows, Twi shares her talks of living in Africa through the use of drums. When Twi's spirit calls her home to Africa, Mentu's day to be strong arrives.

Tags

africa, african, aging, author's note, beliefs, boat, bodies of water, customs, escape, family, fear, garden, grandparents, hard work, history, island, language, memories, mischief, music, running away, ship, slavery, spanish, storytelling, transportation, travel, verbal communication, water

Welcome dede!: An African naming ceremony

Onyefulu, Ifeoma

Amarlai has a new baby cousin and he can't wait for her to be given a name. A tradtional African name will tell people where she comes from and which child she is in the family.

Tags

africa, african, baby, birth, celebration, ceremony, clothing, community, cooking, family, feelings, food, geography, giving, grandparents, happiness, hard work, language, maps, market, multicultural, parents, photograph, prayer, presents, traditions, village

Buenas noches luna

Brown, Margaret Wise

A small rabbit is getting ready to go to bed. He says goodnight to everything he can see. Each page grows darker and darker until the rabbit falls asleep. (Written in Spanish)

Tags

animals, baby, bear, bedtime, cat, cow, family, language, moon, mouse, multicultural, night, parents, rabbit, spanish

My rows and piles of coins

Mollel, Tololwa M.

What would you buy if your mother gave you some money? Saruni wants a bicycle- a bicycle of his very own! Saruni saves his coins and works hard to help his mother. Unfortunately, Saruni is disappointed because he does not have enough to buy his very own bicycle. Where there is a will, there is a way, so Saruni finally gets a bicycle to help his mother to the Tanzanian market.

A child's day in a Ghanaian city

Provencal, Francis & McNamara, Catherine

Nii Kwei gets up with the sun, and at half past five, he's already hard at work chasing the chickens and sweeping the compound clean with his straw broom. As the city begins to wake up, he washes, changes into his school uniform, and sits down to chocolate milk and sandwiches for breakfast. Photographs capture the lively rhythms of West African daily life, and this delightful dawn-to-dusk journal will encourage young readers, wherever they live, to compare and contrast Nii Kwei's day with their own.

Tags

africa, african, author's note, band, bath, bodies of water, chores, cooking, family, ghana, hygiene, language, math, multicultural, music, parents, play, school, sea, siblings, soccer, sports

Grandpa, is everything black bad?

Holman, Sandy Lynne

Montsho struggles with the dark color of his skin. Everything around him that is black is considered bad. Thankfully, Muntsho's grandfather teaches him to appreciate his black skin by telling him stories about his African heritage.

Tags

activities, africa, african, african american, animals, bedtime, colors, confusion, death, discrimination, egypt, emotions, friendship, glasses, grandparents, greek, history, identity, instruments, inventions, language, playing, pride, relationship, rhythm, royalty, self esteem, sounds, storytelling, television, traditions, understanding, witches

Creativity

Steptoe, John

Charles speaks English and Hector speaks Spanish. They learn that even though they speak different languages, they both come from African ancestors. Charles helps Hector adjust to life in the U.S. through fun activities.

Tags

africa, african american, basketball, clothing, cooking, creativity, culture, curiosity, english, family, fishing, friendship, helping, home, identity, immigrants, language, learning, moving, multicultural, parents, puerto rican, relationship, school, slavery, spanish, sports

Jamela's dress

Daly, Niki

Jamela's mama has just bought some beautiful fabric for a new dress. While she's watching it dry outside in the South African air, Jamela wraps it around herself and starts parading down the street. Everyone is watching her, she is so proud. When she gets home, Jamela finds her mama very upset because her fabric is ruined. With the help of a friend, Jamela buys her mama more fabric. At this South African wedding, both Jamela and her mama are beautiful in their new dresses.

Tags

african, animals, birds, celebration, chicken, clothing, conflict resolution, critical thinking, dog, forgiveness, friendship, games, helping, language, love, market, money, multicultural, parents, photograph, pretend, sewing, shopping, verbal communication, wedding

One child, one seed: A south african counting book

Cave, Kathryn

Play a simple counting game. Watch a pumpkin grow. Follow young Nothando and discover the rhythms of her daily life in her South African village.

Tags

africa, african, cattle, chicken, cleanliness, cooking, counting, cow, dog, family, farm, friendship, games, garden, hard work, home, language, numbers, parents, photograph, plants, play, preparation, siblings, summer, walking

I wish I had glasses like Rosa/ Quisiera tener lentes como Rosa

Heling, Kathryn & Hembrook, Deborah

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

Tags

art, beach, body parts, comparisons, friendship, glasses, humor, imagination, jump rope, jumping, language, pretend, recess, safety, spanish, swimming, vocabulary

The face at the window

Hanson, Regina

Catching sight of Miss Nella in her window is supposed to be very bad, Dora's friends tell her. When Dora tries to steal a mango from Miss Nella by throwing a stone, Dora is frightened by the sight of Miss Nella in her window. Dora soon discovers that Miss Nella isn't evil. She is just lonely and sick and has no one there to make it better for her.

Tags

apology, communication, curiosity, empathy, five senses, food, language, loneliness, rain, song, storm, superstition, weather, witches, worry

Milo y las piedras magicas

Pfister, Marcus

Milo lives in a cave on a small island. One cold winter day, he discovers a glowing rock that keeps his cave warm. When he tells the other mice about it, do they become greedy and take all the rocks, or do they take only what they need?You get to chose the ending and decide what the mice will do.

Tags

animals, decision making, feelings, friendship, greed, happiness, island, language, mouse, multicultural, peer resistance, rocks, sadness, seasons, sharing, spanish, storytelling, summer, winter

Fernando's gift: El regalo de fernando

Keister, Douglas

Fernando and Carmina, friends who live with their families in the Costa Ricaru rain forest, discover their climbing tree is cut down. As a present, Fernando gives her a new tree to plant and replace the destroyed rain forest environment.

Tags

environment, family, farm, food, friendship, language, multicultural, nature, nutrition, school, south american, spanish, tree

Frank and ernest play ball

Day, Alexandra

Frank and Ernest are a bear and an elephant who need jobs. Mr. Palmer lets them manage his baseball team. They do not know very much about baseball so they are always looking up baseball terms in the baseball dictionary.

Tags

animals, assertiveness, baseball, bear, careers, elephant, language, learning, recreation, responsibilities, song, sports, teamwork, verbal communication

My gran

Boon, Debbie

A little girl has a very special grandmother. When Gran visits, they make things, eat different foods, and spend fun time together.

Tags

activities, alcohol, animals, art, beverage, cat, colors, cow, family, farm, feelings, food, french, friendship, fun, garden, goat, grandparents, happiness, language, laziness, love, market, multicultural, nonverbal communication, nutrition, pig, plants, seasons, song, summer, transportation, travel, verbal communication

Weslandia

Fleischman, Paul

Wesley never really fits in at school. Even his parents think he is odd. One summer though, he creates his own civilization. Everyone develops a new respect for Wesley by the time he returns to school in the fall.

Tags

bully, clothing, creativity, culture, differences, exploration, flowers, food, friendship, games, garden, inventions, language, learning, nutrition, peer resistance, plants, problem solving, school, seasons, self esteem, shelter, sleep, sports, summer, time, work

I want to be

Moss, Thylias

This young girl is asked, What do you want to be? She spends all day going around her town imagining all the things she wants to be. Finally, she figures it out. She wants to do everything.

Tags

community, critical thinking, dancing, discovery, dreams, exercise, five senses, games, goal setting, imagination, instruments, kite, language, music, park, plants, play, self confidence, self esteem, sight, touch, train, transportation, verbal communication

Pumpkins: A story for a field

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.

The magic moonberry jump ropes

Hru, Dakari

April and Erica love to Double Dutch, but they have no friends to Double Dutch with. When their Uncle Zambezi returns from a trip to Tanzania, he gives the girls a jump rope that will grant wishes because it is made from magic moonberries. The girls Double Dutch and wish for two new friends to arrive. Suddenly, a moving van pulls up, and a family with a boy and girl moves in across the street.

Tags

african american, author's note, bicycle, biking, colors, exercise, family, friendship, jump rope, jumping, karate, language, multicultural, neighbors, plants, play, rhyme, siblings, skating, wish

The mystery of king karfu

Cushman, Doug

The great detective Seymour Sleuth and his assistant travel to Egypt in search of a missing stone chicken, part of the lost treasure of King Karfu. They explore many clues and take photographs.

Tags

animals, art, body parts, camel, careers, crime, exploration, food, geography, language, mystery, nutrition, photograph, pig, recipe, ship, symbols, transportation, travel

The storytellers

Lewin, Ted

Abdul and his grandfather travel the streets of Fez, Morocco on the way to work. After passing merchants, carpenters and other citizens hard at work, grandfather spreads out a carpet to begin his job, telling stories to a crowd.

Tags

animals, arab, birds, careers, chicken, citizen, community, family, grandparents, hawk, horse, language, market, money, moroccan, multicultural, photograph, pigeon, sounds, storytelling, sun, walking, wool, work

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