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

Tags: boredom

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The greedy triangle

Burns, Marilyn

A triangle gets bored doing the same old thing every day. He decides to take up a different shape, so he visits the shapeshifter to add on a few more angles. After a life of being a quadrilateral, pentagon and hexagon, the shape returns to its old self of being a triangle.

What are you so grumpy about?

Lichtenheld, Tom

A little boy has the most horrible life that makes him grumpy. He gets weird food to eat, boring presents to open, and too many chores to do. He gets up on the wrong side of his bed, has to pick up his room, and go to somebody's house and listen to grown-up boring junk. His grumpy mood eventually is forgotten.

Tags

boredom, cleanliness, emotions, family, feelings, food, grandparents, history, humor, idiom, injury, moods, museum, nonverbal communication, nutrition, parents, responsibilities, siblings, verbal communication

Who wants to be a poodle I don't

Child, Lauren

Trixie Twinkle toes, a poodle, lives a very pampered life with Mademoiselle Verity Brulee. She has a maid, a cook, and a butler! No one understands that Trixie Twinkle Toes doesn't like any of the pampering and special treatment; she wanted to be like other dogs. She decides to act out, but every time she does Mademoiselle Brulee calls the vet, the pet psychic, or the pooch psychiatrist. no one can understand Trixie, until finally one rainy day, Trixie sees a dog drowning in a puddle and jumps in to save her. When Mademoiselle saw how daring her poodle was, she let her run with the other dogs. Trixie was finally happy, except for one small thing...

Hill of fire

Lewis, P. Thomas

Bored of his day-to-day lifestyle, a farmer complains to his wife and son how nothing ever hannpens. One day while plowing, the farmer comes across an explosion coming from his field. It turns out to be a volcano erupting and the farmer's field becomes a place in history.

Tags

beverage, boredom, bull, bus, church, dancing, depression, farm, fire, food, helping, market, mexican, mountains, night, noise, ox, party, prayer, rocks, running, sadness, safety, school, spanish, toys, truck, volcano, work

The dog who cried wolf

Kasza, Keiko

Feeling bored and trapped with his current life, Moka the dog runs away. Moka then questions his decision as he becomes homesick.

Tags

affection, animals, appreciation, assertiveness, boredom, consequences, critical thinking, curiosity, dog, feelings, freedom, happiness, homesickness, loneliness, running away, self esteem, wolf

Fair monaco

Cole, Brock

Three sisters go to stay at their grandma's house. They ask to do things, but their grandma won't let them do anything but eat dinner and go to bed. She is too worried about all the horrible things outside. While the girls are dreaming, they end up in their grandma's horrible dream. The only way they can change it is to dream of their own good dreams. When their grandma wakes up, she is happy because of the good dream she had, since it was the same as her grandchildren.

Grey mouse

de Vries, Anke

Grey Mouse is feeling lonely, so she decides to change her color in order to feel better about herself. However, all of the other animals laugh at her each time she does this. She finally realizes that she is happiest with her natural grey color when she finds other mice friends that look like her.

Tags

acceptance, amphibians, animals, appearance, art, bee, birds, body image, boredom, change, colors, critical thinking, differences, feelings, flowers, frog, goal setting, goose, happiness, identity, images, insects, insecurity, ladybug, loneliness, mouse, nonverbal communication, racism, sadness, self confidence, self esteem, zebra

Leo in the library

Mkatshaw, Dumazile

Leo was in the class watching ants crawl on the wall when his teacher asked on what animal he would be doing his project. He could only think of ants, about which he knew nothing. Leo goes to the library looking for a book and causes a terrible mess. Leo must find his book about ants, but he doesnﾒt know what it would look like.

The village in the valley of darkness

Mashiri, Pascal

I want to see my people in the village. It is no fun to search alone. At last, I can see the light.ﾔ During my travel, a dog at my side with brother and I. People in the village are thankful and at peace!

Monster at school

Blance, Ellen // Cook, Ann

Monster goes to school with a little boy one day. Once he arrives, he is a great help and loves to play with all of the children. One child, however, feels sad because Monster is not playing with him. What will Monster do to cheer up his sad friend?

Tags

allergies, boredom, feelings, fun, happiness, health, helping, monsters, nonverbal communication, playing, reading, sadness, school, self esteem, verbal communication, walking

Duck for president

Cronin, Doreen

Duck gets tired of doing chores on the farm, so he holds an election to change the way things are run. Duck wins the election, but gets bored and runs for Governor. He wins again and does not like the stress, so he runs for President and wins. Being President is even harder work than being on the farm so he returns to the farm to write his autobiography.

So happy!

Henkes, Kevin

A magic seed was planted, a rabbit wandered, and a little boy just wanted something to do. Just before it began to rain the seed became thirsty, the rabbit was lost, and the little boy was bored. The rain brought happiness to the boy and left the rabbit wet and scared. As the seed grew, the boy built a bridge to reach it and the rabbit used it to cross the creek to return to his family. The little boy returned home with the flower that grew from the seed as a present to his mother.

Tags

animals, bodies of water, boredom, creek, family, fear, feelings, happiness, imagination, magic, multicultural, native american, nonverbal communication, parents, plants, rabbit, rain, seed, sun, weather

Vacation in the village: A story from west africa

Njeng, Pierre Yves

A boy discovers and takes pride in the customs of his people when he visits his family's village in West Africa.

Tags

affection, africa, books, boredom, buildings, construction, customs, discovery, dreams, family, fear, feelings, fish, fishing, forest, friendship, games, grandparents, happiness, history, hunting, multicultural, parents, reptiles, school, siblings, storytelling, traditions, train, transportation, travel, turtle, vacation, village, work, worry

Gift of the sun: A tale from south africa

Stewart, Dianne

Thulani is a South African farmer who keeps trading his animals in order to please his wife until all he has is a pocket full of sunflower seeds. The sunflowers produce many more seeds, which are also used to feed the animals and eventually lead to more wealth for the family than ever before.

Tags

africa, animals, boredom, conflict resolution, critical thinking, decision making, excitement, family, farm, feelings, garden, multicultural, self esteem, sheep, stress management, symbols, verbal communication

Grandpa's gamble

Michelson, Richard

A brother and sister are tired of always having to be quiet so as not to interrupt Grandpa Sam while he is praying. The children think they have a very boring grandfather. Grandpa Sam overhears the children and tells them the story of his life. He was born a Jew in Poland and to escape persecution he came to the United States. He learns to gamble to make a living but when his daughter becomes very ill he decides to lead an honest, humble life and pray every morning and night. The children are now amazed by their Grandpa Sam's story and respect his prayer time.

Tags

author's note, boredom, culture, faith, family, forgiveness, grandparents, holidays, immigrants, Jewish, multicultural, parents, passover, photograph, prayer, religion, siblings, storytelling, stress management

John Willy and Freddie Mcgee

Meade, Holly

Two guinea pigs, John Willy and Freddy McGee, are bored of sitting in their cage where nothing ever changes. One day, when their cage door is left open, the guinea pigs decide to go exploring throughout the house. They end up traveling through the tunnel of a pool table and run for their lives when pool balls start rolling through the tunnel. The guinea pigs run for the safety of their cage but when they get there and see how everything is the same, they leave to start a new adventure.

Tags

adventures, animals, boredom, cat, colors, courage, discovery, dog, escape, exploration, games, guinea pig, independence, recreation, sounds

Henry and mudge and the long weekend

Rylant, Cynthia

Henry and his dog Mudge are having a boring weekend until his mother comes up with an idea. They build a castle in their basement, which turns a boring weekend into something great.

Tags

animals, boredom, creativity, decision making, dog, family, parents, play, seasons, verbal communication, winter

Fox on stage

Marshall, James

Fox and his friends are bored, so they decide to put on a scary play for the neighborhood. The play goes wrong and instead of being scary it is the funniest play the neighbors have ever seen.

Tags

actor, animals, boredom, careers, fox, fun, humor, neighbors, performance, play, rain, weather

The other side

Woodson, Jacqueline

A fence not only divides two properties -- it segregates two families because of their different cultures. Initial fears from the parents cause them to set rules that will forbid the friendship of their young daughters. Little did they know that their daughters would break the barrier as they climbed the fence together to see the world as it should be, not as it is.

Nothing to do

Hoban, Russell

Walter is bored, so his father gives him a magic stone that will make him think of fun activities when rubbed. However, after Walter loses the stone, he realizes that he is capable of entertaining himself. He gives his sister a magic stick so she will stop bothering him.

Tags

boredom, critical thinking, family, imagination, imitation, magic, parents, play, recreation, siblings

My best friend moved away

Carlson, Nancy

Two best friends do everything together from the time they are babies. When one friend moves away, the other person is sad and lonely, wondering if she will ever be happy again. All is well when a new family moves in next door.

Tags

animals, boredom, change, chicken pox, diseases, dog, feelings, fight, friendship, games, happiness, loneliness, memory, moving, neighbors, photograph, play, sadness, school, secrets, sharing, soccer, sports, stress management

Great aunt martha

Jones, Rebecca C.

A young girl wonders what is so great about Great Aunt Martha when she comes to visit. Since Great Aunt Martha is visiting, the girl has to be very quiet. She decides nothing is great about her great aunt until Great Aunt Martha wants to have fun and make noise.

Tags

animals, boredom, dancing, disappointment, dog, exercise, family, feelings, food, friendship, fun, happiness, hygiene, noise, nonverbal communication, nutrition, parents, play, relief, sadness, verbal communication

Bored - nothing to do!

Spier, Peter

While the boys are bored one day, they take apart many things around their house in order to build an airplane which really flies.

Tags

airplane, boredom, creativity, critical thinking, decision making, disobedience, family, imagination, play, recreation, siblings, transportation

Once around the block

Henkes, Kevin

Annie is bored waiting for her father to come home so her mother suggests a stroll around the block. On her walk, she meets and interacts with several neighbors. When she returns, Annie's father is waiting for her!

Tags

adventures, assertiveness, boredom, community, exercise, family, neighbors, nonverbal communication, parents, stress management, verbal communication, walking

Bartholomew and the oobleck

Seuss, Dr.

A king is very bored with the usual elements that come from the sky, so he summons his magicians to make something new and it gets out of hand.

Tags

boredom, change, decision making, goal setting, magic, nature, royalty

A stitch in time for the brothers rhyme

Brinckloe, Julie

Two brothers, Alvin and Calvin Rhyme, become bored with their daily routine so they decide to trade professions. When they realize that they prefer their own jobs, the brothers return to their original professions after an exciting day of doing something different.

Tags

bodies of water, boredom, careers, change, family, rhyme, sea, siblings, teamwork

Nothing ever happens on my block

Raskin, Ellen

Chester Filbert sits on the curb outside his house and thinkds about how boring his block is. He imagines the kinds of exciting things that he would like to happen on his block. While he sits and dreams, the neighbors on his block are busy catching burglars, putting out fires and much more.

Tags

boredom, imagination, neighbors, nonverbal communication, robbery

There's nothing to do

Stevenson, James

Mary Ann and Louie are really bored, but a story about their Grandpa and his brother when they were young and bored, keeps them busy for awhile.

Tags

boredom, decision making, family, feelings, grandparents, memories, storytelling

Gabrielle and selena

Desbarats, Peter

Gabrielle and Selena are tired of the same routine everyday. They switch places for the evening, and their parents play a trick on them. Be ready for a funny ending.

Tags

assertiveness, boredom, conflict resolution, critical thinking, curiosity, differences, friendship, magic, play, verbal communication

Evan's corner

Hill, Elizabeth Starr

Evan needs a place of his own so he fixes up a corner in his house with pictures, furniture, and pet turtles!When Evan is done with his corner, he decides to help his siblings fix up their corners!

Tags

african american, assertiveness, boredom, creativity, critical thinking, decision making, family, helping, multicultural, parents, siblings, verbal communication

An apartment's no place for a kid

Knox-Wagner, Elaine

Kelly and her mom move out of a house and into an apartment when her mom gets transferred after their divorce. Kelly struggles with the lifestyle in an apartment. She handles a confusing situation which shows her the advantages to living in an apartment.

Tags

boredom, change, confusion, critical thinking, divorce, family, feelings, misunderstanding, moving, parents, sadness, shelter

Mama talks too much

Russo, Marisabina

It's Saturday morning, which means Celeste and her Mama make a trip to the market!As they walk through their urban neighborhood, Celeste and her Mama stop every few minutes. Mama always stops to talk, talk, talk with her friends. Will they ever make it to the market?

Tags

animals, boredom, car, community, counting, dog, exercise, food, friendship, gossip, illness, market, multicultural, neighbors, patience, pets, shopping, sounds, transportation, walking

One short week

Eriksson, Eva

Rosalie is bored because she has no one to play with. She calls her friend, Victor. Victor invites Rosalie to his birthday party, a whole week away. She turns one week into one day and ends up playing with Victor for a hundred hours.

Tags

birthday, boredom, conflict resolution, cooperation, friendship, goal setting, holidays, party, play, stress management

Hetty and harriet

Oakley, Graham

Two young hens become dissatisfied with their boring lives and decide to find a new home. Their curiosity leads them on exciting and dangerous adventures, which eventually lead them back home.

Tags

adventures, assertiveness, birds, boredom, chicken, conflict resolution, critical thinking, decision making, exploration, friendship, independence, peer resistance, refusal skills, sharing, shelter, verbal communication

I won't go to bed!

Ziefert, Harriet

It was time for small boys to be in bed, but Harry said he wouldn't go to bed, so his father let him stay up. As the hours pass and Harry gets bored and tired, his feeling about staying up all night begins to change, and he falls asleep.

Tags

bedtime, boredom, critical thinking, family, goal setting, nonverbal communication, parents, refusal skills, sleep, verbal communication

I hate to go to bed!

Davis, Katie

This little girl hates to go to bed because she knows she is missing a party. But she still comes up with plenty of ways to make it to the party before it's over.

Tags

bath, bedtime, books, boredom, colors, communication, creativity, critical thinking, curiosity, determination, disappointment, discovery, disobedience, dreams, goal setting, imagination, parents, party, preparation, reading, sleep, teeth

My mother never listens to me

Sharmat, Marjorie Weinman

A little boy's mother never pays attention to him so he does everything possible just to get her to notice him. Of all his crazy ideas and stories, he only tells one that will get his mother to listen.

Tags

attention, boredom, family, imagination, listening, mischief, parents, storytelling, understanding

Sam

Shimin, Symeon

Sam is a little boy who is told by everyone that he is too young to help out around the house. When Sam begins to cry, the perfect job is found for Sam.

Tags

attention, boredom, disappointment, family, feelings, happiness, helping, nonverbal communication, parents, sadness, siblings

Ernest and celestine at the circus

Vincent, Gabrielle

Celestine is bored, so Ernest dresses her up like a clown and takes her to the circus. Ernest used to work at the circus so they end up doing an act together and are loved by the audience.

Tags

animals, assertiveness, bear, boredom, circus, clowns, critical thinking, imagination, mouse, nonverbal communication, presentation, self esteem, verbal communication

The dwarf giant

Lobel, Anita

A Japenese prince and princess come upon a dwarf who enchants the prince and makes him do foolish things. The prince finds a clever way of disenchanting the prince.

Tags

asian, boredom, critical thinking, decision making, dwarfs, evil, games, japanese, multicultural, mythical, peer resistance, refusal skills, royalty, verbal communication, wish

Meanwhile back at the ranch

Noble, Trinka Hakes

A husband and wife live on a farm. The husband gets bored with his ranch and decides to go to the city while the wife stays home. Meanwhile, back at the ranch many exciting things are happening and the wife learns how wonderful the ranch really is.

Tags

appreciation, boredom, critical thinking, family, nonverbal communication, ranch

Sassy gracie

Sage, James

Sassy Gracie has a pair of big, red, heeled shoes. She loves to prance around the house in them despite the fact they get on the cook's nerves. One day the cook is off and she is free to dance about the kitchen. The master has asked her to prepare two chickens for his guest. While they are cooking, she dances and dances until she gets hungry. She eats the chickens just as the guest arrives. Find out how she handles the situation.

Tags

anticipation, attention, boredom, conflict, cooking, critical thinking, curiosity, dancing, hard work, mischief, misunderstanding, nonverbal communication, stress management, trust, verbal communication

Angus lost

Flack, Marjorie

Angus, the dog, becomes bored with all his familiar surroundings. One day, he leaves the yard in search for something different. Realizing he cannot communicate with many things, he is happy to return home.

Tags

animals, assertiveness, boredom, conflict resolution, dog, exploration, feelings, verbal communication

Scrambled eggs super!

Seuss, Dr.

Peter T. Hooper is bored of regular scrambled eggs. He goes on a search to gather different kinds of rare and exotic eggs from many different animals to make a better kind of scrambled eggs.

Tags

adventures, animals, birds, boredom, conflict resolution, creativity, food, goal setting, imagination, nutrition, rhyme, travel

Iris and walter

Guest, Elissa Haden

Iris is disappointed when her family moves to the country. There are no other children to play with and it is very boring for her. No one can seem to cheer Iris up, and then Grandpa comes along. He asks her to take a walk down the road. Will this walk help Iris find what she has been missing?

Tags

animals, boredom, change, climbing, dancing, disappointment, discovery, exercise, family, friendship, fun, grandparents, gymnastics, happiness, insecurity, loss, moving, music, parents, play, sharing, skating, stress management, walking, wilderness

Before the storm

Yolen, Jane

On this hot summer day not much activity is taking place. The dog is laying around trying to keep cool and the children were not active. When one of the children gets the hose out, everyone became excited to be cooled off. A storm came through and it rained all day. The rain caused the children to wish for the hot summer sun.

Tags

animals, art, beverage, books, boredom, family, parents, rain, reading, seasons, siblings, storm, summer, sun, verbal communication, water, weather

african american, animals, birds, boredom, cat, conflict resolution, critical thinking, dancing, decision making, exercise, family, feelings, forest, games, giants, imagination, inventions, island, jungle, library, lost, magic, maps, monsters, multicultural, mythical, park, penguin, photograph, playing, rain, siblings, sun, verbal communication, weather

The scrambled states of america

Keller, Laurie

The fifty states decide to hold a party so that they can meet the other states in the country. The states decide that they are bored with their places on the map and want to switch to new locations. At first, everything is new and exciting, but eventually the states realize where they really belong.

Tags

alphabet, american, assertiveness, bodies of water, boredom, colors, counting, critical thinking, dancing, feelings, food, friendship, geography, goal setting, maps, morning, music, nutrition, party, shapes, storytelling, verbal communication, weather

Clever cat

Collington, Peter

Tibs, the cat, is tired of waiting for his family to feed him every morning, so he decides to start doing it himself!This encourages Tibs to embark on different adventures around town. Everyone thinks that Tibs is such a clever cat, but a turn of events makes Tibs wonder...is he really that clever?

Amos: The story of an old dog and his couch

Seligson, Susan//Schneider, Howie

An old dog is bored and sad because the kids are all grown up and the Bobsons are always gone. He later discovers he can make new friends and his couch can go places if he uses his imagination.

Tags

adventures, animals, boredom, change, decision making, dog, feelings, friendship, growing up, imagination, loneliness, pets, sadness, travel

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