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

Tags: culture

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An American story

Alexander, Kwame

An African American story is an American story of slavery, brutal conditions, struggle, and oppression. Remember the American story of hard work, pride, and strength in the fight for liberty as Black people stand up and speak out while "holding history in one hand and clenching hope in the other".

Tags

african american, body parts, bravery, culture, fairness, feelings, fight, food, future, history, hope, justice, leadership, literacy, multicultural, oppression, pride, reading, sadness, storytelling, war

We are here

Charles, Tami

In a journey of progress, love and, possibilities, this prose shows the music, art, speakers, and food that have celebrated African Americans and their impact in society. With the big hands and small hands that built the Black legacy, there are countless steps of heroes who have made a contribution to the world.

Tags

african american, art, author's note, body parts, careers, clothing, culture, history, illustrator's note, instrument, music, pride, rhythm, space

My name is sangoel

Williams, Karen Lynn//Mohammed, Khadra

Sangoel feels homesick after leaving his Sudanese homeland where his father died in the war. With his mother and sister, Sangoel arrives to the United States to start a new life where they learn so many things about technology, escalators, cooking stoves, and televisions. With a clever use of writing in his new school classroom, Sangoel helps his teacher and classmates learn how to pronounce his name. He will always be a Sangoel just like "his father and grandfather and his father" before him in Africa.

Tags

african, author's note, careers, change, culture, drawing, family, grandparents, identity, learning, parents, problem solving, refugee, school, sudanese, technology, television, transition, travel

Harlem at four

Datcher, Michael

Tags

african american, author's note, body parts, buildings, camera, culture, equality, history, instrument, justice, love, migration, music, neighbors, parents, pride, social justice, subway, train, transportation

A land of books: Dreams of young Mexihcah word painters

Topnatiuh, Duncan

Aztec artists living in Mesoamerica painted beautifully crafted books to keep the knowledge, culture, and history of the Mexihcah (also known as the Aztec). The process of making paper and obtaining dyes from plants, animals, and rocks is explained, then the way that a painter of words and images will share their work to be sung by a reader in a land of books.

Tags

art, author's note, books, calendar, careers, colors, culture, history, images, interpretation, language, native american, nature, sequence

Big dreams, small fish

Cohen, Paula

In this New York neighborhood, a store sells gefilte fish but no one wants to buy it. Shirley's family thinks she is too young to help market the gefilte fish. In a timely moment, Shirley gives a surprise to each customer who buys something from the store. The customers come back eager for gefilte fish - much to her parents' surprise.

Tags

animals, author's note, cat, cleanliness, culture, family, fish, food, glossary, Jewish, language, leadership, market, money, neighbors, numbers, photograph, problem solving, recipe, Yiddish

Seven spools of thread

Medearis, Angela

Whether working on their family farm or eating dinner, the seven Ashanti brothers always fight amongst themselves to the dismay of their father. However, when their father passed away, the seven Ashanti brothers were tasked with creating gold from seven different color spools of thread. After completing this seemingly impossible task by working together, the brothers taught their community the value of the lessons they learned.

Tags

african, argument, author's note, colors, communication, community, culture, fable, farm, ghana, language, peace, problem solving, siblings, success, support, teamwork, vocabulary, weaving

The third gift

Park, Linda Sue

A young boy learns his father's trade by observing the use and importance of resin from certain trees. One day becomes an important day for the family - and especially for the young boy - when they exchange tears with three merchants who are off to see an important baby.

Tags

author's note, baby, careers, collection, counting, culture, desert, family, history, market, multicultural, nonverbal communication, parents, plants, presents, storytelling, travel, tree, verbal communication

Big momma makes the world

Root, Phyllis

As each day goes by, Big Momma continues to make the world a better place with a little baby by her side. She is the boss of the world and never will mess around.

Tags

animals, birds, bodies of water, culture, days of week, earth, fish, fruit, garden, god, light, moon, numbers, parents, stars, storytelling, sun, tree

Henry's first-moon birthday

Look, Lenore

Jenny is in charge of helping her grandmother prepare for the one-month birthday party of her baby brother, Henry. Henry's party is a Chinese celebration! Food and decorations are made to bring good luck, health, and happiness to Jenny's mother and brother. Each member of the family attends in celebration of Henry's first month of life.

Tags

baby, birth, birthday, body parts, celebration, chinese, cleanliness, clothing, culture, drawing, family, feelings, food, grandparents, happiness, health, heritage, holidays, language, luck, moon, nutrition, onomatopoeia, parents, party, responsibilities, reunion, self esteem, siblings, traditions, verbal communication, writing

Flags

Trottier, Maxine

A young child enjoys a neighbors garden when spending time at his grandparents house. Mr. Hinoshi's garden allows the children to learn until one day Mr. Hinoshi is taken away. The child cares for Mr Hinoshi's garden in his absence until new neighbors move in. The child plants her own garden in honor of Mr. Hiroshi. The flags are symbolically named for Japanese irises.

Tags

change, community, culture, family, flowers, friendship, garden, grandparents, japanese, loss, love, neighbors, plants

Minnie and moo go to paris

Cazet, Denys

Minnie and Moo go to see Africa, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, and a monsoon in China all in time to be milked in America by five. Moo's delighted to see new places and new faces during her journey.

Tags

adventures, africa, america, animals, bus, china, companion, confusion, cow, culture, curiosity, determination, farm, food, france, friendship, glasses, multicultural, reading, recognition, transportation, travel, verbal communication

I have an olive tree

Bunting, Eve

On Sophia's seventh birthday, her grandfather gave her an olive tree. Sophia is a little disappointed by the gift and doesn't understand why her grandfather would give her an olive tree that she can't even see. After all, it is Greece and she lives in California! It isn't until her grandfather passes away that Sophia truly understands the importance and meaning of the gift when she and her mother visit the olive tree in Greece.

Tags

appreciation, birthday, communication, community, culture, customs, dedication, disappointment, emotions, exploration, family, feelings, generations, geology, giving, grandparents, greece, greek, grief, immigrants, instruments, language, learning, loss, love, memories, memory, misunderstanding, music, parents, plants, presents, resentment, sadness, traditions, travel, tree, understanding, verbal communication

Ruby's wish

Bridges, Shirin Yim

Ruby is known for wearing red and being an exceptionally bright student. Even during a time in China when ...most girls were never taught to read and write. However, Ruby's grandfather hires a teacher to come to the house, making it possible for any grandchild living in the house to learn. This initiates a desire in Ruby to attend university, a place that women in China were not encouraged to go.\r\n*Based on a true story of the author's grandmother.

Tags

acceptance, accomplishment, ambition, appreciation, art, asian, assertiveness, beliefs, change, china, chinese, conflict, conflict resolution, courage, culture, customs, decision making, dedication, depression, determination, disappointment, emotions, encouragement, equality, excitement, family, frustration, generations, giving, goal setting, grandparents, happiness, independence, individuality, intelligence, kindness, language, learning, listening, new year, nonverbal communication, obedience, parade, patience, persistence, poetry, prevention, progress, reading, recognition, refusal skills, relationship, relief, resentment, resolution, role model, school, self confidence, self esteem, skills, stress management, support, symbols, sympathy, teaching, traditions, understanding, verbal communication, wealth, wish, writing

When Catherine the Great and I were eight!

Best, Cari

Sara, her mother, and Russian grandmother Catherine the Great, pile into Mr. Minsky's car along with a few of their other neighbors. They make their way to the beach to escape the heat of the hot summer day. Although they find it takes longer than planned to reach the beach, everyone has fun along the way.

My librarian is a camel: How books are brought to children around the world

Ruurs, Margriet

Examine many different kinds of libraries from all around the world. Unlike the typical library room or building, many libraries are a bus, boat, train, or camel. Each type is different, but they all serve the same important purpose of delivering books to people, no matter where they live.

The remembering stone

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.

Tags

birds, blackbird, celebration, costa rica, culture, dreams, family, feelings, food, friendship, grandparents, hispanic, hope, jewelry, language, multicultural, nutrition, parents, spanish, travel, verbal communication, vocabulary, volcano

Look what i see! Where can i be? At the Synagogue

Michels, Dia L.

Baby travels with her family to the Synagogue and learns and sees many things related to the Jewish religion and customs.

Tags

author's note, celebration, ceremony, culture, dancing, family, Jewish, language, learning, parents, photograph, religion, school, sight, sleep, wedding

Look what i see! Where can i be? Visiting China

Michels, Dia L.

A baby takes a trip to China with her family and learns and sees many things related to the Chinese culture. The baby visits a market, the opera, the countryside and the famous Great Wall.

Tags

adventures, author's note, bicycle, chinese, culture, customs, Days of The Week, exploration, family, food, geography, history, market, sight, sleep, traditions, travel

Lights for Gita

Gilmore, Rachna

Today is a new day. What a glow! Gita is excited about Divali. The festival of lights and time to celebrate with family. There are things to prepare for the fathering of friends. And time passes just like day and night. Gita wonders no more with laughter.

Tags

acceptance, activities, anticipation, attention, bedtime, beliefs, celebration, change, closeness, comparisons, confidence, courage, culture

Shades of black: A celebration of our children

Pinkey, Sandra L.

Common traits of African Americans are correlated with illuminating photographs. Traits such as skin color, hair texture, and eye color are described. Discover the diversity among the African American culture and how this culture is unique to others.

Tags

african american, celebration, colors, culture, differences, diversity, food, multicultural, nonverbal communication, nutrition, photograph, pride, self esteem, uniqueness

House

Lorenz, Albert // Schleh, Joy

A home is a place where people go to feel secure and comfortable. Home is a place of belonging and shelter. Learn interesting facts and details of history by examining different types of home structures from B.C. to the nineteen hundreds. From the Egyptians to the Eskimos, a variety of culture and famous folks are explored.

Tags

africa, assertiveness, critical thinking, culture, dutch, egypt, england, english, eskimo, europe, family, germany, history, home, indian, multicultural, nonverbal communication, norwegian, president, romanian, royalty, south american, stress management

Papa's latkes

Edwards, Michelle

A Jewish family deals with the recent death of their mother and wife, while trying to keep their Chanukan traditions alive. Each family member deals with their emotions. They work as a single parent family to move on, while embracing their traditions of the past.

The parrot tico tango

Witte, Anna

Set in a Rainforest of Costa Rica, greediness consumes a parrot named Tico Tango. However, what comes around goes around, and as Tico Tango finds out in this morally centered text, sometimes getting everything you want is not what you need.

Talking

Xaba-Mashiri, Zadwa

A man digs out a talking yam from his garden. The man is confused and asks his dog if he is talking, but the dog says it is the yam talking. The man runs to the village to tell people about the talking yam and dog. People do not believe the man until things starts talking to them.

Beyond turkey

Herman, Debbie // Koffsky, Ann D.

Almost 400 years ago, pilgrims traveled to North America. They met and befriended the Indians of the area. The different cultures came together to prepare a harvest and a celebration. This celebration became known as Thanksgiving.

Cocoa ice

Appelbaum, Diana

A young girl from Maine and a young girl from Santa Domingo learn about each other's home through Jacob the Sailor. The girl from Santa Domingo describes how to make chocolate, and the girl from Maine tells about making ice.

Tags

accomplishment, activities, adventures, american, animals, anticipation, author's note, beverage, boat, bodies of water, careers, climbing, clothing, cold, comparisons, culture, curiosity, differences, environment, food, horse, ice, multicultural, plants, snow, water, weather

Hosni the dreamer: An arabian tale

Ben-Ezer, Ehud

Hosni is a shepherd who spends his days telling stories to his sheep and his nights dreaming about the city. When he finally has the opportunity to travel to the city, his life changes. He hears some special words of wisdom from a wise old man.

Tags

adventures, animals, arab, bodies of water, camel, change, critical thinking, culture, death, decision making, desert, dreams, excitement, fear, feelings, folktale, food, love, marriage, money, mountains, multicultural, night, nutrition, peer resistance, rain, river, sadness, sheep, storytelling, travel, verbal communication, weather

Mama & papa have a store

Carling, Amelia Lau

Mama and Papa have a store. Day to day the routine is similar. The same people come in to buy the same things. This little girl likes these routines and she shares them with us. From what Mama is cooking to Papa counting on the abacus we spend the whole day with one little girl.

Tags

author's note, business, chinese, colors, cooking, counting, culture, customs, family, fish, food, guatemalan, indian, language, market, money, multicultural, nutrition, parents, photograph, play, rain, rainbow, shopping, siblings, sounds, spanish, traditions, verbal communication, weather

Let's dance

Ancona, George

Children from all backgrounds move and dance to different rhythms of their culture. Dances range from tap to folk dances and from Native American dance to Tibetan dance. There are many forms, types, and styles of dance a person can do to express their emotions. There are different dances for men, women, animals, and puppets too!

Tags

acrobat, afghani, african american, american, appalachian, body parts, celebration, child care, chinese, clothing, congo, creativity, culture, dancing, england, feelings, greek, india, indian, instruments, jumping, korean, mexican, moving, multicultural, native american, nature, puppets, relationship, rhythm, sadness, scottish, singing, spain, storytelling, turkish, yak

Lift every voice and sing

Johnsson, James Weldan

Lift every voice puts pictures to the African American National Anthem. The lyrics tell the story of Black people's past struggles and the hope that Blacks will continue to have towards their future.

Tags

africa, african american, bodies of water, body parts, courage, culture, day, diversity, family, fear, freedom, god, history, hope, illustrator's note, lyrics, moon, multicultural, music, night, poetry, pride, relationship, rhythm, running, sea, ship, singing, sky, song, tree, violence, water

In the time of the drums

Siegelson, Kim L.

Mentu and Twi tell the story of an African family newly arrived in the Americas. Twi never gives up on returning to her native Africa. Twi tells stories of cooking, planting, music and dancing from her native land.

Tags

african, african american, bodies of water, community, creek, culture, escape, farm, feelings, five senses, folktale, freedom, generations, grandparents, history, home, instruments, island, language, magic, music, mythical, relationship, repetition, rhythm, sadness, secrets, ship, slavery, song, sounds, storytelling, transportation

Napi

Ramirez, Antonio

Napi and her Mazateca Indian family live in a village on the bank of a river. As Napi relaxes in the garden and listens to her grandfatherʼs stories, she notices the vibrant colors in the trees, village, river, and animals around her. Napi dreams of being a heron, flying softly above her world.

Tags

animals, birds, bodies of water, colors, culture, customs, day, dreams, family, grandparents, heron, language, mexican, multicultural, native american, river, storytelling

The heart of the lion

Watson, Pete

An American boy comes to understand and admire the rich culture and traditions of West Africa.

Tags

africa, african, animals, art, baboon, butterfly, chicken, cooking, courage, culture, customs, dog, elephant, family, food, friendship, hunting, lion, magic, multicultural, parade, parents, scorpion, sharing, teasing, traditions, tree, uniqueness, verbal communication, village

Kofi and his magic

Angelou, Maya

A young Ashanti boy describes some of the wonders of his life in and around the West African village of Bonwire.

Tags

africa, beach, bodies of water, celebration, colors, culture, customs, dancing, differences, dreams, imagination, instruments, language, magic, multicultural, music, ocean, pattern, photograph, travel

Afro-bets: First book about africa

Ellis, Veronica

Mr. Amegashie explores the cultural diversity, rich history, and the beautiful and exciting land of Africa.

Tags

africa, african, animals, art, bodies of water, business, camel, celebration, ceremony, culture, customs, dancing, desert, discrimination, diversity, egypt, family, forest, geography, ghana, history, horse, hyena, independence, instruments, islam, learning, leopard, library, maps, mountains, multicultural, music, muslim, nigerian, nonfiction, nonverbal communication, photograph, religion, river, school, ship, slavery, storytelling, traditions, transportation, verbal communication, village, water, zimbabwe

African beginnings

Haskins, James//Benson, Kathleen

Come explore and celebrate the powerful impact people of African descent have made on world history and on the American experience.

Tags

africa, african, animals, architecture, art, bodies of water, business, clothing, culture, dancing, death, desert, discrimination, donkey, egypt, europe, flood, food, geography, ghana, hard work, history, instruments, islam, leadership, lizard, maps, multicultural, music, muslim, nigerian, nonfiction, nonverbal communication, ocean, religion, river, ship, slavery, time, traditions, transportation, verbal communication, village, work, zimbabwe

The wisdom bird: A tale of Solomon and Sheba

Oberman, Sheldon

Queen of Sheba, the wisest woman in the world, travels to Jerusalem after hearing about King Solomon, the wisest man in the world. She hopes to learn something new, but after asking for a palace made out of bird beaks, they both learn something important. This folktale is derived from Jewish, African and Biblical tales.

Tags

africa, african, birds, critical thinking, culture, folktale, israelian, Jewish, leadership, multicultural, religion, riddle, royalty, self esteem, ship, storytelling, teaching, transportation, travel, wisdom

Arijole

Mashiri, Pascal

Arijole's stepsisters are envious of her beauty. They do not want Arijole to be chosen as a wife in a nearby village, so the stepsisters turn her into a dog. When only Arijole (the dog) is left, a mother takes her home for her son to hunt. Soon they realize that Arijole is not a dog but a beautiful woman. She and Obondo are then married.

Tags

africa, beauty, conflict resolution, culture, envy, family, folktale, jealousy, love, marriage, multicultural, nonverbal communication, obedience, parents, respect, self esteem, siblings, stepmother, storytelling

The talking cloth

Mitchell, Rhonda

Aunt Phoebe has a collection of many wonderful things, each having an interesting story. The little girl's favorite thing is an adinkra cloth from Ghana. It has many colors and symbols to represent feelings, faith, power, and love.

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

Arrowville

Boedoe, Geefwee

In the town of Arrowville disagreement and frenzy is a way of life, but a young girl named Barb wants to agree and get along. She gets in trouble for this and runs away. At the same time the Targets make a wrong turn and end up in Arrowville. The Arrows think they are invaders. It is Barb who helps the Arrows and Targets come together and understand each other.

Tags

acceptance, beliefs, change, conflict resolution, culture, decision making, differences, diversity, feelings, friendship, goal setting, individuality, misunderstanding, peer resistance, perspective, poetry, prejudice, rhythm, uniqueness

Candy shop

Wahl, Jan

A young boy, Daniel, and his aunt Thelma take a trip to the market with money that he has earned. The boy is looking forward to visiting the candy shop but when they arrive they see a crowd and are faced with prejudice acts toward the owner of the store. Daniel and his aunt help comfort the owner and show true friendship.

Tags

african american, asian, challenges, conflict, conflict resolution, coping, culture, discrimination, feelings, helping, kindness, market, money, multicultural, nonverbal communication, problem solving, racism, respect, sadness

The yellow balloon

Dematons, Charlotte

A balloon travels through the air and around the world. While sailing through the air, the balloon fly's over many different people and places (a wordless book).

Tags

art, balloon, bodies of water, buildings, culture, desert, discovery, farm, geography, lake, mountains, nonverbal communication, ocean, river, sea, ship, skiing, sky, travel, village, witches

The queen's progress: An Elizabethan alphabet

Mannis, Celeste Davidson

Queen Elizabeth I of England takes an alphabetical journey one letter at a time. Factual footnotes are written on each page. Learn how the queen travels, likes, and interacts with her people.

Tags

alphabet, animals, clothing, culture, england, garden, goal setting, history, horse, maps, multicultural, respect, rhyme, royalty, sequence

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

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

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

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