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

Tags: culture

1
2
3
Next
Last

Sort by:

A boy named giotto

Guarnieri, Paolo

Dreams really do come true for Giotto, a young shepard boy, who is mindless of his chores and duties because of his strong passion and talent for painting. Although he loses a sheep, Giotto's curiosity and persistence lead him to find someone who can unlock the door to his artistic future.

A family like yours

Dotlich, Rebecca K.

There are so many families who do different things. Different families eat different foods, enjoy different activities, speak different languages, and live in different dwellings. There is always a family that is just right for you.

A gift for abuelita: Celebrating the day of the dead

Luenn, Nancy

Rosita and her grandmother are very close. Rosita's grandmother teaches Rosita how to braid, garden, and make tortillas. When Rosita's grandmother dies, Rosita feels a great loss without her around and misses her terribly. Her family tells Rosita that she can make a gift to give to her grandmother on the Day of the Dead. Rosita braids a cord that is filled with love and memories for her grandmother.

Tags

author's note, change, culture, death, family, food, garden, grandparents, language, loss, love, mexican american, multicultural, nutrition, parents, presents, reunion, siblings, spanish, stress management, traditions, verbal communication

A hanukkah treasury

Kimmel, Eric

Hanukkah is to me the time for lighting the menorah, spinning the dreidel, and remembering heros from the past. Poetry, music, and recipes help keep the Hanukkah tradition alive!

Tags

acceptance, accomplishment, adventures, ambition, american, animals, anticipation, appreciation, assertiveness, beliefs, bias, bravery, celebration, ceremony, challenges, change, charity, closeness, communication, conflict, conflict resolution, cooking, courage, critical thinking, culture, customs, decision making, destruction, determination, discrimination, elephant, family, feelings, folktale, food, freedom, games, goal setting, god, grandparents, grief, hanukkah, happiness, hebrew, heroism, history, holidays, hope, immigrants, independence, individuality, israelian, Jewish, kindness, language, love, loyalty, memories, miracle, moose, moving, multicultural, music, parents, peace, pilgrims, poetry, polish, politics, poverty, prayer, prejudice, presents, racism, religion, russian, sadness, secrets, siblings, snow, song, spiritual, storytelling, toys, traditions, war, weather

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

A promise is a promise

Munsch, Robert//Kusugak, Michael

A little girl wants to go fishing in the icy cracks of the ocean but her parents tell her it is too dangerous. She promises that she will not go, but what happens when she breaks her promise?

A very important day

Herold, Maggie Rugg

A snowstorm adds to the wonder and excitement of this very important day during which 219 people become U.S. citizens.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Beni's family treasury: Stories for the jewish holidays

Zalben, Breskin Jane

Beni is so excited because he's finally old enough to really understand his Jewish heritage and the traditions of his faith. In his quest for understanding, he encounters a number of situations, from learning the beauty of togetherness after reconciling with his feuding cousin, Max, to recreating the Pukim in a play with his friends and cousins. Through all of this, Beni truly begins to see the magical feeling of togetherness and heritage that his religion encompasses.

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.

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

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

Big red lollipop

Khan, Rukhsana

Rubina is excited to get her first invite to a birthday party! However when she asks Ami whether she can go, Ami tells her she has to take her younger sister, Sana. After Sana ruins the party, Rubina has to learn how to overcome her anger and forgive her little sister.

Bonaparte

Chall, Marsha Wilson

Jean Claude is going to boarding school, but no dogs are allowed at La School d'Excellence. Poor Bonaparte must find a way to be with Jean Claude!

Tags

animals, architecture, assertiveness, bedtime, careers, caring, compromise, critical thinking, culture, determination, disappointment, dog, family, feelings, food, french, friendship, frustration, happiness, health, instruments, loneliness, love, monuments, multicultural, music, nutrition, parents, pets, problem solving, rules, sadness, school

Bonjour, lonnie

Ringgold, Faith

Lonnie is an orphan who learns his family heritage through the help of the Love Bird. He eventually finds his adoptive parents.

Tags

adoption, african american, author's note, birds, culture, family, french, grandparents, Jewish, language, love, multicultural, orphan, parents, war

Bread is for eating

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.

Tags

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

Buffalo

Brodsky, Beverly

The buffalo was very important for the survival of Native Americans. Learn about the history and importance of the buffalo. Excerpts from Native American songs and many original paintings add an artistic dimension.

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

Chidi only likes blue: An African book of colors

Onyefuln, Ifeoma

Nneka and Chidi, two children of a Nigerian village, play a game called Colors. Chidi only likes the color blue, so Nneka shows him all the other colors in the village. She shows Chidi how beautiful and colorful their African lifestyle is. The colors yellow, pink, red, gold are seen, but Chidi only likes blue best of all!

Tags

african, ceremony, colors, culture, family, flowers, food, games, grandparents, hygiene, nigerian, nonverbal communication, parents, photograph, plants, sand, self esteem, siblings, teeth, verbal communication, wish

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

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

Erandi's braids

Madrigan, Antonio Hernandez

Erandi has thick, long, beautiful hair that her mother braids each morning. One day while making dinner with her mother, Erandi hears voices from the street offering money for the women's hair. Mama' explains that the hair buyers would pay well for Erandi's braids. That day they go fishing and mama' discovers that they need a new fishing net badly but they do not have money for one. The next day is Erandi's birthday and Erandi picks out a new dress for her present. On the way home mama' and Erandi stop at the barber shop where Erandi allows the barber to cut her hair so her mama' can afford a new net.

Tags

author's note, birthday, body parts, clothing, critical thinking, culture, decision making, dolls, embarrassment, fish, fishing, food, language, market, mexican, multicultural, nutrition, playing, poverty, pride, recreation

Faraway drums

Kroll, Virginia

Jamila has the important responsibility of watching her little sister when their mom goes to work. While trying to ignore unfamiliar creepy sounds, Jamila comforts her sister and herself by recalling their grandmother's stories about their native homeland, Africa.

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

Fruits: A caribbean counting poem

Bloom, Valerie

Counting fruit can be fun, especially if you get to eat it when you're done! From half a pawpaw to ten bananas, these two sisters count it all. They forget one thing though -- eating too much can make you sick!

Tags

caribbean, counting, culture, family, five senses, food, fruit, language, nutrition, overeating, parents, poetry, sharing, siblings, smell, taste, verbal communication

Gabriella's song

Fleming, Candace

When Gabriella begins to hum a tune, the inhabitants of Venice begin to hum along too. The tune makes some happy, others sad, and some even swoon. The power of music is clearly portrayed in this story.

Tags

culture, feelings, happiness, italian, love, moods, multicultural, music, nonverbal communication, sadness, song

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

Happy to be nappy

Hooks, Bell

A whimsical rhythm of sweet jive jumps from watercolored illustrations on different pages to portray portraits of little girls who celebrate their African American culture. Hooray for the frizzy, fuzzy, nappy, twisty hair!Hooray for the sizzling semblance and fantastic flare that shines in every hair on every head. Beauty lies everywhere.

Tags

african american, appearance, appreciation, awareness, beauty, body parts, caring, celebration, child care, cleanliness, closeness, colors, comparisons, confidence, creativity, culture, day, differences, family, feelings, fun, happiness, health, hope, images, individuality, multicultural, parents, play, pride, rhythm, self confidence, self esteem, shapes

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

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

Heroes

Mochizuki, Ken

Donnie is always the bad guy when he plays war with his friends. They think because Donnie is Japanese American that he should be the enemy. When his father and uncle take a trip to school, they prove they can be heroes too.

Home to medicine mountain

Santiago, Chiori

Benny Lee and his brother Stanley must leave their famiy and Indian tribe to go to a boarding school run by the government. At school, the boys must wear uncomfortable clothes, speak English only, and learn lessons in a classroom. The boys visit their family and tribe in their dreams at night. Whem summer comes, the boys do not have a ticket to go home so they figure out a plan to get home to Medicine Mountain.

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

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

Hush harbor: Praying in secret

Evans, Freddi Williams

Simmy is both excited and nervous for his job as Scout during the community meeting. Simmy is excited because this means the elders trust him, but he is nervous because slaves are not supposed to gather and sing together. Simmy must be very careful and listen for the master during the meeting.

Tags

african american, anger, anticipation, author's note, bravery, cabin, closeness, communication, cooking, creativity, creek, critical thinking, culture, dancing, death, faith, family, folktale, forest, friendship, hard work, hearing, hope, horse, listening, missing, multicultural, music, nonverbal communication, prayer, relief, religion, rhythm, river, running away, safety, secrets, slavery, song, spiritual, storytelling, woods, worry

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

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

Imagine a house

Gustafson, Angela

Take a walk through 15 countries around the world and learn about different types of dwellings. A brief geographical tour is taken when you traverse the pages of real-life photographs and maps.

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

Isla

Dorros, Arthur

Rosalba and her grandmother go for an adventure. They fly from New York to la Isla. They fly over la Isla stopping to visit all of grandmother's favorite spots from her childhood. Some things have changed but not everything has.

Tags

aging, airplane, change, critical thinking, culture, family, grandparents, imagination, island, multicultural, sharing, spanish, transportation, travel

Journey home

McKay, Lawrence

Mai is going along with her mom to Vietnam, where mom hopes to find her mother and father, who were separated during the Vietnam War. There Mia learns about where her mom came from and gains a new sense of identity and feeling of home.

Tags

acceptance, airplane, beliefs, birthday, celebration, culture, divorce, family, foster care, identification, multicultural, orphan, religion, transportation, travel, vietnamese, war

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

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

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

1
2
3
Next
Last

Browse Items (102 items total)