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

Tags: death

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Our tree named Steve

Zweibel, Alan

In a letter to his children, a father reflects upon the importance of a good friend and the value of a place to feel safe and secure. The father recalls various memories of his family as it has grown in relationship to a favorite tree that had been part of their lives since they built their home. The tree seems to help the family through many events but does not withstand a huge storm. The father uses the wood to build a tree house to continue its importance to the family.

Tags

aging, appreciation, camping, caring, change, community, conflict resolution, correspondence, critical thinking, death, decision making, dedication, destruction, dog, emotions, family, feelings, friendship, goal setting, happiness, home, jumping, loss, moving, neighbors, parents, peace, plants, rain, relationship, sadness, safety, seasons, siblings, sleep, spring, storm, storytelling, summer, swinging, tree, verbal communication, weather, winter, writing

Louis the fish

Yorinks, Arthurs

Louis inherits his father's meat store after he dies. Louis never like meat and prefers fish. He eventually turns into a fish himself.

Tags

careers, change, coping, death, family, fish, food, nutrition, parents, responsibilities

The ghost of nicholas greebe

Johnston, Tony

At midnight, Nicholas Greebe dies. The following day he is buried by his family. However, a small dog digs around his grave and runs off with one of Nicholas Greebe's bones!This upsets Nicholas. His ghost decides to haunt his family until the missing bone is returned.

Tags

animals, assertiveness, body parts, death, dog, family, feelings, frustration, ghosts, grandparents, happiness, loss, lost, mythical, nonverbal communication, parents, siblings, verbal communication

Tarzan

San Souci, Robert

Family is defined differently when Tarzan is raised by a group of apes. Tarzan grows into a curious being. Confused by what he knows and what he is finding out, his confusion builds to power as he rules the apes. Can he forget his past to pursue his future?

Tags

acceptance, adoption, africa, aggression, anger, animals, ape, appearance, assertiveness, author's note, challenges, conflict resolution, dancing, death, determination, differences, exploration, family, fight, growing up, jungle, kidnapped, lion, loyalty, multicultural, orphan, reading, survival, writing

Mrs. katz and tush

Polacco, Patricia

Larnel unexpectingly finds himself befriending an old, Polish woman. From Mrs. Katz, he learns Jewish history and begins to appreciate his own African roots.

Tags

acceptance, african american, death, friendship, history, Jewish, multicultural, polish, religion

The little old man and his dreams

Ross, L

A little old man's wish before his death is to attend his granddaughter's wedding and see her happy with her new husband. His journey is plagued with troubles and his gift of pearls is stolen.

Tags

acceptance, aging, conflict resolution, coping, death, decision making, determination, dreams, family, goal setting, grandparents, Jewish, nonverbal communication, presents, religion, robbery, travel

So far from the sea

Bunting, Eve

Laura and her family are moving, so they are coming to visit the Manzanar War Relocation Center one last time. Years ago, this center was used to house anyone living in the United States that were of Japanese descent. These people were forced to leave their homes and come to the center because Japan bombed the United States. The center is bare now except for all of the memories and the cemetary, including her grandfather's grave.

Tags

acceptance, airplane, american, anger, anticipation, assertiveness, author's note, awareness, bias, bravery, change, citizen, cold, community, conflict, confusion, critical thinking, crow, culture, death, differences, discrimination, diversity, family, fear, feelings, flowers, forgiveness, generations, ghosts, grandparents, growing up, history, illness, japanese, loss, memories, monuments, mountains, moving, prison, sea, sky, snow, survival, verbal communication, war

The rag coat

Mills, Lauren

Minna wants to go to school but she has no coat. Her mother and friends make her a coat out of clothing scraps. Minna wears it to school and the kids make fun of her until she tells them the stories behind each of the clothing scraps.

Tags

acceptance, assertiveness, clothing, coping, critical thinking, death, differences, friendship, poverty, school, self esteem, storytelling, understanding, verbal communication

Remember the secret

Kubler-Ross, Elisabeth

Because she has already discovered the wonders of God, Suzy understands the true meaning of her friend's death.

Tags

acceptance, coping, courage, death, feelings, god, loss, nonverbal communication, preparation, secrets, self esteem, spiritual, understanding, verbal communication

Looking for atlantis

Thompson, Colin

A young child learns about life by looking at it the way his grandfather did. He learns about himself at the same time.

Tags

acceptance, critical thinking, death, feelings, grandparents, learning, nonverbal communication, peer resistance, sadness, stress management, verbal communication

Pianna

Ray, Mary Lyn

Take a trip with Anna through the happenings in her life. Look at Anna's experiences with piano lessons, picking blueberries with siblings, her marriage, and her children. After eighty years she is still playing the piano in the same house she grew up in.

Tags

adventures, aging, baby, death, family, food, instruments, love, marriage, memories, music, nutrition, parents, siblings, train, transportation

Arlene sardine

Raschka, Chris

Have you ever wanted to be a sardine?Arlene does, but there are many steps to go through first. From going into the nets, to the factory, and finally into a can. Arlene becomes a sardine right before your eyes.

Tags

adventures, animals, anticipation, bodies of water, change, death, dreams, fish, fishing, food, friendship, habitat, machines, preparation, sequence, swimming, water

Tough cookie

Wisniewski, David

After discovering that his long time partner, Chips, has been eaten by Fingers, Tough Cookie travels to the Top of the Jar to find Fingers and put him away for good. Pecan Sandy shows how she can be a smart cookie in the end.

Tags

adventures, body parts, bravery, challenges, community, confidence, conflict resolution, courage, death, feelings, food, friendship, humor, imagination, prejudice, problem solving, revenge, teamwork

The story of babar the little elephant

Brunhoff, Jean de

Babar is an elephant who has a wonderful adventure. After his mother died tragically from a hunter, Babar goes into the city, where he lives with a little old lady. Upon returning to the forest, Babar is elected king and is married to Celeste, another young elephant. The two set off for their honeymoon.

Tags

adventures, animals, assertiveness, celebration, critical thinking, death, decision making, elephant, friendship, grief, love, marriage, nature, royalty, self esteem, stress management

See a white horse

Miles, Miska

Henry feels sad about the void left in his life after his dog, Old Tuck, passes away. When a stranger on a white horse with a brown dog comes into town, Henry wishes that he could have a new dog. The stranger allows Henry to have his brown dog, if he can find him, for the stranger has set the dog free. Henry searches desperately for the dog and finally finds it, naming it Young Tuck.

Tags

affection, animals, assertiveness, critical thinking, death, depression, dog, goal setting, horse, loss, peer resistance, pets, stress management, wish

Maggie's whopper

Alexander, Sally

Maggie dreams of catching a whopper sized fish to compete with her older brother. With the help of her aging uncle, Maggie catches her fish and confronts an old bear in the mountains.

Tags

aging, animals, assertiveness, bear, death, decision making, fishing, hunger, learning, mountains, nonverbal communication, recreation, self esteem, survival

Hard to be six

Adoff, Arnold

This is one little boy's story of coming to accept his age. He feels inferior to his big ten year old sister and he longs to be old like her. It is not until he talks to his grandmother and sees his grandfather's grave that he realizes that life at any age is hard.

Tags

african american, aging, birthday, change, death, family, grandparents, holidays, loss, love, multicultural, parents, self esteem, siblings, verbal communication

The cherry tree

McCaughrean, Geraldine

A family tries to recuperate after a war in which they lose their father and their home. The children meet and help an old man take care of a sickly cherry tree. As the tree grows and begins to blossom, so does the village and its people.

How does it feel to be old

Farber, Norma

In the beginning, a daughter asks her grandmother how does it feel to be old. The positive and negative aspects of being elderly, including death, are explained.

Tags

aging, death, family, grandparents, growing up, self esteem, verbal communication

Miss maggie

Rylant, Cynthia

Nat is terrified to go into the house of Miss Maggie because he has heard that there is a snake inside her house. But he is so curious that he begins peeking through the windows. Even though Nat does not find a snake, he does find a good friend.

A name on the quilt: A story of remembrance

Atkins, Jeannine

A family remembers an uncle that died of AIDS by constructing a quilt. Each panel reminds the family of a memory shared with Uncle Ron.

Tags

affection, aids, art, author's note, dancing, death, diseases, exercise, family, feelings, friendship, letters, memories, nonverbal communication, photograph, quilt, sadness, sewing, siblings, skating, stress management, symbols, verbal communication

Grandpa's hammer

Kidd, Ronald

Grandpa always say that it take two things to make dreams come true: faith and a hammer. After Grandma passes away, Grandpa sets aside his hammer and nearly loses his faith. His granddaughter tries everything she can think of to bring back his faith but nothing seems to work. One day, Grandpa visits a Habitat for Humanity worksite with a neighbor and realizes that he can made dreams come true for others.

Marianthe's story one: Painted words. Marianthe's story two: Spoken memories

Aliki

When a child moves to a new school it can be frightening. Mari not only moved to a new school, but a new culture as well. Mari uses painted pictures to communicate her words and recalls her life through spoken memories.

Why?

Popov, Nikolai

A mouse steals a flower from a toad which causes war to break out. It's mice against toads as the battle escalates. Total destruction once again leaves toad and mouse alone. (A Wordless Book).

Tags

amphibians, animals, conflict resolution, death, destruction, fight, frog, loss, mouse, war

Cat heaven

Rylant, Cynthia

Past the stars, the moon, and the sun is where cat heaven is, and every cat knows the way there. With trees to climb, toys to play with, angel laps to purr in, and food to eat, all cats love going to cat heaven and God loves having them there too!

Tags

acceptance, activities, affection, angel, animals, cat, celebration, climbing, community, death, exploration, family, food, garden, god, kindness, moon, nature, pets, sky, stars, sun, tree

Goodbye, max

Keller, Holly

Ben's dog dies, and he's mad at his parents for not letting him stay home with Max. His parents get a new a puppy but Max rejects it until the end.

Tags

anger, animals, cat, conflict resolution, critical thinking, death, decision making, dog, feelings, memories, nonverbal communication, sadness, verbal communication

Through the mickle woods

Gregory, Valiska

Three mythical stories told by a wise old bear help a mourning king go on with his life after his wife, the queen, dies.

Tags

animals, bear, beauty, death, discovery, feelings, loss, mythical, royalty, sadness

Amos & boris

Steig, William

Amos is a mouse who gets stranded in the middle of the ocean. Boris the whale, comes to his rescue and they become the best of friends. Each helps the other to survive.

Tags

animals, bodies of water, death, differences, elephant, friendship, helping, mouse, ocean, similarities, sizes, survival, whale

Smoky night

Bunting, Eve

A riot breaks out in a young boys neighborhood which leads to his apartment building catching on fire. This tragedy brings together people from different backgrounds when they share in the trauma of both losing their cats and having their homes taken over by fire.

Tags

animals, cat, community, conflict, conflict resolution, death, destruction, fire, forgiveness, loss

Fred

Simmonds, Posy

The night that Sophie and Nick bury their beloved cat, they find all of his cat friends outside. They find out their cat was famous and the other cats wanted to have a party to say goodbye.

Tags

animals, assertiveness, cat, change, coping, death, friendship, loss, nonverbal communication, party, pets, self esteem

Nellie: A cat on her own

Babbitt, Natalie

Nellie is a cat marionette, and she belongs to an old woman. When the old woman dies, she becomes friends with Big Tom, a real cat. Big Tom takes her out of the house and into a new home.

Tags

animals, cat, change, coping, dancing, death, decision making, moving, self esteem

Across the wide dark sea: The mayflower journey

Van Leeuwen, Jean

A young boy and his family leave England with many other people to search for a new life in a new land. They dream of finding a place where they can worship God in their own way. During their journey, everyone endures many hardships, but they find what they are looking for.

Tags

animals, assertiveness, author's note, autumn, birds, boat, bodies of water, cat, death, dog, english, family, fear, feelings, food, garden, goal setting, god, happiness, illness, multicultural, native american, nonverbal communication, nutrition, ocean, parents, pilgrims, religion, seasons, self esteem, siblings, snow, spring, storm, transportation, travel, verbal communication, weather, wind, winter

What's alive

Zoehfeld, Kathleen Weidner

Understand the simple distinctions between living and nonliving things. Experience the living things through plants and animals. Experience the nonliving things through objects such as a rock. The cycles of life and materials for living are explained as well.

Tags

animals, birds, books, cat, death, dog, dolls, environment, food, jumping, nutrition, plants, sun, survival, water

The lorax

Seuss, Dr.

Trees are being destroyed in a small town and the lorax tries to stop the business that uses the trees to make clothes. Finally, all the trees are gone and the animals are dying, so a young boy decides to plant trees all over town.

Tags

animals, assertiveness, change, clothing, critical thinking, death, environment, feelings, goal setting, greed, loneliness, peer resistance, plants, refusal skills, stress management

Better with two

Joosse, Barbara M.

An old lady, and her dog have a regular routine everyday. And when Laura, the girl next door sees Mrs. Brady alone instead of with Max she wonders why. When Laura finds out Max died, she finds comfort in her mom and then consoles Mrs. Brady, because two is better than one.

Tags

animals, change, coping, death, dog, family, feelings, friendship, loss, neighbors, nonverbal communication, parents, pets, sadness

Cassie's journey

Harvey, Brett

A young girl deals with hardships and dangers when traveling. Her family moves from Illinois to California by wagon in the 1860's.

Tags

animals, critical thinking, death, determination, dog, family, friendship, goal setting, grandparents, history, nonverbal communication, parents, pioneers, rain, stress management, travel, weather

There was an old lady who swallowed a fly

Taback, Simms

There once was a lady who ate so much that it got her into trouble. She eats everything from a fly to a horse. In the end her body cannot take the horse and she dies. The moral of the story is stop at the cow and don't eat the horse.

Tags

animals, art, author's note, birds, cat, classification, cow, death, dog, fly, horse, humor, insects, loss, rhyme, spider

Gray fox

London, Jonathan

The life cycle of the gray fox is shown including a caring little boy who lays the fox to rest and says a prayer for his spirit.

Tags

amphibians, animals, birds, death, deer, egret, family, fox, frog, nature, prayer, seasons

Henny penny

Galdone, Paul

An acorn falls on Henny Penny's head and she thinks the sky is falling. She goes to tell the king, and a few of her friends go with her. A fox lures them into his cave and eats up Henny Penny and her friends.

Tags

animals, birds, conflict resolution, death, fear, feelings, food, fox, friendship, loss, misunderstanding, royalty, shelter, sly

The gingerbread boy

Galdone, Paul

In desire for a boy of their own, a couple bakes a gingerbread boy. The gingerbread boy comes to life, and runs for freedom while being chased by hungry people. A fox, who outsmarts the boy, ends up with a tasty snack.

Tags

animals, assertiveness, death, decision making, family, fantasy, fear, feelings, food, fox, hunger, loss, nutrition, parents

Who can kill the lion?

deLeeuw, Adele

A mean lion enters a village and gobbles up many people. The villigers are frightened as people from all over the world try to kill the lion but fail. A little Mexican boy uses his knowledge to capture but not kill the lion.

Tags

animals, courage, death, intelligence, lion, mexican, multicultural

The three little pigs

Galdone, Paul

When three little pigs leave home to seek their fortune, each builds a house made of various materials. A mean wolf blows down the houses of the first and second pigs, then eats them for dinner. The wolf is outsmarted by the third pig who cooks the wolf for dinner.

Tags

animals, assertiveness, conflict resolution, critical thinking, death, deception, food, fortune, pig, refusal skills, shelter, verbal communication, wolf

Some smug slug

Edwards, Pamela Duncan

A smug slug strolls on soil toward a slope. A sparrow, spider, swallow tail and other animals attempt to stop the slug from slithering up the slope, but it does not listen. Unfortunately the slop was a frog. Gulp!

Tags

adventures, animals, birds, death, feelings, frog, insects, nature, sadness, snake, soil, sparrow, spider, squirrel

Tiger flowers

Quinlan, Patricia

Joel's uncle, Michael, dies of AIDS. Joel remembers the fun times he and Michael spent together. These happy memories help to comfort Joel.

Tags

aids, animals, coping, death, family, feelings, fun, happiness, illness, loss, memories, sadness, stress management, tiger, verbal communication

The sleeping lady

Dixon, Ann

Nekatla and Susitha are a young couple preparing to wed. THe wedding is put on hold when war breaks out, and Nekatla must travel to another village to try to restore peace. Susitha waits on a grassy hill for Nekatla to return, and she falls asleep. Nekatla is killed in war, and Susitha never awakens and is now known as the sleeping lady.

Tags

adventures, anger, author's note, bravery, celebration, communication, conflict resolution, culture, death, decision making, dreams, fable, feelings, happiness, history, hope, loss, love, nonverbal communication, relationship, sleep, snow, teamwork, verbal communication, violence, war, weather, wedding, worry

Cold feet

DeFelice, Cynthia

Playing the bagpipes is Willie McPhee's favorite form of entertainment, but because his audience is unable to pay for his entertainment, Willie is forced to leave. On his journey to find money, he becomes tired and his clothes wear out. Across the forest he sees a dead man and since his shoes are torn, he takes the dead man's boots. As he approaches a house to find hospitality, see how the dead man comes back to haunt him.

Tags

animals, author's note, behavior, body parts, caring, clothing, cold, compromise, consequences, cow, critical thinking, death, decision making, exercise, folktale, giving, instruments, snow, sounds, storytelling, survival, travel, walking, weather, winter

Peace crane

Hamanaka, Sheila

A young African American girl learns about the Peace Crane, created by Sadako Sasaki, survivor of Hiroshima. The girl wishes the Peace Crane would take her away from the violence in her own world to a place without racism and violence.

Tags

african american, author's note, birds, crane, death, dreams, feelings, hope, japanese, love, multicultural, nonverbal communication, peace, prejudice, racism, sadness, self esteem, verbal communication, violence, war

Ouch!

Babbit, Natalie

A baby born with the destiny of marrying a princess is brought by the King and thrown into the river to prevent a possible marriage with his newborn daughter. Rescued by a loving couple, the boy grows up and meets the King once again. The Kings plan to kill the young man backfires again and the young man marries the princess. As a test, the King sends the new prince to steal the golden hairs off the devil's head. In a surprise ending, the prince prevails, but the King is not so lucky.

Tags

anger, architecture, baby, boat, bodies of water, bridge, confidence, correspondence, dancing, death, devils, dreams, fable, family, feelings, food, forest, happiness, lost, magic, marriage, nonverbal communication, river, royalty, secrets, sleep, transportation, trick, wedding

Molly's rosebush

Cohn, Janice

A young girl deals with the loss of her newborn sibling. After spending time with her grandmother, she is better able to understand death.

Tags

baby, death, family, feelings, grandparents, grief, loss, love, miscarriage, parents, sadness, siblings

Waiting to sing

Kaplan, Howard

A young boy loves playing the piano but especially listening to his father play while his mother sings along. The boy's mother also listens to him play. Shortly after the boy, his sister, and his father come back from a vacation at the beach, the mother dies. Playing the piano helps the young boy and his father cope with their loss.

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