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

Tags: fable

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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 story of paper

Compenstine, Ying Chang

Paper is invented by three boys who had the need to write something down. The boys use bugs to make symbols in the dirt. Combining different home techniques such as making rice cakes and scrapping clothes, paper was invented. The three boys are successful and praised.

Tags

ant, author's note, body parts, chinese, counting, fable, fabric, fruit, game, grasshopper, insects, inventions, language, math, multicultural, numbers, recipe, siblings, symbols, teaching, toys, trees, village, water, work, worm, writing

The story of noodles

Compestine, Ying Chang

The Kang family decides to switch up their usual annual cooking contest recipe from dumplings to 'noodles' with the help from their three rambunctious sons.

The greatest blessings

Isaacs, Mark

Fame, Fortune, and Power are brothers who decide how well all people in their kingdom will fare in life - especially Boy who is an abused and abandoned child. In this tale, Boy spurns the three brothers in favor of family, friendship, and brotherhood.

Tags

animals, cow, fable, fame, family, fortune, friendship, horse, royalty, sheep

Armadilly chili

Ketteman, Helen

Billie decides to make armadilly chili. She asks her friends to help her but they are all busy and do not want to help. After Billie makes the chili, all of her friends knock on her door. Billie will not let them eat because they wouldn't help. She soon realizes her chili is missing something: her friends!

For sure! For sure!

Andersen, Hans Christian

Did you know that chickens gossip too? Come read about one chick that plucks out her feathers, supposedly to look good and impress her rooster. After one of her feathers is plucker, an owl sees her actions and spreads the word. The story gets turned around and exaggerated especially when the newspaper prints it.

Tags

animals, bat, behavior, birds, chicken, death, differences, fable, family, feelings, fly, friendship, gossip, hearing, loss, love, newspaper, owl, peace, play, storytelling, truth

Big jabe

Nolan, Jerdine

Momma Mary goes back in time and tells stories of a unique young man named Jabe, who is responsible for creating magic among the slaves of the Plenty Plantation. He is described as a hero with the strength of fifty men, a big heart, and a wondrous gift at leading slaves away to freedom.

Tags

african, african american, animals, bee, chicken, cow, fable, fantasy, feelings, fish, fishing, flood, food, freedom, generations, happiness, heroism, horse, hunger, magic, multicultural, mystery, nonverbal communication, plants, recreation, river, slavery, storytelling, tornado, tree, uniqueness, unselfish, weather, wind

The golden rain

Mashiri, Pascal

A young child learns from his mother's stories about decision making and choices. He comes to understand that choices make some people happy and leave some disapointed. The child also realizes that help is sometimes needed for the decision making, but ultimately it is up to the individual.

Off to the sweet shores of Africa: And other talking drum rhymes

Unobagha, Uzo

African-inspired nursery rhymes.

Tags

africa, animals, beach, birds, bodies of water, camel, cattle, celebration, chicken, community, cooking, desert, dog, donkey, eagle, elephant, fable, fish, fruit, giraffe, goat, grasshopper, instruments, lion, mice, monkey, multicultural, music, ocean, parade, play, rainbow, rhyme, rhythm, river, sand, song, tree, village, zebra

Shadow

Brown, Marcia

The village storytellers and shamans of African expound on the important, mysterious, haunted, and enchanted life of shadows.

Tags

africa, animals, appreciation, birds, bodies of water, cow, dancing, eagle, elephant, fable, fire, forest, insects, magic, mystery, night, reptiles, river, scorpion, shadows, snake, spy, storytelling, tree, war

Jamari's drum

Bynum, Eboni//Jackson, Roland

Jamari grows up drawn to the beating of the djembe, the keeper of the peace, the great drum of his Mali village. Jamari grows older and becomes the drummer of the djembe. He eventually gets caught up in other aspects of village life. When the village is once again threatened by the nearby angry mountain, Jamari returns to his post as drummer for village peace.

Tags

africa, african, clothing, community, dedication, fable, family, five senses, harmony, instruments, language, marriage, mountains, multicultural, music, peace, rhythm, storytelling, traditions, village

Burro's tortillas

Fields, Terri

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

Tags

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

Bitter bananas

Olaleye, Isaac

Yusuf is a boy who lives in a jungle in Africa. His favorite drink is palm sap, and he sells what he doesn't drink. A family of baboons begins to steal his sap, so he tries many things to keep the baboons away.

Tags

african, animals, baboon, careers, decision making, fable, family, food, forest, jungle, learning, market, multicultural, nutrition, problem solving, rain, sounds, tree, weather

Big bad wolf

Marurel, Claire

Things aren't always what they seem. The villagers keep talking about a big, bad wolf and describe him. Their details are accurate, but skewed a little. The wolf has a family just like them and kisses his children good night after a run in the forest.

Tags

animals, bedtime, day, discovery, fable, family, folktale, forest, night, nonverbal communication, parents, siblings, tree, verbal communication, wolf

A country mouse in the town house: A hide-and-seek fable

Henrietta

A content country mouse receives an invitation from a friend in the city. Her friend promises delightful foods but fails to mention a prowling dog and cat. While the country mouse finds her friend's house elegant and full of food, she would rather be in the country without the cat and dog.

Tags

animals, cat, decision making, dog, fable, flowers, food, garden, home, mouse, photograph, plants, rhyme

Goldilocks and the three bears

Aylesworth, Jim

A curious little girl sometimes forgets what her mother tells her. Sometimes this gets her into trouble. One such time found her deep into the woods at a cottage belonging to three bears. You probably know the rest of the story.

Tags

animals, baby, bear, curiosity, disobedience, fable, family, folktale, food, forest, forgetful, parents, sizes, sleep

The marshmallow incident

Barrett, Judi

The town of Right and the town of Left do not have anything to do with one another. Someone had even painted a yellow line that nobody ever dared cross. The Order of the Ambidextrous Knights of the Dotted Yellow Line, watch over the line as well as guarding their marshmallows. In June, the town of Right has their picnic, and someone accidentally trips over the yellow line. The knights immediately grab the closest ammunition: their marshmallows, and minutes later both towns are covered with marshmallows, until they realize how silly it was. The towns hold town meetings and no one could think of reasons why they should keep the yellow line. The two towns join together to wash the yellow line and socialize for the first time.

Tags

castle, celebration, colors, community, conflict, conflict resolution, creativity, dancing, decision making, differences, fable, food, goal setting, kite, neighbors, peace, play, poetry, puppets, royalty, teamwork, verbal communication

Hip & Hop, don't stop!

Czekaj, Jef

Hip, a turtle from Slowjamz Swamp, and Hop, a rabbit from Breakbeat Meadow, both love to rap. Hip raps very slowly, and Hop raps very slowly. Animals of Slowjamz Swamp and Breakbeat Meadow don't socialize until one day Hip and Hop meet each other when they see a sign for a rapping contest. In this twist of the fable Tortoise and the Hare, Hip and Hop bring the animals of the swamp and meadow together through their performance.

Tags

animals, communication, comparisons, competition, conflict resolution, cooperation, creativity, dancing, decision making, fable, friendship, peer resistance, performance, problem solving, rabbit, reptiles, rhyme, turtle

An apple pie for dinner

VanHecke, Susan

Wishing to bake an apple pie, Old Granny Smith sets out with a full basket, trading its contents for a series of objects until she get the apples she needs.

Tags

animals, author's note, cat, cooking, dog, fable, five senses, food, hunger, illustrator's note, money, nutrition, recipe, smell, tree

Little sister and the Month brothers

Schenk de Regniers, Beatrice

A retelling of the Slavic folktale in which the Month brothers' magic helps Little Sister fulfill seemingly impossible tasks. Little Sister's tasks prove the undoing of her greedy stepmother and stepsister.

Tags

animals, author's note, comparisons, cow, fable, feelings, flowers, food, hard work, month, peace, resentment, responsibilities, royalty, seasons, siblings, stepmother

No dinner! The story of the old woman and the pumpkin

Souhami, Jessica

An old woman is on her way to her granddaughter's house for dinner, but meets many animals on her way. In order to escape the animals, she promises to come back all fat and fed. The animals are outwitted when the old woman is disguised as a pumpkin.

Tags

adventures, aging, animals, author's note, bear, body image, bravery, critical thinking, deception, decision making, fable, family, food, forest, fruit, goal setting, habitat, heroism, hunting, intelligence, nature, nonverbal communication, nutrition, overeating, pretend, protection, relief, sly, sounds, tiger, verbal communication, wolf

Casey jones's fireman: The story of sim webb

Farmer, Nancy

Sim Webb is finally getting his chance to work on a train for the famous Casey Jones. Casey is putting a brand new whistle on his train, but Casey knows it's a bad idea. He knows that something bad is about to happen.

Tops and bottoms

Stevens, Janet

Hare and Bear decide to become business partners. Due to Bear's laziness, Hare tricks him three times. This is a great book because it shows children proper eating habits (with vegetables), and it provides a moral.

Tags

animals, assertiveness, bear, discipline, fable, food, goal setting, habit, hare, laziness, manners, nutrition, persistence, teamwork, vegetables, verbal communication

The bunyans

Wood, Audrey

A storyteller explains how Paul Bunyan and his family are responsible for Niagara Falls, Bryce Canyon, the Great Sand Dunes of Colorado, and other natural wonders.

Tags

author's note, fable, family, geography, mythical, nonverbal communication, parents, self esteem, siblings, storytelling, verbal communication

Rumpelstiltskin's daughter

Stanley, Diane

When Rumpelstiltskin's daughter is ordered by the King to spin straw into gold, she tricks him instead by telling him that sharing his gold with the townspeople is the way to increase his wealth.

Tags

conflict resolution, critical thinking, fable, family, feelings, goal setting, greed, magic, parents, refusal skills, royalty, self esteem, sharing, stress management, verbal communication

I'll be you and you be me

Krauss, Ruth

Would you and your friends like to read the poems, plays, fairy tales, and songs in this book?Which parts will you pantomime?

Tags

acting, animals, fable, friendship, monkey, poetry, song

The devil and mother crump

Carey, Valerie Scho

Mother Crump was meaner than the devil. The devil came to get her and take her to hell, but she outsmarted him. When she died, neither heaven or hell would have her, so she went to the sky. This is where heat lightning comes from.

Tags

aggression, decision making, devils, fable, goal setting, nature, self esteem, verbal communication

Grandfather twilight

Berger, Barbara Helen

Grandfather Twilight takes a pearl from his chest every night, and walks to the sea where he puts it in the sky. It is the moon.

Tags

fable, imagination, moon, nature, nonverbal communication

The cat and the cook and other fables of krylov

Heins, Ethel

Twelve fables from Ivan Krylov of Russia are presented. Some of the fables include The Cat and the Cook, The Swan, the Pike, and the Crab, and The Miser. Many of these fables feature animals with a valuable moral built in.

Tags

animals, author's note, bear, birds, butterfly, cat, conflict resolution, crab, critical thinking, crustaceans, decision making, donkey, eagle, fable, fish, food, goal setting, goat, goblins, insects, monkey, nutrition, spider, swan, verbal communication, wolf

Once in a wood: Ten tales from aesop

Rice, Eve

Follow the Fox, the Lion, and other animals through the various lessons of life. Aesop's Fables teach many lessons about being clever and playing the fool.

Tags

aggression, amphibians, animals, assertiveness, birds, cat, conflict resolution, cow, critical thinking, crow, deception, decision making, deer, dog, duck, fable, fear, feelings, fox, friendship, frog, goal setting, goat, helping, horse, lion, mischief, mouse, music, pig, pride, problem solving, refusal skills, sizes, song, storks, stress management, teaching, verbal communication

The gingerbread boy

Egielski, Richard

A woman makes a gingerbread boy who escapes into the city. He crosses the paths of many people, all of whom want to eat him. The gingerbread boy is too fast to be caught until he encounters a smart fox.

Tags

animals, critical thinking, escape, fable, fox, rhyme, running away

Joshua's masai mask

Hru, Dakari

When Joshua is pressured by his parents to play his African instrument in the school talent show, he is embarrassed because it is not as cool as the rap his friends will do. His uncle then gives him a magical mask which makes Joshua seem cool to other people. When he realizes he would rather make music with his Kalimmba, he is a hit at the talent show.

Tags

african american, competition, embarrassment, empathy, fable, family, instruments, magic, music, parents, performance, school

Good knight for dragons

Bradfield, Roger

A nice, good-hearted prince named Cedric is in for a predicament. His father, the King, wants Cedric to sword the Dragon to proved that he can rule the kingdom. However, Cedric hates to fight and hates violence. At the end, Cedric humorously gets out of the situation while still earning respect and the kingdom.

Tags

conflict resolution, critical thinking, decision making, dragons, fable, family, fight, nonverbal communication, parents, peer resistance, refusal skills, royalty, self esteem, stress management, verbal communication

Dinorella: A prehistoric fairy tale

Edwards, Pamela Duncan//Cole, Henry

Do you remember what happened to Cinderella?Well, Dinorella not only goes to the ball, but she defends the duke against a hungry deinonychus. The dinosaur dames, Dora and Doris, want the jewels but Dinorella has but one dazzling jewel.

Tags

assertiveness, courage, critical thinking, decision making, dinosaur, empathy, fable, fantasy, happiness, heroism, laziness, love, nonverbal communication, party, peer resistance, selfishness

Cornelius

Lionni, Leo

Cornelius, the crocodile, is able to walk upright by standing on his head. The other crocodiles become jealous when Cornelius brags about his skill.

Sam and the tigers: A new telling of little black sambo

Lester, Julius

A boy named Sam picks out bright clothes for his first day of school. On his way to school he runs into some tigers who want to eat him but he trades his bright clothes for his life. His bright clothes cause such a ruckus among the tigers that they fight each other and Sam gets his clothes back.

Tags

adventures, african american, anger, animals, art, author's note, clothing, colors, conflict resolution, elephant, fable, family, feelings, fight, food, fox, giraffe, hunger, lion, monkey, multicultural, numbers, nutrition, school, tiger, umbrella, wolf

Wind child

Murphy, Shirley Rousseau

Resshie is a child of the wind. She is a talented weaver and is known across the country, and beyond. However, she's not happy. All she wants is a husband to keep her company. She meets the men in the villages, she even tries weaving one, but she is still not happy. Then a stranger comes who is everything she's dreamed. Through her wonderful weaving, they can spend forever together.

Tags

baby, clothing, creativity, dreams, fable, family, feelings, flowers, goal setting, loneliness, love, nature, parents, spiritual, weather, wind, work

A frog prince

Berenzy, Alix

This is a life lesson concerning love is in the eyes of the beholder. This story show how love turned a common frog into a prince.

Tags

amphibians, assertiveness, beauty, body image, conflict resolution, decision making, fable, fantasy, frog, goal setting, love, nonverbal communication, peer resistance, refusal skills, self esteem, verbal communication

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

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

Beware of the storybook wolves

Child, Lauren

Herb loves being read storybooks by his mother, as long as she takes the books out of his room when she is done. Tonight though, his mother gets distracted and forgets the book. As Herb is just about to fall asleep, two wolves jump out of the book with the intention of eating him. Herb must now find a way to keep them from eating him. With the help of a fairy godmother (from another book!), Herb escapes the hungry wolves.

Tags

animals, bedtime, books, caterpillar, critical thinking, dreams, fable, fear, feelings, five senses, food, godmother, magic, peer resistance, smell, storytelling, stress management, telephone, witches, wolf

Wait! No paint!

Whatley, Bruce

The three little pigs move out to build their own homes. But when the big, bad wolf comes, the first two pigs escape to the brick house. Throughout the ordeal, the pigs hear a mysterious voice that turns out to be the illustrator. The illustrator runs out of paint while finishing the story and finally saves the pigs by changing them and the wolf into Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

Tags

anger, animals, art, bear, body parts, change, clowns, colors, conflict resolution, decision making, embarrassment, fable, feelings, happiness, hunger, mystery, noise, pig, refusal skills, safety, storytelling, surprises, verbal communication, wolf

Geraldine, the music mouse

Lionni, Leo

Geraldine the mouse finds a large chunk of cheese. She gnaws the cheese into a statue that plays music. She then learns that she has music in her too.

Frederick's fables

Lionni, Leo

Many animals go through several adventures. Some of them learn lessons, solve conflicts, and make discoveries.

Princess kalina and the hedgehog

Marshall, F.

Kalina, a very untidy Princess, was ordered to clean up herself and her room. A hedgehog, who was actually a Prince, helped her clean up her room. When everything was cleaned up, he turned back into a Prince and the two were married.

Tags

animals, cleanliness, conflict resolution, fable, hedgehog, helping, hygiene, love, marriage, mythical, nonverbal communication, responsibilities, royalty, shelter, witches

Fables

Lobel, Arnold

In these twenty different tales, a little line of advice is shared.

Tags

animals, baboon, bear, beetle, birds, chicken, crab, crow, crustaceans, deception, duck, excitement, fable, fox, frog, insects, lion, lobster, ostrich

The story of the three kingdoms

Myers, Walter Dean

A shark, elephant, and a hawk believe that each rules the earth. One day people show up and want to figure out why the animals will not share. They sit around and talk, coming up with stories to help get the animals to cooperate.

Tags

animals, assertiveness, birds, conflict resolution, cooperation, critical thinking, decision making, elephant, fable, fish, hawk, intelligence, nonverbal communication, sharing, shark, verbal communication

Finders keepers

Lipkind, William//Mordvinoff, Nicolas

Nap and Winkle, two dogs, find a bone. They ask several people and animals who should get the bone before finally realizing that the best thing to is to share.

Tags

animals, conflict resolution, dog, fable, goat, horse, learning, opinions, problem solving, sharing, stress management, verbal communication

The full belly bowl

Aylesworth, Jim

After being captured by a fox, a wee man is rescued and nurtured by a very old man for three days. In appreciation of the old man's kindness, a bowl is left on his porch with a note about its special powers. The beautiful full, belly bowl multiplies any item placed in it. This brings both happiness and trouble to the old man.

Tags

animals, appreciation, art, caring, cat, correspondence, fable, food, fox, greed, helping, hunger, insects, magic, money, mouse, nutrition, sleep, spider, wealth

Bearskin

Pyle, Howard

Bearskin, an infant son of a miller, is sent down the river by the king only to be found by a she-bear who raises him. As Bearskin gets older he goes out into the world to be with other people. He learns about a three-headed dragon who takes the princess. If anyone can kill the dragon, then they get to marry the princess. Will Bearskin be able to kill the dragon and win her heart?

Tags

adoption, adventures, affection, animals, art, baby, bear, bravery, castle, ceremony, challenges, clothing, companion, conflict, courage, deception, dragons, fable, fear, folktale, food, heroism, honesty, marriage, multicultural, nature, nutrition, picnic, royalty, violence

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