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

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Do you remember?

Smith, Sydney

A boy and his mother trade memories while lying together on the bed. In the darkness of the night, they remember things of their past. The move from their house to an apartment with their belongings is part of their memory making. The boy asks his mother if the moments of remembering could also be a memory.

Tags

bicycle, birthday, body parts, bug, celebration, conversation, day, family, feelings, five senses, food, grandparents, grief, hearing, lightning, loss, memory, night, parents, pattern, picnic, rain, smell, snake, transportation, truck, weather

The phone booth in Mr. Hirota's garden

Smith, Heather

Makio and his neighbor, Mr. Hirota, loved looking out at the ocean every morning while watching Makio’s father and Mr. Hirota’s daughter working. One day, a tsunami came and killed their family members, prompting Mr. Hirota to build a telephone booth as a way to cope with his grief. Soon after, Makio and Mr. Hirota began speaking into a disconnected telephone while communicating with the loved ones they lost.

Tags

bodies of water, community, companion, construction, death, earthquake, feelings, games, grief, loss, ocean, onomatopoeia, respect, sadness, sea, storytelling, technology, telephone, wish

Anna's heaven

Hole, Stian

Anna's mother dies. She and her father have many questions for God about where Anna's mom went and what heaven is like. Anna's dad follows Anna through her imagination and the two find peace through the many great things and ideas that Anna imagines of her mother's new world.

Tags

change, death, feelings, grief, hope, loss, nonverbal communication, parents, peace, problem solving, sadness, 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

Aunt Claire's yellow beehive hair

Blumenthal, Deborah

Annie, Grandma Marilyn, and Great Aunt Ruth search through family memorabilia as they put together an album to show to their family. While scrapbooking the many memories, Grandma Marilyn and Great Aunt Ruth share stories about makeup, clothing, jewelery, hairdos, and food. Annie learns all about the relatives she never met.

Kaddish for grandpa in Jesus' name amen

Howe, James

A young girl finds her own spirituality while observing the differing social customs of her Jewish and Christian relatives following her grandfather's sudden death. She interacts with her family to remember her grandfather in special ways at home, at church, and before bed.

Tags

aging, angel, art, baby, bath, bedtime, behavior, church, dancing, emotions, exercise, family, feelings, food, grandparents, grief, hebrew, hygiene, Jewish, multicultural, mythical, parents, sadness

Let the celebrations begin

Wild, Margaret//Vivas, Julie

Miram and the women of the camp make toys for children from material scraps and buttons. They plan for a celebration when the soldiers come to free them from the German camp.

Grandma's gone to live in the stars

Haynes, Max

A much cared about Grandmother says good bye to everyone and the things she loved, before going to live with the stars. Grandma says good bye to her son, daughter, grandchildren, cat, dog, garden, town, and earth as she wears her angel wings to the stars.

Tags

angel, closeness, coping, death, empathy, family, garden, grandparents, grief, illness, loss, nonverbal communication, sleep, spiritual, stars, stress management, verbal communication

Grandmother bryant's pocket

Martin, Jacqueline Briggs

Sarah's best friend is her dog Patches. Patches dies in a barn fire and every night after the fire, Sarah has nightmares and wakes up calling for Patches. Sarah goes to her Grandparent's house hoping to cure her from her nightmares. To comfort Sarah, Grandmother gives Sarah her old pocket filled with herbs, scissors, and gold buttons and embroidered with the words no fear, to wear under her skirt. In the meantime Sarah befriends a stray one-eyed cat. Sarah is not cured alone by the pocket full of herbs and the cat's friendship. It is only after a mean neighbor's accident that Sarah becomes more brave and confident and the nightmares stop.

Tags

animals, bravery, cat, death, dog, dreams, family, farm, fear, fire, food, garden, grandparents, grief, loss, medicine, neighbors, nutrition, parents, pig, plants, self esteem, storytelling

Swan sky

Tejima, Keizaburo

During the winter, a young swan becomes ill and is unable to fly to her summer home. Her family stays with her until she dies, then they fly to their summer home and grieve the loss of their daughter.

Tags

caring, change, conflict resolution, coping, death, family, feelings, grief, illness, loss, sadness, seasons, summer, travel, winter

The tie man's miracle: A chanukah tale

Schnur, Steven

On the last day of Chanukah, an old man stops by Seth's house to sell ties. After talking with the old man for awhile, Seth learns how the man lost his whole family in the Holocaust. Seth makes a wish for the old man as the menorah candles burn out.

Tags

baby, coping, exercise, family, feelings, friendship, grief, hanukkah, happiness, history, holidays, Jewish, multicultural, nonverbal communication, parents, sadness, self esteem, siblings, snow, stress management, verbal communication, walking, war, weather

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

Turtle spring

Zagwyn, Deborah Turney

One summer, as young Clee finds herself lost in the shuffle with the arrival of a new baby brother, Uncle Fishtank Hal comes to the rescue when he asks her to care for his special southern-breed turtle. For Clee, caring for the turtle is like therapy to cope with the new changes in her life. That is until the turtle dies due to the harsh cold winter and Clee is forced to bury him out in the yard. Without the turtle, Clee spends time with her new brother and learns to enjoys his company. In spring however, the turtle springs back to like in the compost pile and Clee gains a new outlook on the changes in her life.

Tags

affection, author's note, autumn, baby, caring, change, closeness, cold, coping, disappointment, environment, excitement, family, feelings, friendship, geography, grief, guilt, happiness, hibernation, jealousy, loneliness, nonverbal communication, parents, radio, reptiles, sadness, seasons, siblings, snow, spring, stress management, summer, surprises, survival, technology, telephone, turtle, weather, wind, winter

The fall of freddie the leaf

Buscaglia, Leo

This book explains the process of life and death by utilizing a tree leaf. Each season is depicted and shows how the leaf grows and eventually dies.

Tags

conflict resolution, critical thinking, death, feelings, grief, nonverbal communication, plants, seasons, verbal communication

The dead bird

Brown, Margaret Wise//Charlip, Remy

A group of young children find a dead bird. They decide to bury the bird. They take the bird to the woods to give it a proper burial. The children mourned, sang, and planted flowers around the dead bird's grave. The children came back to visit the grave, until they forgot.

Tags

birds, death, decision making, grief

Grandpa

Burningham, John

Grandpa and his granddaughter do everything together. Then as Grandpa gets older, he cannot do as much with her. Finally he dies.

Tags

death, family, grandparents, grief, nonverbal communication, stress management, verbal communication

When grandpa came to stay

Caseley, Judith

Benny's grandpa visits after his grandma dies. They tell stories, play games, and talk. One day grandpa cries and Benny learns that it is okay to cry.

Tags

conflict resolution, critical thinking, death, family, feelings, grandparents, grief, stress management, verbal communication

The josefina story quilt

Coerr, Eleanor

A small girl named Faith had a very special friendship with her goose Josefina. Faith is part of a pioneer family moving West. Throughout their journey, Faith makes a patch to represent each event she encounters, including the death of Jusetina. At the end, the quilt tells the story of the friendship between the goose and the little girl.

Tags

birds, change, conflict resolution, critical thinking, death, decision making, friendship, goal setting, grief, memories, moving, nonverbal communication, pets, pioneers, problem solving, stress management, transportation, travel, verbal communication

Blow me a kiss, miss lilly

Carlstrom, Nancy White

A young girl, Sara, has an elderly woman as her best friend. They spend much time together. One day the old woman dies and Sara is very sad. She remembers the good things about her best friend and still feels her love.

Tags

aging, death, friendship, grief, memories, nonverbal communication, self esteem, stress management, verbal communication

My grandpa died today

Fassler, Joan

David's grandfather dies. David learns how to deal with the grief by knowing his grandfather went to a better place. This helps David feel better.

Tags

conflict resolution, death, decision making, family, feelings, grandparents, grief, loss, stress management

Jim's dog muffins

Cohen, Miriam

Jim's dog, Muffins, gets killed and when he goes to school, he won't talk to anyone. His friend, Paul, makes him laugh and realize that life goes on even after someone you love dies.

Tags

animals, conflict resolution, death, dog, feelings, grief, happiness, pets, sadness, school, stress management, verbal communication

You hold me and i'll hold you

Carson, Jo

This story deals with death through the eyes of a child. It displays different emotions and questions a child may have. It expresses worry and comfort provided by family members.

Tags

coping, critical thinking, death, family, feelings, grief, nonverbal communication, self esteem, stress management, support, verbal communication

The wall

Bunting, Eve

A father and son go to the Vietnam Memorial Wall to see the boy's grandfather's name. The little boy does not understand the wall at first, but this experience tells him a little about how his grandfather died.

Tags

coping, death, family, grandparents, grief, memories, monuments, nonverbal communication, stress management, verbal communication, war

Time for uncle joe

Jewell, Nancy

A little girl remembers her uncle who has died. She talks about what they did together, and the things that remind her of his coming and going.

Tags

coping, death, family, feelings, grief, memories, seasons

Nana upstairs and nana downstairs

dePaola, Tomie

Tommy loves both Nana Downstairs because she is always in the kitchen and a great-grandma, Nana Upstairs, because she is always in bed. Both of them eventually die, and Tommy grows up and learns how to deal with death.

Tags

change, conflict resolution, coping, death, feelings, food, friendship, grief, loss, sadness, stress management, verbal communication

Apple tree christmas

Noble, Trinka Hakes

A horrible snowstorm takes down a family's apple tree. Katrina misses her favorite climbing tree where she used to draw. For Christmas, her father makes her a drawing table out of the branches of the apple tree.

Tags

christmas, conflict resolution, creativity, critical thinking, decision making, family, feelings, grief, happiness, holidays, loss, nature, parents, plants, snow, weather

Alexander, who's not (do you hear me?I mean it!) going to move

Viorst, Judith

Alexander loves his home, friends, and his life the way it is. Faced with a move to another town, Alexander becomes agitated and upset. In time he finds a way to adjust.

Fire diary

Rosenblatt, Lily

A young girl loses everything she has in a fire. In her diary, she works through her feelings of loss and pain. She also plans strategies to escape fires in the future.

Tags

change, fear, feelings, fire, goal setting, grief, loss, memories, prevention, sadness

Now let me fly

Johnson, Dolores

A family moves from Africa to America. They suffer hardships in anticipation of a different future.

Tags

african american, assertiveness, change, coping, family, feelings, grief, moving, multicultural, parents, peer resistance, sadness, self esteem, separation, slavery, stress management, travel

Saying goodbye to daddy

Vigna, Judith

A young girl copes with the death of her father. Her mother and grandfather help her through the painful grieving after the car accident.

The legend of the veery bird

Hague, Kathleen

A shy boy with a stuttering problem loses his father. After he runs to the forest to get away, the keeper of the Forest helps him by giving the world a bird with a beautiful voice.

Tags

assertiveness, birds, conflict resolution, critical thinking, death, decision making, feelings, folktale, grief, nonverbal communication, self esteem, shyness, stress management, stuttering, verbal communication

When violet died

Kantrowitz, Mildred

Saddened by her pet's death, Eva suddenly thinks of a way to make life go on forever.

Tags

birds, coping, critical thinking, death, feelings, grief, pets, verbal communication

Cricket boy

Ziner, Feenie

Hu Sing's father is asked to come to the emperor's palace to fight his champion cricket against the emperor's own champion. In trying to protect the cricket, Hu Sing accidentally kills it, and then kills himself, until he has a strange dream.

Tags

assertiveness, beliefs, chinese, competition, conflict resolution, cricket, death, decision making, dreams, family, grandparents, grief, insects, loss, multicultural, parents, respect, royalty, self esteem, verbal communication, vision

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

River friendly river wild

Kurtz, Jane

A little girl remembers how her family survived a flood. The once friendly river that she loved turned wild and drove the community to evacuation. The little girl thought she would only be gone a couple of days. Days turned into weeks. When she returns, her family starts over, but where is the cat, Kiwi, that she left behind?

Tags

angel, anger, animals, appreciation, author's note, bodies of water, books, cat, challenges, charity, clothing, cold, community, conflict resolution, coping, critical thinking, decision making, destruction, diary, dolls, emergency, emotions, environment, fear, feelings, fish, flood, goal setting, grief, history, homeless, kindness, machines, memories, nature, nonverbal communication, rain, relief, rescue, river, sadness, shelter, spring, storm, stress management, verbal communication, weather, worry

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.

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.

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

Cloudy with a chance of meatballs

Barrett, Judi

Grandpa tells a bedtime story about a town where all the food came from the sky in rain, snow, hurricane, and tornado forms. It becomes a disaster, and people flee to a new town.

Tags

animals, change, community, conflict resolution, food, grandparents, grief, happiness, humor, hurricane, moving, nonverbal communication, rain, sadness, snow, storm, survival, tornado, weather

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