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

Tags: hard work

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Papa's magical water-jug clock

Trejo, Jesus

Papa is working today so Jesus tags along to help him with planting, cutting grass, and trimming trees. The family business works on Saturdays too so Jesus is in charge of filling Papa's big water jug. The two work around the neighborhood with all the tools rattling in the work van, stopping to work in 14 yards. Does the water hold out for them even though Jesus splashes some water on his face and gives water to some animals. Even though Jesus panics when the water is gone by 10:30 am, Papa explains that Jesus is still part of the family business. At the end of the day, Papa says "Time and water are precious. We don't want to waste them".

Tags

animals, beverage, birds, calendar, community, counting, Days of The Week, family, fun, garden, hard work, humor, language, multicultural, neighbor, numbers, nutrition, parents, peacock, spanish, teamwork, tools, water

How do you spell unfair? MacNolia Cox and the national spelling bee

Weatherford, Carole Boston

In 1936, an eighth grader becomes the first African American to win the spelling bee in Akron, Ohio. MacNolia gets a military band send off to the National Spelling Bee in Washington DC with her mother. MacNolia learns about racism and discrimination when she crosses into Maryland and arrives in Washington. She and another black girl are seated away from the other spellers and their families. MacNolia spells word after word with a calm and focused performance. The judges throw a curveball to stump her and MacNolia is determined out. Her triumph is that folks now learn that African American students are as smart as anyone.

Tags

african american, book, community, comparison, competition, discrimination, emotions, epilogue, feelings, foreword, hard work, history, homework, learning, letters, multicultural, newspaper, parents, performance, racism, respect, school, spelling, travel

The smart cookie

John, Jory//Oswald, Pete

Learn how to become a smart cookie when given a chance to be creative and make something unique just like you. When the day came to share something original at school, smart cookie read her poem out loud and everybody clapped and cheered. Smart cookie learned that you can be smart in many different ways and there is always more to learn!

Tags

baking, change, comparison, confidence, courage, creativity, differences, feelings, hard work, humor, imagination, intelligence, learning, math, numbers, performance, perspective, poetry, school, teacher, writing

Lin's uncommon life

Shackelford, Scott//Castle, Emily

Elinor Ostrom, also known as Lin, worked "little by little, bit by bit, family by family" in order that the world could become a better place. Lin wanted to study the way that people could share resources because she believed that "so much good can be done on so many levels". Lin was discouraged from going to graduate school but she did and studied hard until she earned her PhD degree in political science. She wanted to create a research center where people could work together and ask hard questions. With her husband, they established the Vincent and Elinor Ostrom Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis at the University of Indiana. With their groundbreaking research, Elinor taught people how to share common resources around the world. She also earned the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences - the first woman to do so.

Tags

argument, baking, behavior, books, careers, community, continent, curiosity, divorce, economics, education, family, garden, government, grandparents, hard work, investigation, music, nature, parents, perspective, research, respect, rules, school, stuttering, teamwork, timeline, travel, writing

The legend of freedom hill

Altman, Linda Jacobs

A Jewish girl and an African American girl become friends during the Gold Rush in California when slavery was against the law. The two girls work together to save Miz Violet, a runaway slave, by searching for gold to buy her freedom from a slave catcher.

Tags

african american, animals, author's note, book, custom, faith, family, fox, freedom, friendship, games, gold rush, hard work, history, horses, Jewish, multicultural, parents, slavery, teamwork

Happy feet: The savory ballroom lindy hoppers and me

Michelson, Richard

A father loves to dance. He also loves to retell the story about the opening of the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem. He works hard and saves money so he can put up a shoe shine sign for his own business. When his son is born that day, the new club opens to a sharp-dressing, happy-dancing people from all backgrounds with black people and white people dancing together. The son is named Happy Feet, and he too dreams of dancing at the legendary ballroom someday.

Tags

african american, author's note, body parts, business, car, cleanliness, clothing, community, dance, dancing, feelings, friendship, happiness, hard work, history, language, multicultural, music, new baby, party, performance, shoes, signs

A different pond

Phi, Bao

A young boy accompanies his dad to catch fish for food before the sunrises and before other family members awake. The dad tells the bait man at the all-night store that he is starting a second job. The boy meets a Hmong man and a black man who are also fishing -- but this time, it is just the boy and his dad under the starlit sky. The boy learns to make a fire and to bait his hook and to honor the stories of his Dad as he explains how life was in Vietnam when he was a boy. When they return home, the dad and mom head to work while the boy looks after his brothers and sisters.

Tags

african american, author's note, bicycle, bodies of water, counting, feelings, fire, fishing, food, hard work, hmong, illustrator's note, language, learning, loss, morning, multicultural, photograph, pond, poverty, refugee, responsibilities, sadness, siblings, sleep, storytelling, teeth, tree, vietnamese, war, work

Still dreaming = Seguimos sonando

Martinez, Claudia Guadalupe

Many workers from Mexico leave their homeland with their families to a land of opportunity where they dream to live a life without borders. A young boy and his parents drive their car far away until there are no city lights. Papa sings a sweet sad song on the side of the road where there are other people at a campfire. The boy eventually learns that the laborers worked in Alaska, Los Angeles, Michigan, Minnesota, Kansas, and Chicago, and they cross the border together to find answers to their dreams.

Tags

america, author's note, border, butterfly, California, car, farmer, fishing, food, geography, hard work, history, immigrants, language, maps, Mexico, moon, music, neighbors, newspaper, ship, sleep, spanish, stars, train, transportation, travel

Strong

Kearney, Rob & Rosewood, Eric

Rob dreams of becoming a champion strongman because his favorite sport was weightlifting. But there are lots of ways to be strong because he had to learn to overcome unkind words and criticisms for how he liked to dress in rainbow clothing with strong, bold colors. He trained hard and lifted huge tires, boulders, sandbags, and cars, so he could become the strongest man in the world. And one day we did just that by lifting a log over this head and was named the strongest person in North America!

Tags

clothing, competition, differences, exercise, friendship, hard work, homosexuality, sports, weightlifting

Someone builds the dream

Wheeler, Lisa

Many skilled workers, craftsmen, and tradesmen help to build each dream of a community in order for it to become a house, a park, or a bridge. After many many examples of how dreams are made and constructed, you learn how an author and illustrator are also a dream team that makes a book for you.

Tags

books, bridge, buildings, careers, computer, construction, dreams, energy, hard work, library, machines, playground, reading, science, teamwork, technology, tools, tractor, transportation, truck

Ain't nobody a stranger to me

Grifalconi, Ann

As a girl and her grandfather walk to the family’s apple orchard, grandfather shares his experiences as a slave to explain how the apple orchard came to be. Her grandfather traveled north in pursuit of freedom and encountered members of the Underground Railroad who helped their family by providing food, shelter, and transportation. This allowed her grandfather, grandmother, and mother to cross the Ohio River and gain freedom, working until they had enough money to buy land and start their own apple orchard.

Tags

ambition, bodies of water, challenges, courage, family, freedom, future, grandparents, growth, happiness, hard work, helping, kindness, memories, neighbors, plants, progress, protection, river, shelter, slavery, tree, underground railroad

My dentist, my friend

Hallinan, P.K.

Take a tour through the sights, sounds, and care of the friendly dentist's office! After spending time in the waiting room and visiting with the oral hygienist, the children are seen by the dentist. Some of their teeth may need to get some x-ray scans during the dental checkup. After a successful appointment, the children are given the knowledge and tools to practice oral health behaviors at home.

Tags

appearance, careers, critical thinking, dentist, education, hard work, health, helping, hygiene, nonverbal communication, responsibilities, role model, routine, teamwork, tools, verbal communication, work

My doctor, my friend

Hallinan, P.K.

Explore the sights, sounds, and care that kids experience at the doctor's office. After explaining why they go to the doctor for a medical check-up, the children describe the different tests that are performed at every appointment to diagnose their illness. Afterwards, the children are much less afraid about going to the doctor. Kids want to feel better so they like going to their check-ups to see their doctor.

Tags

appearance, careers, critical thinking, doctor, education, hard work, health, helping, hygiene, nonverbal communication, responsibilities, role model, routine, teamwork, tools, verbal communication, work

A day in the life of a dentist

Adamson, Heather

Dr. Fong provides readers with an outline of what she does in her job as a dentist. Starting at the beginning of her day, Dr. Fong describes the various articles of clothing that she and the other office staff wears. This includes office managers and hygienists, who help the dentist when she cares for her patients. After eating her lunch, Dr. Fong demonstrates various techniques, including x-ray imaging and models, that she uses to visualize a patient's mouth. Finally, Dr. Fong shows the tools she uses when examining a patient and describes the importance of visiting dentists, like her, regularly!

Tags

appearance, careers, critical thinking, dentist, education, hard work, helping, history, hygiene, nonverbal communication, responsibilities, role model, routine, teamwork, teeth, tools, verbal communication, work

The hard-times jar

Smothers, Ethel Footman

Emma is a book-loving girl whose parents are poor migrant workers. She decides to pick apples to add money to the hard-times jar. But this year, she attends school which happens to have a whole library of books. Emma's mom reminds her of something important when she eventually follows the rules.

Tags

books, family, farmer, hard work, learning, money, parents, reading, rules, school

Harvest

Waldherr, Kris

A young girl anxiously awaits the harvest. She prepares for the harvest by painting and gardening. She stores the food in a variety of ways. She and her mom cook, bake, and preserve the food. A harvest moon completes the day.

Tags

animals, anticipation, appreciation, birds, cat, decision making, duck, earth, family, flowers, food, fruit, hard work, harvest, herb, hunger, moon, nonverbal communication, nutrition, parents, plants, preparation, seed, sequence, soil, sun, tree, vegetables, water

Sunday week

Johnson, Dinah

A community describes each day of their weekly routine. The community is constantly looking forward to their Sunday traditions. Sunday is rich with family time, the Lord, and storytelling.

Tags

african american, books, car, careers, choir, church, Days of The Week, exercise, faith, family, god, hard work, hunger, jumping, love, market, multicultural, music, neighbors, newspaper, practice, prayer, promise, quiet, reading fish, rest, routine, school, sequence, singing, spiritual, traditions, transportation, travel

Home for Navidad

Cohen, Santiago

Rosa has not seen her mother in three years. Rosa's mother works to save money in America until she is finally able to come home for Navidad. The whole family can now celebrate the Christmas holiday in the small town in Mexico.

Tags

america, christmas, correspondence, dreams, family, farm, food, goal setting, grandparents, hard work, holidays, hope, language, market, math, mexican, Mexico, money, multicultural, nonverbal communication, numbers, parents, plants, poverty, pretend, routine, school, secrets, singing, sleep, song, spanish, sun, telephone, transportation, travel, truck, verbal communication, writing

Summer Jackson: Grown up

Harris, Teresa, E.

Summer Jackson is seven years old, but she wants to be a grown-up. Her parents leave her with all the chores and duties of an adult. Summer realizes being an adult is hard work. She decides she can do some grown up things but she also wants to be a kid and play.

Tags

family, growing up, hard work, parents, responsibilities

Beatrice's goat

McBrier, Page

Beatrice lives in Uganda and helps her mother care for her younger siblings. Money is scarce until Mugisa, a goat arrives. Mugisa provides milk, and the family is nourished by it. Mugisa's milk and babies provide enough money so Beatrice and her family can live a better life. Beatrice can afford her dream of attending school. This story has an afterwords by Hillary Rodhman Clinton.

Tags

africa, animals, birds, chicken, conflict resolution, dug, family, food, future, garden, goal setting, goat, hard work, helping, hope, hunger, language, leadership, learning, market, maturity, money, multicultural, poverty, presents, respect, school, siblings, uganda, village

When I grow up, I will win the Nobel Peace Prize

Pin, Isabel

A young boy dreams and wishes to win the Nobel Peace Prize. He outlines the many things that he "will do" when he is older in order to win the prize and make the world a better place. He then realizes that he " better get started". Many recipients and dates of the Nobel Peace Prize and are listed in the Author's Note.

Tags

ambition, animals, author's note, bravery, daydreaming, dreams, environment, future, greed, hard work, history, humanity, love, neighbors, peace, protection

Brothers of the knight

Allen, Debbie

Twelve brothers magically disappear every night even though their door is locked. Their father hires a housekeeper to figure out the mystery of his boys. She learns to listen, which turns out to be more powerful than simply solving a mystery.

Tags

african american, bedtime, careers, church, conflict resolution, dancing, deception, exercise, family, generations, hard work, magic, multicultural, music, mystery, parents, relationship, secrets, siblings, stress management

Things that sometimes happen

Avi

This collection of short stories are exaggerated to intrigue your imagination. The stories are full of odd events involving animals, traveling, and much more.

The patchwork quilt

Flournoy, Valerie

Tanya loves spending time with her Grandma. Grandma teaches Tanya the importance of using old scraps of material to make unique and warm quilts. One day Grandma gets sick before the quilt is complete. Tanya must help Grandma finish the quilt.

Tags

activities, african american, art, cooking, dancing, family, friendship, generations, grandparents, halloween, hard work, holidays, illness, patience, quilt, seasons, sharing, trust

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!

Degas and the little dancer: A story about Edgar Degas

Anholt, Laurence

Marie dreams of being a famous dancer until one day her chance of being in the Christmas show diminishes when her father becomes ill. Marie begins to model for a painter to earn money for her family's lost income. One day, Maria's sculpture shows up in the art museum and becomes the famed sculpture of Edgar Degas.

Tags

apology, art, careers, dancing, disappointment, dreams, excitement, fame, fear, hard work, illness, loneliness, museum, opera, poverty, practice, school, security, sympathy, teaching

God bless the child

Holiday, Billie & Herzog, Arthur Jr.

Each day is a work day for which to be thankful and grateful. There's a lot of work to be done on this land. It's time to go and experience the city life up north where things are different. Dream on, my child!

Tags

closeness, community, education, emotions, exploration, family, feelings, hard work, migration, parents, playing, reading, separation, siblings, skills, transportation, travel, wealth, work, worry

The blue ribbon day

Couric, Katie

Ellie and Carrie are best friends in the second grade. They do everything together and this year they are trying out for the soccer team. Carrie does not make the team and feels left out. She finds a new hobby, the science fair.

Tags

challenges, competition, confidence, feelings, friendship, goal setting, hard work, school, science, soccer, sports

The goat lady

Bregoli, Jane

Two young children new to Lucy Little Road, help us reveal the simple yet important life of the goat lady; a life that many people in the town despise. Through the children's time spent helping the goat lady, they learn of her vast life experiences. It isn't until after the children's mother takes portraits of the goat lady, that the rest of the town see waht a truly wonderful person the goat lady is.

Tags

acceptance, aging, animals, appreciation, art, assertiveness, barn, birds, cold, companion, coping, critical thinking, curiosity, decision making, discovery, emotions, environment, food, friendship, goal setting, goat, hard work, home, illness, listening, loyalty, neighbors, nonverbal communication, pets, pride, relationship, respect, support, teaching, trust, verbal communication

The milkman

Cordsen, Carol Foskett

A milkman delivers eggs, milk and ice cream to various people in a small community. While on his route, he discovers a sign that says lost dog. He begins to look for the dog along the way.

Tags

animals, community, critical thinking, dog, family, food, hard work, helping, lost, morning, neighbors, nonverbal communication, nutrition, rhyme, transportation, verbal communication

Five trucks

Floca, Brian

A little boy observes how five different trucks assist in the preparation and take-off of his airplane. Description of the trucks and their duties are very clear. It takes many people working together to complete the goal of take-off!

Tags

airplane, careers, cooperation, counting, critical thinking, diversity, fly, goal setting, hard work, machines, nonverbal communication, skills, tractor, transportation, travel, truck, verbal communication, work

Alec's primer

Pitts-Walter, Mildred

Alec was a slave who wanted to be free. Ms. Josephine, one of his masters and three years older than him, told Alic if he wanted to be free he needed to learn to read. Ms. Josephine taught him to read and when Alec was old enough he couragously fights in the Civil War and obtained his freedom.

A song for ba

Yee, Paul

A young, ambitious boy spends a lot of time with his grandfather learning how to sing and follow in the footsteps of his father who travels with a Chinese opera troupe. Wei, the little boy, loves to go to the opera and watch his father perform hoping one day, he too, will be a star. Through difficult times and financial loss, a young boy comes to the rescue of both his father and his cultural background.

Moon over the mountain/ Luna sobre la montana

Polette, Keith

A retelling of a traditional Asian tale in which a discontented stone-cutter is never satisfied with each wish that is granted him. Set in the desert Southwest.

Tags

cactus, carving, coyote, desert, envy, fruit, hard work, jealousy, language, market, money, moon, mountains, multicultural, rocks, spanish, sun, tools, tornado, wind, wish

Earth day - hooray!

Murphy, Stuart J.

Ryan, Carly, and Luke set out to clean up Gilroy Park for an Earth Day celebration. They decide to plant flowers to beautify the park while collecting cans to raise money through recycling. The children use math and find school resources to help them with their project.

Amelia to zora

Chin-Lee, Cynthia

Explore in an alphabet formula, biographies that examine different successes and triumphs of famous women in history from Amelia Earhart to Zora Neale.

Messenger, messenger

Burleigh, Robert

Being a bicycle messenger in a big city is a rigorous job, but someone has to do it. The messenger wakes early and works late to deliver the proper messages to their appropriate places. Nothing can stop him, not rain, snow, or distractions of others.

Tags

african american, assertiveness, bicycle, biking, careers, cold, community, critical thinking, day, dedication, discipline, exercise, food, goal setting, hard work, loyalty, morning, multicultural, night, radio, rain, refusal skills, responsibilities, rhyme, rhythm, routine, snow, sun, technology, time, weather, wind, work

Old home day

Hall, Donald

From the time when only plants and animals lived there, to the modern bicentennial celebration, the people who called the fictional village of Blackwater home remember its history.

Tags

aggression, aging, american, animals, author's note, autumn, baby, barn, baseball, birds, birth, bodies of water, bones, careers, celebration, change, community, conflict, conflict resolution, cow, death, decision making, deer, family, farm, farmer, forest, future, generations, goal setting, grandparents, hard work, history, hunting, lake, love, marriage, memories, nature, neighbors, nonverbal communication, parade, parents, peer resistance, plants, pond, reunion, seasons, settlers, snow, sports, spring, summer, war, water, weather, wilderness, winter, work

A day's work

Bunting, Eve

Fransico takes his grandfather out to look for work. His grandfather does not speak English, so Fransico must translate. Fransico accepts a gardening job for his grandfather by telling the man he is a great gardener. When the man comes at the end of the day, he finds the job done incorrectly. Fransico's lie teaches him an invaluable lesson.

Trashy town

Zimmerman, Andrea//Clemesha, David

Mr. Gilly gets up every morning to go to work. He drives the trash truck which cleans up the garbage all around town. When he is finished he has to clean up one more thing...himself!

Tags

bath, careers, cleanliness, community, environment, hard work, nonverbal communication, park, pollution, school, transportation, truck, verbal communication

Iron horses

Kay, Verla

Building a railroad takes a lot of work. Many people must be involved from the planners and politicians in the capital, to the Irishmen and Chinese men building the track out west. When it is finally finished, the track is a wonderful form of transportation.

Tags

author's note, celebration, ceremony, chinese, competition, construction, cooperation, fun, geography, hard work, history, immigrants, irish, mountains, multicultural, rain, rocks, snow, storm, tools, train, transportation, travel, weather

The hallelujah flight

Bildner, Phil

James Banning fixes up an old plane to fly across the country from California to New York. James's courage and perseverance allows him to overcome many challenges during his 1932 trek across the United States (e.g., California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York).

Tags

accomplishment, adventures, african american, airplane, anger, bias, biography, bodies of water, celebration, challenges, community, courage, crowd, day, determination, direction, discrimination, dreams, feelings, food, geography, hard work, helping, heroism, kindness, machines, maps, monuments, mountains, multicultural, night, numbers, performance, prejudice, relationship, sky, storm, transportation, tree

Allie's basketball dream

Barber, Barbara

Allie loves basketball, but she is often the only girl on the court. Buddy and other boys tease Allie about playing basketball. Allie believes in her ability and keeps practicing so that one day she can be better at basketball than the boys!

Freedom school, yes!

Littlesugar, Amy

Jolie shows courage in her community by protecting the school that will educate her and others. Jolie is afraid others will burn down the school. Jolie never gives up hope, and learns about famous African Americans who were brave and made a difference in their community, just like Jolie.

Tags

african american, anger, art, body parts, books, bravery, buildings, careers, change, church, community, courage, education, family, fire, freedom, god, hard work, history, music, neighbors, poetry, quilt, relationship, religion, running, school, slavery, song, spiritual, stars, teaching

The busy body book

Rockwell, Lizzy

An introduction to the human body, how it functions, and its need for exercise. Kids have a variety of phyical activities and sports to enjoy while keeping their different body systems fit, healthy, and happy.

Tags

beverage, body parts, bones, food, games, hard work, nonfiction, nutrition, picnic, skating, sleep, soccer, sports, vocabulary

Kevin and his dad

Smalls, Irene

Kevin loves spending time with his dad. Kevin learns that after he works hard, he can play hard with is dad. Kevin and his dad spend the day cleaning the house, then they play sports and go to the movies. Oh what fun!

Tags

activities, african american, baseball, beverage, bicycle, body parts, buildings, chores, cleanliness, clothing, dancing, dog, food, friendship, fun, hard work, helping, humor, moving, newspaper, parents, park, restaurant, rhythm, soccer, sports, subway, theatre, transportation, working mother

The bat boy and his violin

Curtis, Gavin

Reginald loves playing the violin. Every free moment Reginald practices his violin, but his dad wants him to play baseball instead. Reginald does not give up. Soon his dad realizes the value and talent that Reginald has for the violin.

Tags

acceptance, african american, ambition, baseball, bus, camping, car, celebration, crowd, dedication, discrimination, embarrassment, encouragement, family, feelings, games, happiness, hard work, helping, history, instruments, love, mistake, multicultural, music, performance, practice, relationship, running, sports, transportation

Papa's mark

Battle-Lavert, Gwendolyn

Simms teaches his father how to write. For many years, Simm's father struggled when writing his own name. However, Papa learns just in time so he can vote in the first election which gave Blacks the right to vote.

Tags

accomplishment, african american, american, animals, bedtime, buildings, change, church, community, cow, crowd, discrimination, education, election, equality, family, food, freedom, hard work, helping, horse, learning, letters, multicultural, night, parents, prejudice, quilt, relationship, school, shopping, signs, teaching, writing

Mr. George Baker

Hest, Amy

Harry enjoys spending time with his older next door neighbor, Mr. Baker. Harry likes to wait for the bus with Mr. George Baker. Harry learns about Mr. Baker's life as a musician and learns that a person is never too old to learn to read.

Tags

african american, aging, autumn, body parts, books, bus, clothing, dancing, education, embarrassment, friendship, fun, generations, happiness, hard work, instruments, learning, love, marriage, multicultural, music, school, seasons, shoes, tobacco, transportation, walking

The night eater

Juan, Ana

A night eater eats up the darkness in the sky, then continues to eat stars and clouds until they are gone. This makes it possible for the sun to be seen. The moon offends the night eater, which causes him to stop eating the night. It continues to stay dark until the children cry for him. The night eater eats up the dark sky to make way for the daylight again.

Tags

clouds, colors, conflict resolution, day, decision making, fantasy, friendship, hard work, moon, mountains, mythical, night, nonverbal communication, peer resistance, running, sea, seasons, self esteem, sky, stars, summer, sun, weather

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