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

Tags: holidays

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A small miracle

Collington, Peter

This Christmas narrative is a moving visual narrative without words. A hungry, old woman leaves her home to find food in the snow but is sad to give up her treasured accordion for sale when no one gives her money for playing music in the village street. She experiences a theft in the streets and then observes vandalism in the church by a man on a motorcycle. The woman reassembles the nativity scene in the church for Christmas and later earns the mercy and support from the participants when she collapses in the snow. This story of Christmas has a surprise ending (A wordless book).

Tags

accordion, christmas, church, holidays, instrument, miracle, money, motorcycle, music, nativity, performance, poverty, robbery, seasons, shopping, sleep, snow, surprise, town, transportation, walking, winter

Magic: Once upon a faraway land

Ortega, Mirelle

Once upon a faraway land in Mexico, a young girl highlights her grandfather's pineapple farm, her mom's wool blanket weaving, and her dad's sketches for making stone buildings. She reflects on the way that magic can change things for better and for worse. She loves the beautiful music and sounds that are woven together for people to dance. She also admires her fingertips as an artist when blank pages become pictures to share with others.

Tags

author's note, body parts, careers, celebration, dancing, Day of the Dead, drawing, farm, food, fruit, games, holidays, magic, Mexico, music, party, sewing, storytelling, traditions, weather, weaving

All-of-a-kind family hanukkah

Jenkins, Emily

Gertie, the youngest of five children, wants to help her mother cook for their family dinner on the first night of Hanukkah in New York City’s Lower East Side. After many attempts of trying to help in the busy kitchen, Gertie is sent to her room by her mother and is eventually called down for dinner by her dad. In order to get her to come downstairs, Gertie’s father asks for her helping to light the candles of the menorah for the first time and Gertie happily accepts the offer.

Tags

author's note, body parts, books, celebration, cooking, family, fire, food, freedom, frustration, hanukkah, hebrew, helping, history, holidays, illustrator's note, Jewish, learning, numbers, nutrition, parents, preparation, siblings, singing, traditions

Santa from Cincinnati: How a little boy named Santa grew up to become the real thing

Barrett, Judi

Calus was born on Christmas Day at Cincinnati General Hospital, and as he grew up, he developed a love for toys. As a young boy, Calus began building toys with his dad and delivering them to other kids in his neighborhood on Christmas Eve. Soon, everyone wanted toys from Calus, and after going to college and meeting Claus, they moved to the North Pole and began manufacturing toys year-round.

Tags

animals, birth, birthday, celebration, christmas, correspondence, growing up, holidays, new baby, parents, presents, reindeer, school, sledding, snow, technology, tools, toys, transportation, writing

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

Henry's first-moon birthday

Look, Lenore

Jenny is in charge of helping her grandmother prepare for the one-month birthday party of her baby brother, Henry. Henry's party is a Chinese celebration! Food and decorations are made to bring good luck, health, and happiness to Jenny's mother and brother. Each member of the family attends in celebration of Henry's first month of life.

Tags

baby, birth, birthday, body parts, celebration, chinese, cleanliness, clothing, culture, drawing, family, feelings, food, grandparents, happiness, health, heritage, holidays, language, luck, moon, nutrition, onomatopoeia, parents, party, responsibilities, reunion, self esteem, siblings, traditions, verbal communication, writing

The pumpkin patch

King, Elizabeth

The growth of a pumpkin starts as a seed and the farmer cares for them until they are plump, orange, and ready to be picked. The logistics and details of a pumpkin patch are outlined.

Tags

careers, celebration, colors, farm, flowers, garden, halloween, holidays, month, plants, preparation, seasons, seeds, shapes, sizes, tractor, transportation

Clifford y el dia de accion de gracias

Bridwell, Norman

Emily goes to visit her grandmother for the Thanksgiving holiday. Clifford is staying with neighbors and becomes homesick. He decides to visit his mother as a surprise.

Tags

animals, bodies of water, dog, family, food, grandparents, holidays, homesickness, language, nonverbal communication, parents, river, spanish, thanksgiving, train, transportation

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

Frankie Stein

Schaefer, Lola

Frankie is born to Mr. and Mrs. Frank N. Stein and grows up with monster changes to his hair and skin with his parents' help. Frankie learns how to walk like a Frankenstein and learns about his family tree so he can become more scary.

Tags

affection, differences, family, growing up, halloween, holidays, identity, monsters, onomatopoeia, parents, self esteem, sounds

One candle

Bunting, Eve

A Jewish family spends Hanukkah that same way every year. Traditions are passed from generation to generation. After a family meal, grandma and great-aunt Rose tell their story. One very special candle is lit in honor of their memories.

Tags

family, feelings, food, generations, grandparents, hanukkah, history, holidays, Jewish, language, memories, multicultural, nutrition, parents, prayer, sadness, siblings, stars, storytelling

Where is the green sheep?

Fox, Mem

Sheep of many sizes, shapes and colors are busy doing many things. They are playing, sleeping, working, eating, bathing and reading just to name a few. But there is a problem to be solved. Where is the green sheep?

Tags

animals, bicycle, biking, birthday, boat, bodies of water, car, diving, exercise, feelings, fishing, food, happiness, holidays, juggling, mythical, ocean, playground, pond, pool, rain, sadness, sheep, skateboarding, skiing, sports, sun, superstition, surfing, swimming, swinging, train, transportation, weather, wind

Three cheers for catherine the great!

Best, Cari

A family moves from Russia to America. The grandma of the family has a birthday and she does not want presents. Her grand-daughter spends hours trying to figure out the perfect no present for her grandma.

A Christmas like Helen's

Kinsey-Warnock, Natalie

Christmas in the early years of America's life describes the life of a younh girl names Helen. Living on a farm before the time of telephones or cars, Helen spends her days working on the farm, walking to school in the cold of winter and spending time with her family, hearing stories of her ancestors. Helen's Christmas begins in the summer when her family plants the food that will be eaten on Christmas morning and their Christmas spirit stays alive throughout the year by helping ill and injured neighbors with tasks around their farms. Christmas is a time for Helen's family to come together from all over and build their relationships over feasts, church, midnight skating and fun.

Tags

animals, christmas, cow, exercise, family, feelings, food, happiness, holidays, horse, multicultural, parents, scottish, seasons, skating, snow, spring, transportation, weather, winter

Hunter bunny saves Easter

Weaver, Alexis Rae

Hunter Bunny, made fun of because of his limp leg, meets Clark, the duck who has trouble seeing and the two become best friends. The night before Easter, the two find the Easter bunny lying on the ground and it is now up to them to deliver the baskets around town. After successfully saving Easter, the return to the forest to find all the animals praising and cheering for them.

Tags

animals, baby, differences, disability, discrimination, duck, easter, family, feelings, friendship, glasses, handicap, happiness, helping, heroism, holidays, hope, injury, learning, loneliness, moods, parents, playing, rabbit, sadness, siblings, sight, surprises, swimming, teaching, teasing, vision

My name was hussein

Kyuchukov, Hristo

Hussein is a young boy who lives in Bulgaria. He and his family are Muslim and are forced to give up their identities when soldiers come. Hussein is renamed Harry but he holds onto his real name and faith traditions. A pictorial view of this is depicted throughout the story as Hussein tries to understand what is happening around him.

The santero's miracle: A bilingual story

Anaya, Rudolfo

Don Jacobo and his grandson carve a figurine of a saint from wood for the Christmas season. A large snow storm comes and closes the roads. This creates problems for Don Jacobo's family who wants to visit their family. It is also a problem for his sick neighbor who needs to to go the the hospital.

Tags

carving, christmas, critical thinking, decision making, family, goal setting, grandparents, helping, holidays, language, mexican american, miracle, multicultural, snow, spanish, stress management, traditions, verbal communication, weather

Papa's latkes

Edwards, Michelle

A Jewish family deals with the recent death of their mother and wife, while trying to keep their Chanukan traditions alive. Each family member deals with their emotions. They work as a single parent family to move on, while embracing their traditions of the past.

My parents are divorced, my elbows have nicknames, and other facts about me

Cochran, Bill

Ted's parents are divorced but that doesn't make him weird. His elbows have nicknames and he sleeps with a sock on one foot, and he admits that may make him weird. Ted lists off many other facts about himself that may seem weird to others, but that's him and he is happy the way he is! He is sad though when his parents can't hug him at the same time.

Tags

attention, body parts, cleanliness, comparisons, coping, divorce, feelings, halloween, happiness, holidays, hygiene, pretend, sadness, self esteem, separation, stress management, uniqueness

Tshepo rides the bus

Xaba-Mashiri, Zodwa

It is Tshepo's birthday and Auntie Sonto is taking him to the town on the bus. Tshepo loves to ride the bus. However, Auntie Sonto refuses to buy a bus ticket for Tshepo because she says Tshepo is too young.

Tags

africa, african american, anger, assertiveness, birthday, bus, celebration, conflict resolution, embarrassment, family, feelings, holidays, multicultural, nonverbal communication, peer resistance, refusal skills, relationship, stress management, transportation

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.

Beyond turkey

Herman, Debbie // Koffsky, Ann D.

Almost 400 years ago, pilgrims traveled to North America. They met and befriended the Indians of the area. The different cultures came together to prepare a harvest and a celebration. This celebration became known as Thanksgiving.

Lights for gita

Gilmore, Rachna

Gita is very excited about celebrating her favorite Hindu holiday, Divali, a festival of lights. But this year things are different and she must celebrate this special holiday in her new home. This transition is hard for Gita and made even more difficult by the seasonal rain. With the help from her parents, Gita must learn how to carry her beliefs and memories into her new home and make this year's Divali, a holiday to remember.

All butterflies

Brown, Marcia

Let's use every letter of the alphabet to tell a story about different animals, Valentine's Day, Christmas, and the zoo.

Tags

alphabet, animals, butterfly, cat, christmas, elephant, giraffe, holidays, insects, letters, lion, mouse, raccoon, reptiles, turtle, valentine's day, zoo

Bunnies at christmas time

Ehrlich, Amy

An invitation is sent to Santa Claus to join the bunnies for a Christmas party. Instead of Santa, their Uncle Jack dressed as Santa arrives with plenty of gifts.

Tags

animals, christmas, decision making, holidays, party, presents, rabbit, santa, travel

A seed was planted/ Sembre una semilla

Palazeti, Toulla

A wonderful cycle of giving begins when a single seed is planted and sprouts are passed along from one person to the next. An entire community is touched.

Tags

adaptation, animals, birthday, diary, dog, english, family, giving, holidays, idiom, illness, language, multicultural, neighbors, pattern, pets, picnic, plants, presents, reading, school, seed, siblings, spanish, tree, water, woods

By the light of the halloween moon

Stutson, Caroline

A little girls toe is the basis of this cummulative tale, or a story that repeats and adds on with each new character that is introduced. There are many pictures of witches, ghosts, and ghouls.

Tags

animals, bat, body parts, bones, bridge, cat, ghosts, halloween, holidays, humor, misbehavior, moon, night, pond, repetition, rhyme, verbal communication, witches

Saturn for my birthday

McGranaghan, John

Jeffrey wants Saturn for his birthday, and he wants the moons too- all 47 of them! But he's not selfish: he'll share the rings with some of his friends at school and with his teacher, Mrs. Cassini. Facts about Saturn are woven seamlessly throughout this funny story as Jeffrey explains just what he'll do with his present and how he'll take care of it.

Tags

anticipation, bedtime, birds, birthday, cat, celebration, colors, communication, excitement, family, feelings, food, history, holidays, moon, mouse, numbers, nutrition, parents, pets, planet, presents, radio, sizes, space, technology, television, temperature

Happy birthday to whooo? A baby animal riddle book

Fisher, Doris

Babies come in all different sizes and shapes. Some babies have fur and some have feathers. Some may be the only baby born or some might be born with 100 brothers and sisters! Some babies are big (23 feet) and some are little (the size of a jelly-bean)! Babies have their own special families too! Some have a mom and a dad; some have a mom or a dad; and some even live with their mom, aunts, and grandmothers!

Tags

animals, baby, birds, birthday, camel, celebration, eagle, elephant, family, flamingo, giraffe, habitat, holidays, kangaroo, leopard, lion, owl, parents, riddle, sizes, skunk, whale

My kindergarten

Wells, Rosemary

Kindergarten is no longer a mystery, thanks to Emily who illustrates the lessons and activities in Miss Cribbageﾒs classroom. Many concepts are explored in this kindergarten classroom. Poems, songs, and activities keep the lessons light-hearted and enjoyable.

Tags

african american, alphabet, art, calendar, celebration, colors, critical thinking, dancing, Days of The Week, decision making, exercise, flowers, hanukkah, hebrew, holidays, kwanzaa, latin, letters, library, maps, math, money, month, moon, multicultural, museum, music, photograph, poetry, politics, rain, school, science, self esteem, sequence, snow, song, temperature, valentine's day, weather, wind

A new improved Santa

Wolff, Patricia

Santa is determined to become a new and improved Santa. He changes his hair, loses weight, and changes his clothing style. The children are not happy with his changes; they want the old Santa back.

Silver threads

Skrypuch, Marsha Forchuk

Ivan and Anna flee from Ukraine and sail to Canada where they are promised land for farming. They begin a new life, but Canada soon joins World War I. Ivan tries to fight for Canada in the war, but they take him as a prisoner instead. Years pass and Anna waits alone until Ivan finally returns to the farm from an internment camp

Tags

assertiveness, canada, christmas, conflict resolution, cooperation, escape, farm, food, history, holidays, hope, immigrants, love, loyalty, multicultural, patience, prayer, spider, stress management, ukrainian, war

My first Chinese New Year

Katz, Karen

Gung Hay Fat Choy! Happy New Year! A Chinese child is getting ready for the Chinese New Year by decorating the walls with red, making an alter to honor ancestors, getting a new dress to wear, and getting a haircut to start the new year off fresh and new. They eat a New Year Eve feast for good health and enjoy the New Year parade with lion dancers, drummers, and the dragon! Then, they wish each other Gung Hay Fat Choy!

Tags

animals, beauty, china, chinese, clothing, dancing, dragons, family, feelings, food, grandparents, happiness, health, holidays, language, lion, money, multicultural, new year, nutrition, parade, parents, party, plants, self esteem, siblings, verbal communication, wish

The day gogo went to vote: South africa, 1994

Batezat Sisulu, Elinor

Thembi and her beloved great-grandmother, who has not left the house for many years, go together to vote on the momentous day when black South Africans are allowed to vote for the first time.

Tags

africa, aging, celebration, critical thinking, dancing, determination, election, family, grandparents, helping, history, holidays, illness, parents, politics, pride, song, storytelling

Food and festivals: West Africa

Brownlie, Alison

Describes the West African culture of food, including the kinds of food grown and eaten, and various feast days like Ramadan, Easter, naming ceremonies, and yam festivals.

Tags

africa, african, baby, beach, bodies of water, camel, cattle, celebration, ceremony, chicken, community, cooking, dancing, family, farm, food, friendship, fruit, ghana, goat, hard work, holidays, language, multicultural, music, muslim, parade, preparation, religion, respect, river

Christmas eve blizzard

Vlahakis, Andrea

A beautiful cardinal is trapped in the snow until a young boy rescues him. Nicholas places more importance on caring for the injured bird than in decorating the Christmas tree or opening his gifts on Christmas morning. The cardinal sweetly and unexpectedly rewards the boy, his grandfather, and their entire village with a lifetime of Christmas cheer.

Tags

animals, birds, christmas, determination, goal setting, holidays, language, Mexico, multicultural, snow, spanish, tree, weather

Bertie the ghost

Neale, Richard

Bertie the ghost wants a new place to live and new friends. He crosses through each page of the story then arrives at an old farmhouse and finds friends and a home.

Gregory's shadow

Freeman, Don

Gregory needs his shadow in order for spring to come. He ends up losing his shadow for awhile; his shadow gets scared and hides in a barn. Gregory later adventured out and finds his shadow, causing spring to come.

Tags

bravery, conflict resolution, fear, feelings, friendship, groundhog, holidays, loneliness, nonverbal communication, sadness, seasons, self esteem, shadows, spring, stress management, winter

Alphabet mystery

Wood, Aubrey

Charley's alphabet becomes worried when they learn that little x is missing. They set off on an adventure to find little x and experience a problem when they do.

Over in the pink house: New jump rope rhymes

Dotlich, Rebecca Kai

Predictable rhyming patterns and basic themes, such as nature, animals, food, and so much more, work together to complete this collection of thirty-two jump rope rhymes.

Tags

animals, cat, collection, conflict resolution, counting, Days of The Week, exercise, food, holidays, jump rope, jumping, nature, nutrition, pattern, poetry, relationship, rhyme, rhythm, seasons, stress management, summer, time, winter

Just like new

Manson, Ainslie

It is a time of war and children in England won't have Christmas presents. A little girl's class decides to give gifts they love that are like new. The little girl unselfishly gives up her most cherished doll and inserts a note, and a girl from England becomes her pen pal after receiving the gift.

Tags

books, canada, charity, christmas, church, correspondence, critical thinking, decision making, dolls, empathy, england, family, feelings, food, friendship, happiness, history, holidays, maps, multicultural, nutrition, parents, sadness, ship, siblings, toys, transportation, verbal communication, war

The spirit of tio fernando: A day of the dead story

Levy, Janice

Fernando, a little boy from Mexico, loses his favorite uncle. The family celebrates a holiday called Day of the Dead. Fernando must find the perfect gift to remember his uncle. What does he choose?

Tags

celebration, critical thinking, death, family, flowers, food, holidays, instruments, language, mexican, multicultural, music, parents, spanish, theatre

First comes spring

Rockwell, Anne

The seasons are described through the activities of the bears, the weather, the changes in the environment, and the attire of Bear child.

Tags

activities, animals, autumn, baseball, bear, biking, christmas, easter, exercise, family, halloween, holidays, jumping, parents, seasons, skating, spring, summer, swimming, winter

Wolf christmas

Pinkwater, Daniel

Stinkyface and the rest of his wolf family are so excited for Uncle Louis to come visit. When he arrives, he shows them how humans celebrate Christmas. Everyone is fascinated by the new smells and sounds.

Tags

affection, animals, christmas, closeness, exploration, family, five senses, habitat, holidays, sight, snow, sounds, weather, wolf

Grandpa's gamble

Michelson, Richard

A brother and sister are tired of always having to be quiet so as not to interrupt Grandpa Sam while he is praying. The children think they have a very boring grandfather. Grandpa Sam overhears the children and tells them the story of his life. He was born a Jew in Poland and to escape persecution he came to the United States. He learns to gamble to make a living but when his daughter becomes very ill he decides to lead an honest, humble life and pray every morning and night. The children are now amazed by their Grandpa Sam's story and respect his prayer time.

Tags

author's note, boredom, culture, faith, family, forgiveness, grandparents, holidays, immigrants, Jewish, multicultural, parents, passover, photograph, prayer, religion, siblings, storytelling, stress management

The twelve days of Christmas

Spirin, Gennady

The Twelve days of Christmas is sung in churches, houses, and concert halls throughout the Christmas season. It is hard to imagine a Christmas celebration without it. From the partridge in the pear tree to the five golden rings to the twelve drummers drumming, carolers enjoy taking turns singing different verses. Gennady Spirin's paintings bring new life and spectacular beauty to this classic song, making it a gift to be treasured at Christmastime. An illustrator' note addresses the song's origin and history.

Tags

author's note, birds, celebration, christmas, dancing, dove, goose, history, holidays, illustrator's note, instruments, jewelry, love, music, numbers, presents, seasons, song, swan, tree, winter

Pick a pumpkin, Mrs. Millie!

Cox, Judy

Silly Mrs. Millie is at it again. In the fall, she takes her kindergarten class on a trip to pick pumpkins for their harvest party. The class has fun guessing the meanings of their favorite teacher's nonsense words. They go on a dragon (wagon) ride, pet the boats (goats), and drink apple spider (cider). Coupled with hilarious artwork in pen, pencil, and colored dyes by Joe Mathieu, this lighthearted text sets a class trip on its ear with subtle lessons in wordplay.

Tags

animals, bus, clothing, farm, food, garden, goat, holidays, humor, mule, nutrition, play, scarecrows, school, sheep, spider, transportation, vocabulary

That's good! That's bad! On Santa's Journey

Cuyler, Margery

Santa runs into a few problems on his Christmas Eve journey. At the beginning of the trip, he gets delayed by a snow storm. When it clears up, he continues to the first little boy's house, but his reindeer have trouble landing on the icy roof. Santa continues to encounter problems, but manages to deliver all the presents.

Tags

animals, assertiveness, clothing, critical thinking, decision making, holidays, onomatopoeia, opposites, reindeer, santa, travel, weather

Turkey trouble

Silvano, Wendi

Turkey is in trouble. Bad trouble. The kind of trouble where it's Thanksgiving...and you're the main course! But Turkey has an idea- what if he doesn't look like a turkey? What if he looks like another animal instead? After many hilarious attempts, Turkey comes up with the perfect disguise to make this Thanksgiving the best ever!

Tags

animals, barn, birds, celebration, cow, disguise, farm, farmer, holidays, horse, humor, pig, rooster, sheep, thanksgiving, turkey

In my momma's kitchen

Nolen, Jerdine

A young girl's fondest memories happen in her momma's kitchen. Achievements, family, stories, cooking and love are all celebrated in the kitchen. Great-Aunt Caroline, corn-pudding time and nighttime serenades are a few of the special moments in this loving family.

Tags

accomplishment, african american, animals, bedtime, cat, celebration, cooking, dancing, easter, family, food, friendship, garden, grandparents, holidays, instruments, love, multicultural, music, parents, relationship, school, self esteem, sleep, song, walking, wedding

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