Children's Picture Book Database at Miami University

Alejandro's gift | by Albert, Richard

A lonely man plants a garden full of vegetables in the middle of the desert. A wide array of desert wildlife finds their way to his garden and watering hole. He wants to be friends with the animals and help them.

Keywords: animals, author's note, badger, birds, cactus, caring, coyote, critical thinking, deer, desert, donkey, dove, feelings, fox, friendship, garden, habitat, hummingbird, loneliness, mouse, plants, presents, rabbit, rat, responsibilities, shelter, skunk, sparrow, squirrel, tortoise, wildlife, woodpecker, wren

Halmoni and the picnic | by Choi, Sook Nyul

Yunmi wants her grandmother, Halmoni to feel at home in New York City. However, Halmoni is having trouble adjusting to the American customs that differ so much from the customs of her native Korea. Yunmi's friends suggest that Halmoni chaperone the annual class picnic to Central Park. It may be an opportunity to open-up and feel comfortable in her new home.

Rotten ralph feels rotten | by Gantos, Jack

When Ralph the cat eats rotten food from the garbage, he learns his lesson the hard way! He has bad dreams, a swollen belly, and feels ill. After being his typical mischievious self, the vet gives him medicine and he is encouraged to stay overnight. Ralph sneaks out of the vet's office to come home to Sarah with a new appreciation of her healhty food choices.

Keywords: animals, body parts, caring, cat, consequences, dog, dreams, food, friendship, health, homesickness, honesty, hunger, illness, loneliness, love, medicine, misbehavior, mouse, nutrition, smell

Where the wild things are | by Sendak, Maurice

Max gets sent to his room for creating mischief and talking back to his mother. He is sent there without dinner. While alone in his room, Max sets sail to an island where he tames the wild beasts and becomes king of the beasts. At the end of fun with the beasts, he sends them to bed with no supper and returns hoem where a hot meal awaits him.

Keywords: bedtime, boat, disobedience, fantasy, fear, feelings, food, imagination, loneliness, monsters, nutrition, self esteem, transportation

Widget | by McFarland, Lyn

A stray dog names Widget tries to find a home which happens to have six cats. To stay in the house, Widgey acts like a cat until he saves his owner and his true self is revealed.

Keywords: acceptance, accidents, adoption, animals, cat, dog, exercise, feelings, happiness, loneliness, rescue, running, sadness

How Willy got his wheels | by Mohler, Diana & Turner, Deborah

As a homeless and handicapped dog, Willy never finds true happiness until he is rescued from the animal hospital and given a home and family. However, Willy lacks the ability to walk on his own and his owner Deborah tries several attempts to help Willy. Finally, Willy is given a wheel chair which enables him to finally be free and live his life to its fullest.

Keywords: animals, balloon, caring, cat, climbing, cold, disability, doctor, dog, dreams, excitement, family, fly, friendship, handicap, helping, homeless, hospital, imagination, independence, loneliness, memory, pets, presents, problem solving, protection, relief, rescue, running, running away, sadness, safety, siblings, sleep, smell, toys, wish

Hunter bunny saves Easter | by 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.

Keywords: 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

Goose's story | by Best, Cari

A young girl and her dog care for an injured goose with one leg. They encourage her to learn to walk, swim, and fly. When they goose leaves for winter, they search for her everyday. A year later the goose returns with a mate and with seven baby geese.

Keywords: accidents, animals, change, colors, differences, dog, fear, feelings, fly, fox, friendship, goose, growing up, injury, learning, loneliness, migration, month, parents, pond, raccoon, rain, robin, sadness, seasons, spring, swimming, teaching

Rip Squeak and his friends | by Yost-Filgate, Susan

When the family living in the cottage pack up their bags one morning and leave, the excitement begins. Rip Squeak and his sister, Jesse, make two unlikely new friends and discover a whole world that's been right under their noses!

Keywords: acting, adventures, animals, cat, feelings, frog, imagination, instruments, loneliness, mouse, puppets, toys, umbrella

Degas and the little dancer: A story about Edgar Degas | by 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.

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

The dog who cried wolf | by Kasza, Keiko

Feeling bored and trapped with his current life, Moka the dog runs away. Moka then questions his decision as he becomes homesick.

Keywords: affection, animals, appreciation, assertiveness, boredom, consequences, critical thinking, curiosity, dog, feelings, freedom, happiness, homesickness, loneliness, running away, self esteem, wolf

Why the chameleon had two toes | by Mashiri, Pascal

An older woman, named Gogo Senne, tells interesting stories to the children of a small, quiet South African village. She weaves the mythical take of how the chameleon got his two toes and red eyes. Read about the value of strong friendships, the importance of trust, communication and respecting each other.

Keywords: african, chameleon, communication, companion, conflict resolution, feelings, folktale, food, friendship, loneliness, peer resistance, refusal skills, respect, trust, truth

Monster buys a pet | by Blance, Ellen // Cook, Ann

A friendly monster and a little boy think it is lonely in their house. They decide that if they go to the pet store and buy an animal to keep them company, it will help. After picking out two dogs and two cats, the owner of the pet store coaxes monster and the little boy to give all the pets a home.

Keywords: animals, companion, critical thinking, decision making, feelings, friendship, gerbil, loneliness, monsters, peer resistance, pets, play, responsibilities, sadness, vacation, verbal communication

Grandpa's soup | by Kadono, Eiko

Grandpa is lonely after Grandma dies. He wants to make meatball soup just like his wife use to make. Each day after Grandpa makes the soup, friends come and eat it with him. Grandpa finds that eating the soup with friends helps to ease his loneliness.

Keywords: animals, cat, cooking, critical thinking, death, decision making, determination, dog, family, feelings, food, goal setting, grandparents, happiness, loneliness, loss, mouse, nonverbal communication, nutrition, sharing, stress management, verbal communication

Grey mouse | by de Vries, Anke

Grey Mouse is feeling lonely, so she decides to change her color in order to feel better about herself. However, all of the other animals laugh at her each time she does this. She finally realizes that she is happiest with her natural grey color when she finds other mice friends that look like her.

Keywords: acceptance, amphibians, animals, appearance, art, bee, birds, body image, boredom, change, colors, critical thinking, differences, feelings, flowers, frog, goal setting, goose, happiness, identity, images, insects, insecurity, ladybug, loneliness, mouse, nonverbal communication, racism, sadness, self confidence, self esteem, zebra

A song for ba | by 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.

Hannah is my name | by Yang, Belle

Hannah and her family come to America from Taiwan to gain freedom. For them to become Americans and have their freedom, they must obtain their greencards. Hannah and her family's journey of over 2 years, encompasses many trials. Hannah and her family feel relief, excitement and prode as they finally receive their greencards and are now able to call American their home.

Millicent and the wind | by Munsch, Robert

Millicent lives on a mountain top and has no friend except the wind. They play tag and talk to each other. One day she asks the wind to bring her a friend, and it did.

Keywords: assertiveness, climbing, communication, exercise, family, friendship, games, loneliness, mountains, parents, self esteem, stress management, teasing, verbal communication, walking, weather, wind, wish, woods

Peter's long walk | by Kingman, Lee

Peter lives in a house far away from the village. He desperately wants to find a friend to play with so he goes on a long search for one. When he can't find a friend, he goes home and finds that he has all kinds of friends.

Keywords: animals, cat, dog, exercise, feelings, friendship, happiness, loneliness, verbal communication, walking

The hallo-wiener | by Pilkey, Dav

Oscar is teased by the other dogs because of his oblong shape. He soon proves that a dog his shape can do things that other dogs cannot.

Keywords: animals, assertiveness, bully, conflict resolution, courage, decision making, differences, dog, loneliness, self esteem, uniqueness, verbal communication

Browse Abstracts (238 total)